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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 22:22:23 GMT
from Bixa: I have to piggy-back my OP onto this post, as moving posts from the Anyport's Facebook Page thread to here bumped the OP to the bottom.
So here it is, laud, gripe, & comment on the social networking giant .............~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ back to Kerouac's post:Here is some other Facebook information that might be useful. www.pcworld.com/article/257737/the_10_most_annoying_facebook_features.html
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2012 19:08:42 GMT
On my first Facebook account, I used my real world email address and was horrified at how it had tracked down everybody I know. "Perhaps you would like to become friends with...." And when I visited some of those pages and saw what crummy movies my nephews had liked and even what breakfast cereal they eat, I knew that I had to get out immediately. So I changed my email for the account to an address that I almost never visit (and it generally has 'important' news to the tune of about 200 messages) and made every possible thing about me 'private.'
I can see the utility of Facebook, but I will resist it to the max as long as it tries to suck every possible thing out of me like a vacuum cleaner.
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Post by htmb on Jul 2, 2012 19:52:31 GMT
I don't like FB very much. I fought using it for a very long time, and finally gave in a couple of years ago. With four adult children spread across the USA, and five grandchildren ages 11 months to 5 years, it is a very helpful way to keep in touch with the family. We also, text, call, and now talk on FaceTime. It seems that every little bit helps. I use a FB app so I don't get to see all the advertising on the Internet site. Of course, many of my old high school "friends" found me, but this has been a big year for all of us age-wise, and I guess misery loves company.
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Post by tod2 on Jul 3, 2012 7:07:11 GMT
I have only kept my FB going so that I can keep in contact with my neice in Australia, for my mother's sake. But, the news comes via my sister in Cape Town by email or telephone, so I am seriously thinking of cutting the cord, once and for all. The most distressing thing was, just like Kerouac, people from way back and even down to the man who cleans my carpets wanted "To Be My Friend".......Oh Paleeeeees! I'm of the opinion that if you have not kept in contact with school mates, or other relatives and friends, what's the point of hooking up now?? Just to find out if they are married, divorced, are rich or poor, famous or have done nothing really spectacular?! I couldn't care less...
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Post by bjd on Jul 3, 2012 7:30:03 GMT
I started a FB page in March only because it seemed that I needed to do so to get results for a race I was interested in. It turned out to be nothing but photos of people taking pics of themselves before the run. I cancelled the account a few days later.
I'm not being paranoid, but don't like Google telling me they can transfer things from my regular email account to gmail, and other signs of my life being tracked. I don't need Facebook, Twitter or any of those things. I was actually even quite pleased when I met up with old friends from university when in Canada a couple of weeks ago and discovered that several of them didn't even have cellphones.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2012 14:29:59 GMT
For some reason my posts in the Anyport Facebook thread in the Free Trade Zone section were omitted from this thread here when it was started.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 3, 2012 14:54:23 GMT
Your posts were directed to the Anyport fb Page thread. Just cut & paste any pertinent parts here.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2012 10:20:27 GMT
It's ok. I get into these snits and then have to really just shut the f up. It's hot here and we are in a drought. I'm cranky and need not come online and post when that happens. Although............
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 4, 2012 15:37:34 GMT
That thing Kerouac said about fb's enormous sucking power is what bothers me. Any time you're asked to participate in a poll or take a fun test or whatever, you get a window saying that by accepting you're allowing fb to access all your info, that of your fb friends, etc. etc., which is unacceptable.
Another thing is that photos & suchlike you put on fb never really go away, since they're stored on fb's servers. You post on fb & it's scattered to the winds. My fb account is largely given over to communications between people rescuing and adopting out animals. I hide the photos once any animal in my care is adopted, but I can't do anything about the ones that were Shared or put on other pages. This leads directly to the most annoying aspect of fb -- how difficult it is to see postings in context because of fb's commitment to cramming as much as possible into the space available. To anyone used to forums, the lack of organization on fb is maddening.
