Dislike
I still hate Facebook. Always have and always will. But I’m forced to use it, so I take advantage of it the best I can. Many people have made it their only means of communication.
However, do you remember when people talked to each other? I mean actually called up, or came over and talked about a trip they took or when their child did something special? Now it’s a low grade picture and a caption shared among certain groups or possibly publicly. If you’re lucky, you can get a couple of horribly worded paragraphs.
OK and sure you can “like” something. Or even now we can laugh, be thoughtful, angry, shocked and love something. Where’s the “fuck you” button, or don’t give two shits button? I bet they’d get used more than the others.
But here’s where you really find out who gives a shit and who don’t. People who used to call and tell you I love you, or want to talk about their life, now just wait for attention from everyone to see who wants to give them a like or some pity comment. Or wait for that praise on how pretty your 5000th selfie is. Seriously, for some of you beauty is only skin deep.
When a special occasion happens like a birthday, graduation, wedding or a “first” of some sort. Such as your baby’s first word or step. Is now a mere photograph or video online reduced in quality for easy loading on grandma’s phone. No one shares actual high quality photos or videos anymore. As an example. I have two kids who are married. Wedding photos? Why you can look at them on Facebook! Low grade, grainy quality, good luck putting them up on the wall and don’t look too closely as they are pixelated from trying to “blow them up” to fit a 5×7 photo frame. Same thing goes for my grand children. Can’t get an actual photo to hang up, just have to right click and save from Facebook. I live a little over 30 minutes away now. But unless I go and take pictures myself, this is all I get. Sadly, I generally am not there when something special happens.
Video’s are even harder to deal with. Your phone may be able to record in High Def or Ultra High Def, but good luck getting Facebook to allow you to download that quality. Phones generally automatically reduce quality when uploading to social media. Again, so you can look at it on a portable device quickly.
I remember a few short years ago, I tried share a life event on Facebook. Mostly because I was very weak and could barely speak cognitively and my mom didn’t know most of the phone numbers needed to contact folks. I got a lot of angry people telling me finding out on Facebook wasn’t cool.
Though I could say the same about finding out a month late that my step daughter was pregnant for the second time. By chance I was scrolling through old posts of hers. Which is hard to do when you have to fish for anything worth while among the bat shit crazy list of things I could care less about. Foamy says it best here:
Unfortunately I catch myself sharing things that I’m sure some of you don’t care about. Before Facebook, this would’ve never been known that I have such feelings about stuff. Though I don’t apologize for who I am. I know I’ve lost a few “friends” because of this. If you can call Facebook friends real friends. Some of these people I don’t really know, they just added me to their list or follow me. Though, I do try to keep things I share to a minimum.
Honestly though, I miss things the way they used to be. Family gatherings, talking on the phone or in person, and sharing photos and videos in ways that they can be appreciated by showing them off on a wall or full size screen. Mobile isn’t great for people with fading eyesight.
Why did you Friend me?
It’s no secret that I’m not that big of a fan of Facebook or any Social Networking for that fact. However since it is the only way to reach some folks. As they never check their email or texts. I’ve conceded to it and managed to find a use for it on a small level. Like draw your attention to the real internet. Also, to make you laugh, think, admire my web design skills, advice on your technical gear or wonder when I will take over the world with my army of Flying Monkeys. Probably all I will ever do with it too.
What I don’t understand is why of the (current count) 61 friends I have, there’s a good handful who never talk to me. They added me as a Friend, but then have yet to speak one word to me. Some have added me, then dropped me, then added me again. I guess they are on the fence about being my friend. Then there are a couple of individuals who don’t actually talk to me as a friend, but they just advertise their goofy business ventures of things I’d never be interested in. They would know that if there were truly my friend. They would know something about me.
Why would you just add me and never speak to me? Say hello or at least act like you’re my friend. Can’t say I count some of my Facebook friends as actual Friends. Some I have refused their request as I just don’t see the point. Plus, I don’t see the need to have 500 friends who just end up ignoring things I share anyways. Is there some sort of prize for having huge numbers of people you’ve never met or even spoken too?
