At the risk of alienating all my close Facebook Friends, I’m feeling the need to get some things off my chest. It’s probably just me. Maybe I’m not smart enough to grasp the value or the potential of Facebook. The site was originally intended for folks 20 years younger than me, so maybe I’m just too old. After several months of using the site, though, these are some of the frustrations that make me wonder if it’s worth it to keep my account open…
- I don’t want to be a pirate or a ninja. And, I don’t want to deal with the endless invitations to use Facebook applications. When I want an application, I’ll go find it. Where is the “turn off application invitations” button?
- I’m not going to attend your event if you invite me through Facebook. It’s annoying. And, I’m tired of having to go through the process of removing event invitations.
- I don’t need another inbox to manage. I already have work email and private email and blog email. I don’t need Facebook email on top of that.
- Don’t poke me or superpoke me. That’s just wrong.
So, unless someone talks me off the ledge, I’m about ready to close the Facebook account. I’m sold on blogging. (Closing in on the three-year anniversary.) I’m a believer in Twitter. (Simple. Sleek. Easy.) I can certainly see the benefit to Flickr and YouTube. But, as far as I can tell, the only thing Facebook is doing is adding noise to my life. I get worn out just writing about it.
Someone…anyone…name one good reason why I shouldn’t quit.
I had a Facebook account, deleted it for a few years, recently came back. I think I regret it.
i am hanging off the edge with you. i was with facebook during its infancy…. when it was just for COLLEGE students and we didn’t have all these silly apps. i am about done with it all. its not worth my time in managing it.
It is fun finding high school and college class mates. That’s it. I just put up a basic facebook profile and disable everything else except friend invitations but you are probably too high profile and so those are annoying too since you probably don’t know most of them. Peace.
Shut my down two weeks ago. It was nothing but time consuming for me. Honestly, what is the point in it? Kill it, you will NOT regret it.
simply, because it’s a way to connect to another generation. i too get frustrated with it all…i simply choose to take a minute or two to sort through the inbox (really not a lot of time if you do it once a day), then i can enjoy the benefit of connecting with college kids, young adults and friends from long ago. i too blog and love the tool of blogging – however, blogging is narrow (generally focused only on the blog topic) and one dimensional, facebook is two dimensional and opens the conversation up to many things…thats my take and why i stay in…
Okay – this won’t be popular, but, why are you having to manage it? I get tons of “junk” there everyday; I just disregard it. At the same time, it’s a great tool through which I’m able to reach many of my former students. My blog gets as many referrals from Facebook as anywhere. I view Facebook as another reference point for my ministry. My blog feeds it automatically. I could care less how many ninja/pirate/speedracer/oregon trail invites I receive. When I do wade into it, I can still see the benefits it provides for social networking. Yes, it is noisy. But you have to learn to ignore some noise.
I still have a myspace, too. It annoys me because of the spam. But I leave it there for the same reasons.
Well, I am one of those “20-somethings” that facebook was originally created for. I just graduated college last year. When our tiny school got facebook, it was CRAZY! It was the talk of the town. All anyone did was play on facebook. That was far before the applications. Even when they started applications, I’ve gotten into some of them, but I’m regretting that.
Overall, facebook is quite a waste of time. HOWEVER, its one redeeming factor for me is quick communication with friends from high school (back home in NC) and from college (down here in SC), as well as tons of people I’ve met across the U.S. from traveling with a worship band to youth camps and such. It’s a one-stop networking place for me. I have a lot of friends who don’t blog or anything else, so facebook is nice. Maybe it isn’t that convenient for those of a bit older generation (30s and 40s).
For me, I’m one step away from closing my myspace account. Well…not even ONE whole step away…
I can’t name one good reason. well, except that it is a way to keep up with friends who haven’t seen the light about blogging yet. That and it is really great to have in Student Ministry
When your kids are older and they use it for all their pictures and news its a great way to keep up with what they’re doing. Other than that…doesn’t do a thing for me.
Because it’s one of the primary ways to communicate with the younger generations. I don’t like Facebook for all the reasons you list too, but I work with college kids everyday and it’s the only tool I can use to reach them ALL. They don’t subscribe to blogs, they check email on a VERY irregular basis, but they live on Facebook. I would love to dump it now, but I couldn’t reach these people I need to stay in touch with. If younger people aren’t your target, chuck it in a heartbeat!
dude.
it helps you stay connected.
you can check up on old buds, friends long lost.
It makes reuniting so much easier. Definately worth keeping your profile up even if you don’t update it.
come on.
you gotta love facebook.