That said, the power of fb to disseminate information is astounding. Everything annoying and potentially bad about it works in your favor if you want to reach a big number of people easily. However, as Bjd points out, it will never replace a well-run website in terms of efficiently presenting facts and updates.
To me one of the biggest pluses of fb is how it can introduce you to things you might not find otherwise. "Liking" special-interest pages brings in tons of posts. If you find you don't care for what is generated by a particular page, you simply get rid of it. But often enough there are either useful nuggets or pathways to information that is new & fascinating. It's also an excellent way to come in contact with people in your own community with similar interests.
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LouisXIV
member
Offline
L'estat c'est moi.
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Post by LouisXIV on Jul 4, 2012 16:59:37 GMT
I agree with much of the above. Here is what I like about Facebook; keeping up with family and friends, especially my former exchange students and famlies (the chat feature), I have almost stopped using my e-mail accout, that is, the funny ones that people pass along. I only have two or three people doing this now and most are deleated, after a little laugh of course. The occational one I want to pass along, maybe one a month, I post it on FB. I do post some pictures, but I do enjoy seeing what my former exchange student are doing, I had 13 of them. What I don't like; businesses that post junk for or five times a day, think real hard about clicking on "like" on a business, you will never stop hearing from them, I will never accept anyting that will require an app. (a few months ago I went to my FB profile and delated all the apps) and I have found some of my "friends", well maybe friends a long time in the past, can really clutter up my page with pictures of their kids, grand kids, pets or what ever. I have become very selective in adding new friends. But I will say I have found some people on FB that I could not locate any other way.
In talking with some of the local people in the business community they seem to feel that FB has lost its luster. I personally feel FB is another fad that we will have to wait for its time to end.
I have been with the same Internet provider for about 10 years now and have my e-mail with them. In the last couple years I have been getting a lot of spam, 40 or 50 a day. About six months ago I opened a gmail account and I am very selective on who gets that address. When I purchase something on the internet and need to give an e-mail address on some web site, I give my OLD address. Now I go to my old address once a week, scan through the e-mails and usually delete everything with one click. My gmail account is squeeky clean ;D
I have noticed that AnyPort has posted on my FB page and that is fine and a few times there were posts I want to read and many times I have "shared" them. Just spreading the word.
I don't tweet. Louis is not a bird!
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Post by mich64 on Jul 4, 2012 20:25:51 GMT
For myself, Facebook was essential as I was healing from my brain injury. It would take me approximately 5 minutes to type out a sentence at first, but I felt so empowered that I had found a way to communicate with my family and friends. My doctors encouraged me to play the games to help with cognitive functions and my memory. I still play a few and even have the confidence now to play Words with Friends. Family and friends have noticed an improvement in my writing skills on Facebook, but that I attribute to Any port. Constantly reading posts here everyday has expanded my language and grammar skills, written and spoken. Thank you Facebook and Any Port! And a special thank you to Kerouac for a post he made, on I think Fodor's, with a link to Any port that brought me to this community. I will continue to click my likes and share Any port on my Facebook page. Thanks Bixa!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2012 20:45:24 GMT
That Kerouac, he is always messing around with people's minds.
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Post by htmb on Jul 4, 2012 22:41:18 GMT
That's really amazing, mich. You sound like a very brave and determined person. It's fascinating how social networking has helped facilitate your healing.
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Post by mich64 on Jul 5, 2012 0:36:05 GMT
Thank you htmb. When you are screaming from the inside trying to get people to realize you do understand what is happening around you, you become desperate to communicate. I also had a flat affect, no expression, therefore I was unable to express that I was okay inside. Once I realized I could poke at my laptop I found a way to release information that gave my family, and myself, hope.
I have numerous nieces, nephews and godchildren that helped and encouraged me through Facebook, it was incredibly helpful to my situation.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 11, 2012 20:59:04 GMT
I guess that FB has it's uses, a lot of people seem to love it. I've kept away from it as I see it more as a young persons' domain...I don't really understand how it works anyway...being a bit of a numpty
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Post by Kimby on Jul 11, 2012 21:44:35 GMT
Louis 14 has it right. Be judicious in who you allow to be your friend.