As for me, I’ll only add people I actually know as a friend. Doesn’t mean we’ve ever met face to face, but we’ve built a rapport online or over the phone at the very least. Plus, I’ll actually make an effort to keep contact with you. Sure it might be a couple of months between chats, but it’s an effort to maintain some friendship. Not like I’ll ask you to help me move. Don’t think I’ll ever ask for anyone’s help to do that again. Last couple of times has left me feeling guilty. Sadly this last time wasn’t my fault, yet I feel like I’ve been a bad person for having to have done it.
Finally, if you don’t have time for me ever, don’t bother with me. That’s just rude. Adding me as a friend and then never speak to me. Or perhaps talk to me once saying we should get together sometime and then never follow up on it. If I have to wait for that kind of nonsense, this is what will happen.
So if you’re going to be my friend, put a little effort into it. I’m not asking for too much. Just a note or message every couple of months. Otherwise if all I am is someone you knew or have no time for. Leave me be. It’s much lonelier to be alone surrounded by people who don’t care. I’d rather be involved with those who do.
Word Crimes
What do “Weird Al” Yankovic, Foamy and Myself have in common? We all have an animosity toward stupidity. Combining laziness, sagging education standards along with some slack parenting and you get today’s society. I rant about it, Foamy rants about it and this here is Mr. Yankovic’s new video 🙂
Also see his previous video about junk email. (Though Facebook is pretty much the same thing – instead of forwarding, people simply re-share the nonsense.)
Beer Good! Napster Bad!
Not that I like beer. To me it smells like old rotting pizza dough in the dumpster during a hot summer day. Can’t stand the smell of it, certainly don’t want a liquified version of it in my mouth. {turns head and vomits} Though I do remember when the internet was awesome and fun. Before the self absorbed twats taking selfies. Before “planking” was cool… How the hell did that get cool? Must the what happens when you let mindless morons collaborate on social media sites. Or perhaps it’s the sheep effect. One moron does it, so the rest follow suit. Oh wait, that would be the misconception of Lemmings. (Which is an awesome old game you can play.) Although proof of concept, humans tend to be more like Lemmings than Lemmings themselves by their nature to “follow what everyone else is doing”. Hence the popularity of the aforementioned activities, as well as Facebook and Twat.. er Twitter.
However, before there was Twitter (July 2006). Before the soul sucking Facebook (February 2004). Even before MySpace (May 2000)… There were talented people all over the internet who ran their own websites and did wonderful things like flash animated cartoons. Joe Cartoon, Camp Chaos and more! Back in the days when Napster was an evil file sharing site and not the legit music site that merged with Rhapsody in 2011.
Here is one of my personal favorites from the Golden Age of Internet: Napster Bad!
It’s just fun running around growling Beer Good! Napster Bad! You can see more old Camp Chaos!
Sharing is not always Caring
While the world is all about sharing these days, most kinds of sharing have convenient ways they can be filtered for content. On the various Social Networks, you can unfriend, unfollow, unsubscribe, block and ignore. Websites you don’t like, you can simply hit the back button or close the browser and the offensive content is gone just like that. Even in real life, you can decide not to watch or look or listen to things that bother you. Well… Usually.
But there has always been the group, even long before the internet was going on, that must be heard no matter if you want too or not. No matter how loud your headphones are, or effectively you plug/cover your ears, they can still be heard anytime day or night. Sometimes you can hear them coming down the highway long before you can clearly see them. And listen to them long after they’ve passed you. Complete douchebags with their cars, trucks and motorcycles. Equipped with obnoxiously loud exhaust systems and over the top sound systems. Pumping, thumping, ripping, revving and racing all over the country. Don’t get me wrong, I am an old school rocker who loves live music, fast cars and going fast down a two-track on a motorcycle. But there’s a time and place for these activities. Even when I was a kid driving big block V8 engines with my overkill Sparkomatic stereo system. Hey, I’m not like these folks and spend every dime I have to annoy everyone else around me.
