Facebook Haters?

[bishopx]

Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em, I know you can Get It Started.

[Prometheon]

owen (i'm not quoting it 'cause it's too big), but you make no sense.

 

you say it's a cop out. i explain why it's not and you say i'm right like it was your point all along.

 

No, I agreed with one part of your post. The part where you said

 

"[if you put your info on there...don't shit your pants when people know it.]"

 

That's just common sense, and is something I'm trying to convey to the person who I deemed as "copping out." What you said reiterates a bit of what I was trying to say, so I'm saying that I agree (with that portion.)

 

 

facebook doesn't automatically mean you've got 29,397,397 applications. some people don't use applications, or only use ones that are useful (for example, the greenbook one i use).

 

I don't know where this becomes relevant. The example I gave about the one that measures your political slant (I think it's actually called "Political Compass") was sort of a joke. But a lot of people's default profiles (just the stuff at the top, with gender, relationship status etc.) have their political and religious views as well. You're free to put that on; I don't care. I don't know how this is relevant either....

 

the reason it's "i'm fine with it" is because people usually aren't in love with facebook. they're okay with it, 'cause of the immediate personal conveniences. doesn't mean the website isn't stupid, or what people do with it.

 

This is where we get semantic and I start to disagree. You say that what a lot of people do with it is "stupid." That's a very subjective assessment, and even though I agree with you, that's just our opinion. I mean, I'm not arguing that "Hatching Gifts" and "Jetman" aren't dumb, but that reflects on people's own tastes. It's like calling a television stupid because you can watch bad shows on it.

Furthermore, you obviously don't think the website is stupid, because YOU USE IT. It obviously does something intelligently that attracts you to it. And if you say you only use it because everyone else does, you're making an intellectual concession for conveniance's sake. Which is fine, but don't try to play it off as anything else. Also, if you think that a bunch of third parties are what makes it stupid, we again hit the TV dilemma. A lot of people make dumb fucking movies for TV, just as a lot of people make dumb fucking applications for Facebook.

 

 

it's not a question of your morality or your political stand point if you just sit back and let facebook continue, and it's fucking stupid to think that "protesting" the applications is actually going to stop them. they fund the website. they're not going anywhere

 

Again, I have no idea why you're saying this. I never mentioned anything about protesting anything. My edit was with an heir of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm to the person who I was originally disagreeing with. If you hate facebook but use it anyway, feel free to join as many "protest" groups as you want if it helps cure your cognitive dissonance ;)

 

Edit: What I was trying to say was that "it isn't so black and white." That's about it. There is room for improvement in anything in life, and friggin Facebook is no exception. My main point, which you didn't really address remains this:

 

If you use Facebook, don't bitch about it infringing on your privacy. They have a ToS agreement that you (hopefully) read, and then willfully clicked "agree" on. No one held a gun to your head. Saying you did it "reluctantly" is fucking stupid.

 

"Gee, I dunno. I have some strong qualms about my privacy being invaded...but I sure do want to poke people I haven't talked too in a decade! I guess I'll do it. But I AM reluctant!"

 

I've probably contradicted myself somewhere in there, but whatevs.

 

Edit: This is actually pretty a HUGE POINT. And I may get some flack.

 

I honestly don't give a shit what Facebook does with the information I choose to share. Want to know my taste in music? Fuck, I'll be all too eager to tell you! My religion? Agnostic/athiest. Favourite movies? Be my guest.

 

If giant marketing agencies start noticing the trends in today's youth (rather than being painfully, painfully behind) maybe we'll see more Matt Good and Pulp Fiction and less Pussycat Dolls and Scary Movie. Of course, this is a bit of a pipe dream, as I'm sure a LOT of people have "Pussycat Dolls" under their favourite music, but apparently the #1 band listed as a favourite at U of T is "The Beatles." That at least sends SOME sort of message to whoever the hell is getting this information. At least I hope so.

 

I dunno how relevant any of this is in the grand scheme of things, but again, whatever. Basically, what I'm saying is that by making myself viewable as a demographic, I increase awareness of that demographic and make it more likely to have music, products, etc marketed towards the things I already like, rather than things I couldn't care less about (like the current trend of almost every medium in the media.)

Edited March 10, 2008 by Prometheon

[Lauren]

i love the beatles.

[Prometheon]

i love the beatles.

And I don't care who knows it! hahahaha

[Lauren]

the way i see it is, you can control what information is up there. or you can not have a profile at all. or you can get a profile because people will talk about you and put your information up there for you. but that's what the world is becoming. it's easier to talk about people now, but since most of us weren't raised in a tech-savvy environment by tech-savvy parents, we aren't used to taking the measures necessary to protect certain bits of information. that will come with time, experience, and development of other technology.

[Prometheon]

Yeah, I would agree with that.

 

It's interesing, because we're much more social now, but also much less...I don't know. Intimate?

 

I saw this thing somewhere that summed it up nicely. In our parent's day, when you walked in the front door, that was it. Your friends were outside. Now you can talk to them on MSN, Facebook, message boards, etc. Well, and on the phone, but at least that's semi-personal.

[Lauren]

i miss playing outside. its so much easier to stay inside and live vicariously through other peoples' adventures that they record/photograph and release unto the internet.

i'm also going to blame global warming.

[RicardoObviouso]

i guess it comes down to a certain level of self importance, and that's what sites like this are angled towards. if you aren't a member of facebook, what are you missing? maybe someone wants to get a hold of you but can't?

[Sparq]

I use it, though I'm not entirely certain why. I was one of the last of the people I know to get roped in to it, for the same reason I got roped in to MSN Messenger back in the ICQ days. Everyone I knew switched, and suddenly the metaphorical badgers of peer pressure attacked me from all sides, screaming the name of their chosen E-Communications God like a bunch meth-head cultists.

 

That said, I appreciate it as an incredibly obvious yet stunningly effective forum for targeted, viral advertizing and market research. There's a very good reason the creator is a billionaire.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Sparq

[Lauren]

colin, i'm sorry i always forget to sign onto my other msn.

p.s. lets have coffee soon. i miss you and erik.

[Sparq]

Heh...I won't begrudge you that since you have an entire secondary account with just me on it. Agree on the coffee - just a matter of prying erik outta his burrow for a night. I haven't seen him in a while either.

 

On topic: It's better than MySpace. Eugh.

[Dan #2]

i'm on it, but as a means of keeping in touch with people at times when i wouldn't be able to in person/or a better way; it's a whole lot of bullshit, and is borderline invasive in some ways, but my gmail can't keep up with people in the same way..

[LonelyWreckage]

Some more Facebook haters:

 

[MissEmily]

I'm on Facebook. It's a load cheeper than calling my best friend in Halifax and I adore the Last.FM application. ;)

[decomposinglight]

Some more Facebook haters:

 

LMFAO. Maybe those people should stop thinking that Facebook is a substitute for an actual hobby. It's not supposed to cure your boredom. And most of the song was complaining about applications, which has nothing to do with being bored. In fact, the intent of applications is to provide an even bigger distraction for less boredom (not that I like them - blech).

 

That said, it was a pretty good Billy Joel spoof. ;)

[bishopx]

That was pretty good.

 

Anything that creates more opportunity for communication is a good thing.