I have set my facebook page to post my tweets and my blog posts automatically. I spend zero time on facebook except to accept new friend invitations. Everything else is ignored. Some people spend time on it, so if they want to see what I’m up to, they can find me on facebook and it costs me nothing.
I’m with you, I created and deleted my account on the same day.
I canned mine. Tired of sheep getting thrown at me. I used myspace once to kind of keep track of what my kids were doing. I found it better just to have real conversations with them instead of using online tools to “spy” on them. I dumped twitter too – didnt care who was watching tv, drinking starbucks, or shopping at the mall. Didnt figure anyone cared what I was doing either – and if they did they have a cell phone to call me.
I must agree that it is the best tool to talk to people age 18-25. These people check there facebook 10-20 times a day. Facebook is making great strides to fix the “Application” problem. You can now ignore ALL event invites, applications request, or any other request with one simple click. Messages are pretty easy to delete also. Don’t give up on it… now myspace… thats a different story. Contact Louie Giglio he using facebook very effectively.
I have it simply to know on which of my volunteers will be hung over Sunday morning.
Tony,
First of all, this is their website so they can kind of do what they want with it. They let you use it for free. You don’t go to google and say, I only want to search websites, all these stupid options for image and video searches are pointless for me.
Also, if you don’t want an application, when you get invited to it, click “block application” and it won’t come again. You’ll notice that most of the requests you get are from the same ones.
If you don’t want to go to an event, click “remove from my events”
I’m sorry that facebook isn’t perfect and I’m not like a huge facebook junkie, but I just think that you’re being a little selfish for a free website.
Carlos, that is hilarious.
How good does it work? A good case for limited profile maybe. :P
I don’t know who you are, but this post is so, so, so, so right.
Facebook out…Twitter in.
Keep it simple – Good call T-mo! :)
However, I fear (from what’s other are experiencing) this may cause Facebook’s stock to drop a little. Wait, do they have stock?
I dunno.
Hey, what’s the update on UNLEASH?
i had enough ways to stay connected, so i shut mine down a month ago. i was tired of comparing movie tastes with people that I didn’t even like that much in high school.
I started a Facebook account simply to find leads for my job as a Nissan Sales Consultant. :)
Thank Carlos for leading me to you…
One good reason? So that you can join my sarcastically-delicious group.
http://wheatonil.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10608306514
I’m not very facebook savy and I rarely use it for that reason. The thing I really like is sending and receiving flowers in my garden other than that I could do without.
You’re just angry because they only offer “poke” and “super poke,” but don’t offer “hug” and “super hug.”
If facebook offered hugs, I think you would be all over it.
Kinda funny that you have a “Share on Facebook” icon at the bottom of your “I may leave Facebook” post.
I feel you on Facebook. I teach a lot of 22-26-year-old singles and it’s about the best way to communicate with them. Not enough have Twitter yet. But some use Facebook primarily, some Myspace, some g-mail, and I don’t want to inundate them with cell phone texts, so I end up bouncing from platform to platform to keep in touch. It can get really time-consuming.
Tony, Im with you. But when you have grown children that is one of the ways you get to see what is going on with them. By way of the pictures they choose to share with friends. I will stay with facebook for awhile longer.
Don’t go, bro!
You can’t dis Facebook about “noise” as long as you have all these sponsored ads popping up everywhere on your blog. :)
I recruited 3 college students to work in Children’s Ministry by using their facebook contact…sweet!
Those things annoy me too. I think that some of these applications you mentioned are created by regular facebook users though. I was able to decline all of the invitations (or ignore them).
It’s easier and easier to clean it up now. You can block the sheep throwing and Oregon Trail invitations and all the others that are repetitive.
In Student Ministry it’s been really easy to start a group for your ministry and have it’s own “wall” and to be able to send out a msg quickly to everyone and know you’re hitting 95% of your kids. It was also a great way to send a quick msg to visitors as well. “Glad you were at church tonight. yadda yadda yadda”
Now that my job transitioned, I don’t use it quite as much. But there are plenty of adults that I still keep up with through it. And I think Facebook is about to restructure their “friend” hierarchy soon.
I hear ya – my account is active only because I haven’t inactivated it. No bandwidth to stay up on it.
I agree that facebook adds too much noise. My wife got mad at me when she sent me a hug through the “hug” application and I refused to install that application. Instead I hugged her by writing on her wall. Way too much!
However, I’ve got too many friends who I’ve only been able to connect with them through facebook. They don’t blog and some of them aren’t likely to follow my blogs regularly, but it’s nice to keep tabs on them (but I also don’t accept friendships with everyone who sends me a request). So, it’s too easy of a platform to keep in touch with my real friends who don’t blog or aren’t apt at keeping up with blogs.