And that’s just it. There seems to be a large group of people with one or more of these items who must be heard no matter where they are or what time of day it is. Four o’clock in the morning I don’t need to ripped from my sleep just to hear how some “Nigga, popped a cap in some bitch-ass punk, over some Hoe.“. I’m trying to sleep, so later on I can help your moronic ass figure out what email program you’ve been using for the past 4 years. When I’m out walking trying to listen to music I like while wearing headphones, I don’t need to hear your Harley revved up and echoing under the bridge at ear bleeding decibels drowning out every other noise in the world. When I have a migraine headache and trying to enjoy the silence in my home, I don’t want to hear your Mom’s Nissan with the exhaust cut off blasting by. I don’t need it, and I’m positive there are hundreds of thousands of other people just like me who don’t enjoy it either.
It seems every day I say, “Thanks for sharing. Asshole.”.
When I had a loud car or stereo system, I was still considerate to others. I’d only let it be loud out in the country. Certainly easier to be inconsiderate to cows, horses, and the occasional farm house. But when I’m in town, there may be a lot of apartments above stores (especially where I live now), or when I enter a residential area, I keep the roar dull and the music down. As these folks may want to enjoy their day off. Or sleep for their job, no matter what the hours are.. Or endure their illness without added discomfort.
Obnoxious assholes who must be as loud as possible wherever they go only prove a few things:
- They have absolutely no consideration for others
- They are completely self absorbed
- And have too much money
That and how Rappers and Country singers really need to let a cheating woman go, they aren’t worth the jail time. But that’s a rant for another time.
30 Days with my Windows Phone 8
Firstly, I can’t put blame on the phone itself for the initial trials I had to withstand activating service on my new phone. I blame AT&T for being boneheads.
I wanted to transfer my existing phone number to my new phone, but there’s no way to do it online and the first customer rep just dumped me on an automated activation system. That got me pissed. So I fought with the computer until I got a human who was willing to try. She got me a temporary number and of course got my money. Then came time to transfer the number. I was calling on my office phone, which meant I still had my old phone working and my new phone with a temporary number. Three phones at my disposal for use, but she kept fussing about my office phone not being loud enough. She could’ve called me back on one of the other phones so we could continue that way, but instead she just kept bitching about not being able to hear me. So, after 20 minutes of futility, I gave up and said I’d just keep my new number. Not sure how long it will last, as the account she setup for me doesn’t have my name on it. But I guess as long as the payments go through, it should work.
So yeah, AT&T are boneheads.
Now on to reviewing the phone itself!
Apps – Functionality & Availability
I’ve had the phone for 30 days now and contrary to what others have told me, I am finding that I get plenty of satisfaction from my Windows Phone 8 Apps. Sure I’m still missing a small handful that I’d really like to have, but I have faith they are coming soon. Although, Microsoft isn’t scouring the app store strongly enough. There are a good handful of apps I’ve found that serve little to no purpose or cause users issues. Still it’s not nearly as run away as the Android store is. You can find all sorts of apps laden with malware and poor coding. While I’d like to say the Apple Store is crap free, it’s not either. Some of the apps I found when I owned a MacBook Pro that were complete crap as well.
A side note about an app that is going away. MetroTalk: I was going to use it for Google Voice. Google doesn’t have but one official app for Windows Phone 8 and that’s just for search. Not for Gmail, not for Google Voice, or maps, or any of their other products. It’s not that they can’t, they just don’t. However, it’s not necessary to use an app to receive Google Voice calls or voicemails. Only to make out going calls using your Google Voice number. I can do that from the Google Voice website. So it’s only a few extra, not too painful steps. I’m so glad I didn’t buy the MetroTalk app. It handles Google Voice, but after I installed the trial version, it informed me that as of May 1, it was going away due to a request by Google. So it kind of sucks that Google is not providing software but also not allowing it by someone else. This makes me a bit annoyed at the third party developer now. As they are still trying to sell an app that will be useless soon. That seems a bit underhanded in my opinion.