If you allow someone in but are "uninspired" by their contributions, you don't have to unfriend them, just block their posts from appearing in your news feed. If you want to check in on them periodically to see if they've cleaned up their act, you can.
Be cautious about liking a business. Not only will you get all their posts in your news feed, but your name may appear on other people's pages as someone who "likes" Walmart or Target, etc. (Though I've heard you can get discounts if you allow your name to be flaunted.)
Check FB every day if you can. That way you will have only a few pages of stuff to look at before you get into territory you've already seen. If you wait too long, you'll miss too much to go back and look for.
The notifications are the best. When you open FB, you'll get a little number counter for additions to threads you've posted in, as well as for private messages and friend requests.
If FB asks you if you want to look for your friends, don't! It will invade your email address book (and invite everyone in it to become your facebook friend? Not sure how it works.)
Don't accept any "apps" that require you to allow FB access to your info. Period.
All that said, my initial dislike of FB has modified to acceptance, and gratitude for this way to keep in touch with my sisters and niece who are too busy to email anymore! With their i-Phones, they are always plugged into FB.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Aug 22, 2012 12:16:22 GMT
No FB nor Google+ for me. I have other ways of keeping in touch.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 22, 2012 15:26:05 GMT
Just went back and read through this page. Although I'm in agreement with every negative point listed about facebook, it would seem the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, especially since there are ways to sidestep almost all of the negative features.
The positive aspect most often mentioned is keeping in touch, which is countered by some people saying they prefer other methods of staying in contact. However, as Mich movingly pointed out, you'll have more contact with a younger generation of your family with facebook. Rather than formal letters or calls, you have frequent glimpses of their lives and personalities that would be missed in regular long-distance contact.
Still, there are ways to benefit from facebook from behind a screen, as it were. Kimby's comments should be engraved in gold for anyone contemplating using fb. But you can preserve your privacy even more by creating your account with a made-up name & by utilizing every privacy check facebook provides. If you do that, no one can find you even by doing an fb search. So what's the point of that? It means you can access information from fb without having to be interactive. Facebook craftily forces people to join in order to see even public things on their network, so you'd have an in to those items while remaining anonymous online.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2012 12:35:20 GMT
I can appreciate the positive things that FB has provided for people but, I, like Don C. and Cheery and some other comments on here have and prefer other methods of communication. I particularly abhor the way it is often shoved down other people's throats as "the " ultimate in communication tools. One thing in particular that's really bugging me is how it is assumed that everyone uses FB and therefore if you want to see pictures of friends artwork, view music updates and in one particular case that really is bugging me right now is or neighborhood association newsletter and updates. I have been an active member of my neighborhood since buying a home here in 1985. Very active. Now, in order to get updates on what's going on it's available only on FB! This to me is discriminatory and presumptuous and really pisses me off. Not to even begin to mention that it's discriminatory to many elderly residents or people who don't even have computers that have lived here all their lives.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 23, 2012 15:46:47 GMT
Casimira, I wrote my last comments pretty much for people like you -- people who would prefer not to fool with facebook, but who are surrounded by people who assume that everyone else uses it.
What I have found is that many people's entire experience with the computer is facebook, oddly enough. The problem is that you can't convince them that there are other, better ways for groups or organizations to promote themselves and to share information. I'm involved with the animal rescue community here and just grind my teeth in frustration over the lapses of communication caused by using fb as an organizational tool, which it just is not. Yes, having a Facebook Page is a good way to lead people to your website, printed publication, business, etc., but as an adjunct, not the main dish.
I'd say that probably your neighborhood association is using facebook because that was the decision (or the only experience) of the volunteer in charge of publicity. The problem is finding people willing and able to do the work of running a website or of producing a newsletter -- neither of which are small jobs. There are some easy-to-use free websites out there if you can find someone willing to put one together & maintain it. In order to include people who don't use the internet at all, the association needs to find a volunteer(s) willing to gather, organize, & type the information, plus getting it copied & distributed.
