The Facebook Thing.

[jamesww]

How I arrived at the Facebook place -

I'm in the process of closing down most of my business activities, this entails drastically scaling back my web presence; website down, other domains gone or going and I'm hoping to get down to one email address ! 

Anyway, a couple of days ago, I thought 'I wonder what traces I've left on the interwebs', what with it being my only avenue of revenue for 13 odd years, turns out, very little, other than a few book reviews.

I was rather surprised, my cybersleuthing skills awaken I had a stab at trying to find some of my school friends from xxx years ago. For some reason a lot of the boys* I went to school (upto 16yr old) have unusual surnames so I turned up quite a few, one involved translating a dutch chess club website, and quite a few emails have gone back and forth, I may have even arrange a meet up between a long time best friend and another friend who've not seen each other in 20 years.

Anway one of the people who came up in the conversation, was someone I found easily and that led me to facebook; within a couple of yours we were exchanging messages. Very weird and maybe a bit too much immediate communications for someone of my advancing age. 

So once I'm there, I'm stuck by two thoughts, how do you use this place and do people know what they're doing giving away their personal data.

And thats were I've started finding some of you, the real life versions of us Languishites.  I've begun sending out friend requests, but I'm beginning to be assailed by this sense of unease. Then it dawned on me, I don't really want to know so much about you guys, I don't want to see your family and network of friends, know you by your real names, see those dates of birth or where you went to high school and university etc

An example, I'm much happier exchanging the very occasion email with Malthus and of course seeing the updated Carl photo thread, than I am seeing that guys facebook page with a fair chunk of his life laid out for all to see; its seems too intrusive on my part.
   
I could go on and on, Mono is mono is a brilliant characterisation of something real, something hidden and a comic personna, do I really want to have the chance to communicate with the real person behind the mask ? So Mono forgive me for sending that friends request, I suggest you turn it down. :gasp:

So B*****, you'll alway be Brazen to me and I won't click on that seductive friends link, and I'll try to forget which uni you went to and I'll concentrate instead on the part you play in the languishite universe. That way we're probably denying facebook of about 10c of revenue.


It turns out you lot are far more 'real' to me than who you actually might be in well, that mundane place, called real life.  Thats not to say I haven't enjoyed meeting those Languishites at the meet ups, but then you guys have been in languish mode, and ofcourse I do hope to meet few more of you and especially some of the Americanos, if anyone can ever persuade CdM or Raz to leave the USA. 


The long and the short of it is, I'll probably delete my facebook account within a couple of weeks.

Oh and whilst I'm discussing identities, could someone answer the systems emails so I can get my password and resume using 'Mongers' - the real me. 





*Strangely all of the female friends I had at school, had very common and this coupled with my generations tradition approach to maiden names means I don't think I'll be able to trace any. 
How do I sort through all of those hundreds of Sarah Hardys and find the one I was designing a spaceship with at an English comprehensive school back in the 1970s.   

[garbon]

wtf?

[katmai]

how am i not shocked you are a fucking anti social nutter DWM

[Eddie Teach]

Facebook sucks.

[lustindarkness]

I can see how facebook could be very intimidating for an introvert. For the rest of us, its wonderfull, almost like walking naked in the park.

[Eddie Teach]

I don't even like walking naked in my bedroom.

[The Brain]

At least you CAN walk. You're not a cripple like Ed.

I don't use Facebook. Whatever information about my life I'm willing to share ends up in the Everyday Adventures thread.

[Brazen]

Jeez, thanks for singling me out to use my real name 

[katmai]

Jeez, thanks for singling me out to use my real name 

Names have been changed to protect the innocent...or well at least you.

Sorry since a FB friend didn't even dawn on me to change that

[Brazen]

Names have been changed to protect the innocent...or well at least you

[jamesww]

 

how am i not shocked you are a fucking anti social nutter DWM

And which is why I didn't send you a friends request.   

[jamesww]

Jeez, thanks for singling me out to use my real name 

Oops my bad. 

Though as a technologist and journalist, you should know how much about you it out their, all ready collated in various data bases, especially as you have an uncommon combination of first and surname.

[jamesww]

I can see how facebook could be very intimidating for an introvert. For the rest of us, its wonderfull, almost like walking naked in the park.

Yeah, Lusty, walking around displaying my jangly bit for all the world to see, isn't at the top of my priorities. 

[CountDeMoney]

how am i not shocked you are a fucking anti social nutter DWM

Fuck social networking sites.  Fuck those people.

[Neil]

The system has an email?  How odd.