Photo Gallery
This thing integrates your cameras pictures with your Facebook photos along with all your friends Facebook photos. You an view, share, like and comment directly on photos right from your photo gallery. It is very handy and super easy to navigate.
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- Photo Albums
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- Photo Main
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- Photos Facebook
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- Photos Favorites
Live Tiles (Metro)
As I said on Facebook when I posted about Windows XP going away:
Metro can kiss my ass. It’s brilliant on my Windows 8 Phone, but has no place on a desktop or laptop PC. Especially in a work environment. Should only be on tablets and phones.
And that is very true. Metro as far as I’m concerned should’ve never been part of the desktop OS. But on Tablets and the Windows Phone 8? It’s flippin’ brilliant! They keep me informed and I can arrange them any way I see fit at any given time.
On my desktop, I don’t have a touchscreen. I don’t want one, as I wouldn’t want to reach over my desk to touch the screen that I yell at others for putting fingerprints all over on it. I don’t want that in my desktop or laptop computer. I prefer a mouse. Millions of other dissatisfied Windows 8 desktop and laptop customers agree with me completely. I’ve lost count on how many people I’ve turned on to Classic Shell to bypass Metro and get back to a working computer.
But hell yes, I love the tiles on my mobile and would love it on a tablet. If Microsoft would just get that through their pointy heads. Keep the two separate. Let me multitask in “windows”. You know those things you can have 50 open and all over your screen? Yeah those, they make life productive and gee, seems that’s how the OS got it’s name in the first place.
People and Groups
One of the best features is that when you put in all your accounts for example: Windows Live, Google, Facebook, Skype and Twitter. The phone then combines them all under People. From there you can see all your friends and family’s updates, it pulls in pictures to your Photos area. You can post updates to all your social networks from one simple place. You can create groups and then text, message, email and share on all the different methods you’ve added. It’s a very handy way to keep certain groups of people in the know and they can share back with you. You can even do it with the various calendars (i.e. Google, Live, etc..) and everyone can keep track of all events and gatherings.
Social Networking
For all you social networking and text junkies, you just can’t deny Windows Phone 8 is a great social tool. It combines your SMS and Facebook in the message center you use for texting. You can set your online availability, message and view who’s where. Plus as mentioned already, you get a constant feed in your photos of things on Facebook as well. You can comment and share without having to log into the Facebook app. One interface and you can post to all your social networks at once. No need to open the various apps.
Not just status updates but faster at taking and sharing photos as well.
Office Mobile and OneNote
Having these included, make my phone incredibly useful. No more specialized or purchased apps to handle my financial files or keep track of my medications. I can quickly make a note to remember things later and no more need for forgetting my shopping list as it’s on my phone with me. Also handy for when I think of something but may forget to write it down. Just open the phone and pop it on my list.
What makes it even handier, is that MS Office file formats are much more common than Open Document Format. This way I can keep things in MS file formats and not have to remember to convert files from one to another if I want to share the files for whatever reason.
Turns out I’m more of a Microsoft fan than I had realized before. I’m a PC, even on my phone 😉
There’s a rant for another day. The whole “I’m a PC”, “I’m a Mac” thing. PC stands for personal computer regardless of the operating system software on it. Therefore, everyone is a PC unless they don’t have one. So take that you Mac bastards!! 😈
Overall
The phone is still very zippy quick and incredibly comfortable to use. Hope it stays that way. I think Microsoft did it right this time. Just need some developers to jump on board. While Android still runs about 80% of the market, perhaps Windows can put the squeeze on iPhone.
Need to find useful and good Windows Phone 8 Apps? Click this link and you can see the ones I’m currently using and am happy with. (List may change on occasion.)
Point of Interest: I haven’t had to reboot this phone once since I did my last write up.
Too Much?
Just something I feel very strongly about.
