Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
03/30/2009I took some time off from writing for the blog in hopes that I could renew the batteries a bit. Of course, I’ve been online and reading, but nothing caught my eye or ear to write about. As I read Facebook updates and tweets during this time, I began to notice an old creeping sensation slowly moving up my spine.
As you may remember from my early posts, I was initially hesitant to start using Twitter and Facebook because I didn’t feel that I had anything relevant to share with the world. What I had for lunch or even what I thought of a movie was not something that I felt would be interesting. Since then, I’ve been exposed to some fascinating interaction during the December 2009 blackout in Honolulu and I’ve even managed to help get 29 of my high school classmates to create Facebook accounts.
What’s the problem you ask? It starts with the running “feud” between Facebook and Twitter users that can summed up with the phrase, “Facebook is to keep in touch with people you knew before and Twitter is for talking to people you’d like to know”. In case you’ve been fortunate enough NOT to have encountered this schism, Facebook people are snobs about roping-in the most people from their past and Tweeters take pride in ridiculous numbers of followers who they’ve never met. Does either extreme sound good to you?
OK, ignoring fringe elements has been a hobby of mine for many years so I should have been able to let this pass with ease. I was successful at first, but recently it’s been more difficult. I thought maybe it was the Twitter overload I talked about before. Then it struck me. Just like IRL (in real life), there are morons everywhere! I guess I should have realized right off the bat that creating communities from a (at the base level) socially challenged group would be problematic. There’s a reason why geeks have the reputation they have and they’ve only redoubled their efforts in the new medium. Speaking as a (almost) reformed geek, overcoming this anti-social DNA requires some strong medicine. When you combine this bunch with the casual computer user who joins because the interface is easy to use, you get a volatile mix that is liable to burst into flames.
Facebook is full of people I barely knew, those who want to be my friend only because they want me to join a game with them, or gambling addicts looking for a poker chip handout. Twitter is replete with people who would have been gagged and stuffed into a dumpster for failing to curtail their predilection to blurt every thought that popped into their head. But these are domains where they rule. Places where they have all the knowledge and the general public has none.
So what is a person to do? Well, I’ve reviewed my Twitter follows and removed a bunch that irritate me on a regular basis. I’m eyeing a few who, while mildly entertaining, blather endlessly on topics only a middle-schooler would care about. On Facebook, I could easily delete people without their knowledge. Instead, I’ve created lists of friends and carefully segmented who can see what. Neither of these is a perfect solution, but it keeps me sane while I wait for some real software to handle things like this in an automated fashion.
So, where does all this leave me? Sadly, it brings me full circle with the same questions I started out with. Stay tuned for and see if I break free from the grip of inertia or mire in the quicksand.
So That's Life? 
Been wondering what you’ve been up to. I hadn’t picked up on this “schism,” but you’ve articulated it well. But I’d say in both cases, for some people, it’s all about numbers, and for those people, “people you want to know” or don’t know factor equally. Except Facebook caps you at 5,000. Twitter has no cap.
The difference to me is that Twitter is open, largely, and Facebook remains a walled garden. The fact that Facebook has made both design and privacy changes to more emulate Twitter tells me they know which way the wind is blowing.
Thanks Ryan. There’s just been too much going on in my life for a while!
Perhaps dichotomy would have been a better word. We have extremists on both sides and, coming from a more objective perspective, it is sometimes difficult to reconcile my dealings with the evangelists. Twitter is still in a infancy/growth phase (as is evident with the frequent service glitches) while Facebook is definitely in the brand establishment phase. I try not to be judgmental and look for specific benefits that each offers. Both will adapt to changing needs. I hope that they each mature accordingly!
“Facebook is full of people I barely knew, those who want to be my friend only because they want me to join a game with them, or gambling addicts looking for a poker chip handout.”
Hmmmm…wonder where I fall into!! LOL
Will NOW be adding you in Twitter!!!
Wow, your second paragraph pretty much sums how I feel about communication in the virtual world. Tonight’s lecture was a wake up call for me. So far the wind has been blowing right over my head… Perhaps it is time for me to turn my back…
I liked your thoughts. So absolutely right, man. Thanks for the link.