As a 'connection utility'squirrelboilerOctober 14 2010, 19:24:53 UTC
I have no problems with FB. I know lots of people that also find it very useful. An example would be a person I know who has family all across the U.S. (a very big country) and the saving in phone bills and such is wonderful. I also know someone who trains world-class silversmiths in a small town in Mexico and it's nice to get reports from the students as they migrate all over the world.
As a social utility it is very useful. I was totally gobsmacked to find how many of the 'disapeared' have a FB page. Another interesting change in cyber land is that people tend to use their real names on FB , a phenomenon I've not seen before. I still don't and never will but perhaps it's a good sign .
Cyber space goes through phases. Once there were chat-rooms, then google groups then forums. Some of those forums were HUGE. Then people got tired of those and started going to places like MySpace and FB. It's no shame and it ain't no crime. Some great music and art has been launched out of those places. I believe they have great potential for many interesting cultural and social aspects.
But I still don't understand why instead of using them as social connections or platforms for projects, people just use social networking sites to inform the rest of the world about their every move or thought.
There are two dynamics I am watching in this. One that looks like a stunted attention span and the other a strange irony and they are linked together.
One of the things demanded on forums is that people actually put together a cohesive response which may address a number of points. A person actually asked me to join a debate on FB for this very reason: I can and do still address an issue fully. Yet this person is intelligent and fully able to do so themselves. They just don't *want* to, I guess. It's a form of laziness that is encouraged by the sound-bite nature of tweets etc. Also, if you want to tell me something, I know you will write to me . But it seems now that one can just blah on, that people feel that is an adequate substitute for writing a dedicated letter or response to someone - it's "Read My Blog" all over again: impersonal and (here's the irony part) distancing people one knows. Instead of writing to individuals, people now write to the world and feel this is adequate to hold their 'friends' close - it becomes an 'anti-social' utility.
It's only my opinion. However, this opinion was reinforced last week when I recieved a hand written card in the mail from someone. I couldn't remember the last time someone took the time to get a card or piece of paper, take pen in hand and really think about who they were writing to. And it shocked me. I'm all for the paperless society to save trees, but there is no substitue for a phone call or even, a dedicated e-mail to let people know you are thinking about *them*, not about how *they* appear to the multitude.
As a social utility it is very useful. I was totally gobsmacked to find how many of the 'disapeared' have a FB page. Another interesting change in cyber land is that people tend to use their real names on FB , a phenomenon I've not seen before. I still don't and never will but perhaps it's a good sign .
Cyber space goes through phases. Once there were chat-rooms, then google groups then forums. Some of those forums were HUGE. Then people got tired of those and started going to places like MySpace and FB. It's no shame and it ain't no crime. Some great music and art has been launched out of those places. I believe they have great potential for many interesting cultural and social aspects.
But I still don't understand why instead of using them as social connections or platforms for projects, people just use social networking sites to inform the rest of the world about their every move or thought.
There are two dynamics I am watching in this. One that looks like a stunted attention span and the other a strange irony and they are linked together.
One of the things demanded on forums is that people actually put together a cohesive response which may address a number of points. A person actually asked me to join a debate on FB for this very reason: I can and do still address an issue fully. Yet this person is intelligent and fully able to do so themselves. They just don't *want* to, I guess. It's a form of laziness that is encouraged by the sound-bite nature of tweets etc. Also, if you want to tell me something, I know you will write to me . But it seems now that one can just blah on, that people feel that is an adequate substitute for writing a dedicated letter or response to someone - it's "Read My Blog" all over again: impersonal and (here's the irony part) distancing people one knows. Instead of writing to individuals, people now write to the world and feel this is adequate to hold their 'friends' close - it becomes an 'anti-social' utility.
It's only my opinion. However, this opinion was reinforced last week when I recieved a hand written card in the mail from someone. I couldn't remember the last time someone took the time to get a card or piece of paper, take pen in hand and really think about who they were writing to. And it shocked me. I'm all for the paperless society to save trees, but there is no substitue for a phone call or even, a dedicated e-mail to let people know you are thinking about *them*, not about how *they* appear to the multitude.
I guess I'm just an old neo-Luddite :).
Illgrace
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