Disclaimer for the overly sensitive: I would not actually do this as it implies murder. Although in this case I would be inclined to call it population control. By eliminating the idiotic people who feel that texting is something they need to do at all times. Even though it could be fatal to others while the offenders do not pay attention to traffic, and it is just as bad, if not worse than drunk driving. Just sayin’ … as the kids say…
Hackers and Stalkers….
One of my biggest annoyances with social networking, is how we simply degrade the meaning of terms. Terms that once held, in what I would call, a higher standard before as opposed to the way it’s used today.
Hacker
It’s funny how the term hacking has really lost most of its meaning. Hacking used to require skill to obtain the previously thought unobtainable. Now all one has to do to “hack” is wait for someone to forget to log out of their account and simply mess with openly available settings… I’m so very disappointed that just about anyone can be considered a hacker now. Back in the day, you wouldn’t even get called a hacker if you used a known exploit to obtain your objective. You were looked down upon as less than a hacker, and given names like “script-kiddies” or something along those lines.
To me, what is happening in most cases, should simply be referred to as a “prank”. The target person or so-called victim, didn’t pay enough attention to the fact that they forgot to log out of their account before walking away. Someone else simply took advantage of this situation to be mischievous. In the case of my nephew doing this very thing yesterday, he’s now being punished for hacking the account. He hasn’t discovered the password, he didn’t bypass any security measures and he is certainly not posing any threat to any other users on Facebook. He merely took advantage some someone’s carelessness in order to have a little harmless fun. I am certainly not against him being punished. However, punish a person for their crimes, not for the victims ignorance, and then label the perpetrator something they are really not.
Stalker
I’m sure when his mom figures out why I wrote this post, she will likely refer to me as a stalker. It seems everyone is a “stalker” now. All one has to do to earn this label today, is merely read what is publicly available to them. It used to be that this term, was a gross and disgusting label that was once given to only people, who literally had some mental issue that would instill fear in to their targets. I cringe every time I get called a stalker. It makes my skin crawl and turns my stomach, as I would never ever want to be labeled a stalker. I don’t think it’s remotely funny, I do not find it a cute term of endearment, or even think it should be referred to as someone who reads. That’s all it amounts too these days. What the hell happened to society. I mean, if you don’t want my opinion, reaction or want me to know something. Then don’t post it where I’m likely to see it. The object of social networking, as far as I know, is for community involvement in one means or other. The first and foremost is through commenting. This post actually started out as a comment to my nephew’s incarceration as it were. However, it turned into the straw that broke the camels back of my frustration with the flagrant misuse of these two terms, and has evolved into one of my “I hate how the world has become more ignorant and stupid”, rants.
…
I realize this is my own personal pet peeves with society in general these days. I also realize that the majority rules. So many people do this kind of nonsense thanks to the wonderful world of the internet and social networks. Everyone has to do something in order to make themselves feel cool now.
The question is, what’s next? Will I soon be considered a rapist because I “friended” (there’s another idiotic term…) the daughter of a close friend of mine, who just happens to be under the age of 18? Honestly, that would be a seriously sick accusation. Then again, I don’t think being called a stalker is much better.
Please just stop!
I cannot believe the stupid things we concern ourselves with in this country. I’m so absolutely sick of signing on to my accounts to see the constant barrage of Gay Marriage (Pro/Con) issues, Bullying which is also coupled with whatever trivial mindlessness the media can dump down our throats. Currently that would be the Olympics.
I cannot believe this is all we seem to give any consideration too. Honestly, I can’t believe for one second that I am part of some minority group who also think there are far, far more important and immediate issues this country needs to address. It simply boils my blood that we prefer to talk about where to buy a decent chicken sandwich because we don’t want to offend anyone. That’s another thing. What the hell is with all the overly sensitive people the past few years?!?! It’s enough to drive someone insane!
Here’s my thoughts on the current topics and then I never want to hear about them again:
Gay Marriage
Honestly, as far as I’m concerned, Gay people can have marriage. It hasn’t worked so well for straight people for several decades.