I'm not saying that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Obviously your concerns about some association members being left out of the loop is legitimate. But until the problem is adequately addressed, you might want to think about making an anonymous and completely protected account in order to access the neighborhood association's fb information, along with other only-on-fb items you mentioned.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2012 16:53:28 GMT
And, you are absolutely correct in what you say and I know that this is the next task at hand. For years, I was on the newsletter distribution volunteer committee and I didn't mind doing it at all, it actually was a cool way to go into people's private property, spy cool things in the way of plants, pets etc., because I had a legitimate reason to do so. And, getting to meet and know new people or reacquaint myself with people whose paths I don't often cross other wise. I know that at the next board meeting I go to I need to have something prepared in the way of an alternative to FB, and, am working on it in my head as to how or what to do it as efficiently and effectively as possible. The current "secretary" is not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed unfortunately, and, I don't want to put him on the spot but, something, another alternative does need to be made available and the FB route is just simply too easy an out to meet my satisfaction and serve in the best interest of the community. Thanks for your imput Bixa.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2012 22:06:03 GMT
I confess to being annoyed at almost every site that requires registration proposing "sign in with your FaceBook account." On many sites, I am my real self, so I could never sign in with my FaceBook account, which is an anonymous fabrication. It makes me feel that the majority of the commercial sites in the world have knelt down before FaceBook's power and have given up all hope of remaining independent.
And of course at the same time, it makes it more and more obvious that FaceBook is collecting every little scrap of information about anybody signing in anywhere in the world on any site that accepts their protocol.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2012 23:44:55 GMT
I seriously do view them as a monopoly of sorts, and, am really dismayed that so many people, organizations etc. that I respect have "caved" into them and don't look toward more creative and independent means of communication. They are the corporate icons of today's communication world, and the same people who eschew the big box stores and other corporate giants of today don't seem to see it that way.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2012 15:49:52 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2016 17:25:26 GMT
How and why to use Facebook if you hate Facebook:
There are more and more people who don't use regular mail nor email, relying on FB to communicate. If you hope to see baby photos, etc. from those people, make yourself an account so you'll have access.
Many organizations only communicate with their members via FB, so that's a reason to bite the bullet and make yourself an account.
If you want anonymity, plug in every privacy feature FB provides. You an also use a fake name & hope that FB doesn't notice.
Only give access to people whose content you're sure you want to see. If you do have a friend whose content annoys you, you can block the content without having to unfriend the person. They'll never know.
One of the most rewarding uses of Facebook is access to news and specialty outlets, which means you'll have fresh nuggets of information served up to you all the time. You can search topics at the very top of any FB page. If you search the words "history" or "knitting" for instance, you'll be offered hundreds of Pages and Groups on those subjects. "Like" the ones which seem promising to have their content arrive in your newsfeed.
For news or magazines, it's somewhat easier to "Like" something you already know and trust. For instance, if you "Like" Smithsonian or The Guardian, you'll get what they share, which leads to other outlets, plus FB can give suggestions for similar content.
In general, if you value your privacy do not sign into sites on the internet using your FB or Google+ accounts. Make separate accounts for sites which require sign-in.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 17, 2021 4:47:28 GMT
It occurs to me that I have not nagged anyone on anyport about facebook in ages. Let me now remedy that situation with a nice little suggestion. If you go to your Profile page on facebook, you will see that you have the big picture at the top, a smaller inset picture, then your name. Right below your name on the right hand side, you will see the words "Edit Profile". Click on that. You'll be given some choices. The third choice is "Bio". What you want to do there is paste this: anyportinastorm.proboards.com/Isn't that a great idea?! Whoever visits your profile will see that intriguing link right below your name & be motivated to click on it. That click will magically whisk that lucky person to this forum, making you a force for good.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 17, 2021 18:38:56 GMT
Done.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 17, 2021 19:04:48 GMT
I kiss the dainty hand that typed that!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 17, 2021 19:08:37 GMT
I've been planting potatoes....my hands are very grubby...
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 17, 2021 19:10:11 GMT
Oh well, so are my lips. (Seriously, it's very dry here and right now the house is filled with microscopic cement dust.)
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