Bullying
I was, and several of my classmates were bullied when we were kids (teased, beat up and I remember being pelted with a can of vegetables in the back of the head once). I still sometimes get teased because of my name. I may have cried emotionally or in pain, but I haven’t committed suicide or shot someone over it. I got over it. Parents, take some damned responsibility for your children and teach them to handle the situation intelligently. Today we don’t take the time to discipline children in nearly any faction. They don’t fear reprisal, so they end up being the bullies, or they end up murdering or committing suicide from being the victims of bullying. We didn’t have nearly this problem when mommy and daddy could whoop some behind for bad behavior. Parents today also don’t seem to take the time to sit them down and help their children understand the shortcomings of others like our parents did.
The Olympics
This event has nearly bankrupt some countries who have hosted it in the past. Sure it’s nifty that someone can ice skate all pretty, or flip around some bendy bars or do hand stands that many of us are incapable of doing. But what does that do to help the worlds issues? Might bring them some people joy or hope, but over all. Nothing relevant. There’s the old saying, put hope in one hand and defecate in the other. See which hand gets a healthy dose of reality.
All of these issues are completely and utterly trivial as far as I’m concerned. There are more important issues that this country needs to be concerned with and we need to put aside all the trivial issues to come up with answers to the following topics: (These are in no particular order as they all are, as I feel , equally important.)
The Presidency
Obama promised us change. Change he did bring. I don’t recall him saying it would be good change. So I guess he kept his word. I hate the changes he brought. I don’t want him in office this next election. He brought us Obama Care. But does he really? However, I don’t like Mitt Romney either. With the both of them campaigning, it’s like watching two clowns in full dress, with red noses and clown shoes, beat each other over the head with rubber chickens. Why can’t there be a spot on the ballot to choose two new candidates? As far back as I can remember, Jobs, Health Care and Income have always been on a Presidents plate. Yet, term after term, promises and taxes later, the problems still exist. We continue to have the problems and somehow still tolerate it. I’m not understanding why. Not that I know the fix, but doesn’t anyone else question why it’s still going on after all these years?
Jobless Rate
We keep outsourcing more and more. I’ve talk about this before. Soon we won’t have any jobs to offer. If the products can be purchased online, we won’t have retail outlets for them soon. Gas stations will be virtually unmanned. Only jobs that will be left, will be governmental jobs and grocery stores. I’m over exaggerating, but you get the idea. This isn’t even close to including the issues of immigration, although they too won’t have any jobs soon either if this keeps up.
Income and Costs of Living
As a person who has worked in the tech field for over 18 years, I and my colleagues are still stuck in lower paying jobs since the whole outsource issue started in the early 2000’s. There are many people in many fields of work in this same exact boat. They have years of experience and do their jobs at an outstanding level, yet are so poorly compensated. To find a better paying job at a parallel company is next to impossible. In so much, that many of us still can’t afford a home, even with all the assistance in this world, the income is still too low. While gas and food skyrocket in cost making each year making living harder and harder. Personally I blame a lot of it on lack of local spending. We do not support our community businesses like we should. As well as we need to stop outsourcing everything.
Safety in Public
I guess this sort of relates to bullying. Because these kids are shooting up kids in school, killing people at random in theaters. Of course this also relates to the fact our educational systems are hurting and our local enforcement suffers from budget cuts as well. But that’s OK, let’s just explore Mars while we cut education and law enforcement funding. Yet, I don’t feel safe much these days trying to just catch a movie knowing some psycho can just waltz into a theater, whip out a gun and kill women, children and men without prejudice or remorse. Some of my kids still go to college, I fear every day that some nut will just walk into a classroom and shoot them or stab them. It’s hard to even walk through a parking lot anymore wondering if a child will be abducted or woman raped, or someone getting held up or shot just for shopping. I am always looking around me when I take my walks for exercise, wondering if the person near me is about to rob me or harm me. We shouldn’t have to live in this kind of fear.
Health Care
This topic is near and dear to my heart. Literally. Why is it that I can spend a 20 day vacation in the Caribbean and spend only a third of what it cost me to be in the hospital a couple of days? I can’t even afford to take a vacation to the Grand Canyon, let alone one to the Caribbean! The companies that run hospitals and medical supplies are unbelievably filthy rich! They have to be. Where does all that money go? My doctor isn’t driving a golden McLaren and living in the Bahamas full time. Someone, somewhere is getting a boat load of cash from all the insurance companies and patients.
Prescriptions
Also near and dear to my heart, is the medicines I must take daily now and pay for monthly. Effient alone is roughly $250 per month. Even with insurance, it’s $100 out of pocket. Plus paying for the insurance, plus the 4 other medicines I pay for monthly. What is this stuff made out of? Plutonium?!?! You’re telling me that a 10mg pill per day is worth over $8? Someone is really filling their pockets with the paychecks of anyone who takes this medication. I do get my Advair from Canada, oddly that costs $150 per month here, but if I get it from Canada, it’s almost a third of that cost. So who’s screwing who over here?
So please just stop with all the stupid images, and protests of things that honestly should be taking a back seat to other more important issues. Such as survivability of our own people in this country. We are supposed to be the most powerful country, yet we are so close to having a large chunk of our population becoming hungry, homeless and dying. A small chunk already are.
Email vs Facebook
How much of a difference is there really between what people used to do (and still do) with email before the invention of social networks like Facebook, and what people do now with Facebook. I’ve been using Facebook now for nearly four months now. I’ve started noticing a lot of similarities between what email was and Facebook now is.
Back in the day, email was the thing and people got angry if they couldn’t get to their emails. I should know, as I’m the guy who took the calls when customers had issues. However, if they couldn’t get their daily fix of whatever content they were looking for, they got hostile.
Not a lot has changed really only the method. Now I don’t take so many calls for email as I do for Facebook. If a customer’s internet is down, they don’t really even notice it, but if they can’t get to Facebook because of it, they get down right nasty about it. It’s their world. They cannot live without it.
As someone who has relented to using social media, all I see is the same regurgitated crap I’ve already seen in mass forwarded emails years ago. The only real difference is instead of sharing a bunch of email addresses of people I don’t really know, is that now it’s all shared with people I don’t know but have on some list.
* With the exception of relatives in either method.
Back when folks used email to keep in touch, they would send the following items: (including but not limited too)
- Pictures
- Touching messages or images of spiritual and non spiritual of hope
- Videos and Video Clips
- Links to websites
- Links to great shopping deals they’ve found
- Long diatribes of a bad experience they’ve had
- Information about places they have visited
- Warnings about viruses and scams that never existed
- Warnings about viruses and scams that do exist
- Protests to stop abuse of one form or another
- Chain emails
- Information about online games such as Pogo and the like
The list goes on and on.
Now when I log on to Facebook, I see: (including but not limited too)
- Pictures
- Touching messages or images of spiritual and non spiritual of hope
- Videos and Video Clips
- Links to websites
- Links to great shopping deals they’ve found
- Long diatribes of a bad experience they’ve had
- Information about places they have visited or are currently at
- Warnings about viruses and scams that never existed
- Warnings about viruses and scams that do exist
- Protests to stop abuse of one form or another
- Shared posts that insist you share them further (Chain Shares?)
- A bazillion and one posts about people on your list who did something nearly useless in a game such as Mafia Wars, Farmville, etc.. (that list is friggin endless!)
That list goes on and on. And on… And on… {eyes are beginning to bleed}
Ironic huh? Different methods but essentially it’s the same thing it has always been. At least from my point of view it is.
Honestly I don’t really see the big fuss about social networks/media. Then again, I’m just not into having 400 people be my “friend” especially when I have no earthly clue who they are. But that’s me. I’ve never been one to want a lot of friends. I’m more comfortable with a close circle of real honest to goodness friends and of course my family.
But that’s me.
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