Facebook-delisting, changing status

[sgtiger]

I have to agree that it is what you make of it. I've been getting to know some people better though facebook and keeping in touch with my friends more because of it. I'm not constantly playing phone tag with my best girl friends like I used to. We get updated on the little going ons of each others lives that we can then discuss when we get together on the phone or in person. If there's something that you don't want out there, keep it to yourself and let your friends know that you'd like certain faucets of your life not published for the world to see. If they can't respect that, then de-list them. They're probably not your friends anyway.

[eclectic]

Ah the not so age old Facebook dilemma. I am one of the baby boomers now taking over facebook

I did read the article BTW

A cycling friend of mine from another city convinced me to open an account. 2 months later she posted "you need to find more friends!" . . . She was my only one.

THEN the epiphany came - I went home for Christmas and my nephew and his wife were expecting. I wanted them to email me ASAP after the baby was born. The reply . . . "are you on Facebook?"

Suddenly I had a reason to be there. I saw pictures of the new grand-niece the day she was born- right there it made it all worth it.

I now find it very fun. I still am at under 50 "friends" and they are all people I have some reason to be friends w/.

I am friends w/ a person I have never met but we have a good friends in common and I enjoy the bantering back and forth. Also I am now facebook friends w/ a TE sister and when and if I get back to where she lives I will have someone to go riding w/

I love the regular contact w/ my family who live very far away (as on another continent) so I can never see them face to face.

I love the fact that I can see the babies growing up and changing.

Some of my friends have 300 "friends" I would find that overwhelming and annoying.

Crankin' interestingly enough the person who hooked me up to Facebook is a practicing psychiatrist. I thought she would be concerned about revealing anything about her personal life but she doesn't seem to have a problem w/ it
Again good judgement is the order of the day.

I have everything blocked so only my friends can see anything - I don't even allow friends of friends.

I have had former students contact me whom I have rejected just because I really have nothing to say to them not because I didn't like them when they were in high school. I have no desire to contact old HS classmates either who I wasn't friends w/ then. Seeing them every 10 years at a reunion is enough.

If I want to say something I don't want others to see I just email or PM the person.

I must say all the little "throw a shoe at" or "give a gift to" are VERY annoying and I ignore all of those.

[ny biker]

I just got a facebook account last week. It's interesting. It looks like it will be a good way to keep in touch with people, like a friend who moved to Europe and some ex-coworkers, some who I haven't spoken to in many years even though we were pretty friendly when we worked together.

I just did a search of my high school, and found several of my old classmates, but since I haven't spoken to any of them in a couple of decades I don't think I will try to add them to my friends list. I haven't looked for college friends yet.

For me it's a way of sharing photos, personal news and a little idle chitchat.

I also linked to or became a fan of some sites, like Team Estrogen, the Garmin and Astana teams and my LBS, as a way of keeping up with news and announcements.

[Grog]

I have a Facebook account but I'm pretty careful how I set it up. People who are not my friends can see very little about me, and I am mindful of what I post. I do enjoy the possibility it affords to keep in touch with long-distance friends, even if of course it's limited in many ways...

I also have a Twitter account. I use it mostly to receive and relay news that is not personal. On my "follow" list I have a bunch of journalists, and that's how they use it. I have "unfollowed" people who were chatty about their personal lives on Twitter.

And, by the way, Lance Armstrong is on Twitter. I find some of his tweets interesting but it annoys me when he says he's "driving the kids to school" (why doesn't he get a tandem with a trail-a-bike?) and other stuff of his daily life like that. To me the point of Twitter is not to know the flavour of people's toothpaste, but I realize I'm part of the minority.

[Tuckervill]

I've been on FB for a long time, maybe over a year. I got on because my college-age niece got on, and invited my 70+ year old dad, and he invited me. That all happened while it was still a college only thing. She and I are still Dad's only "friends". But, I've got about 50 "friends" from various sections of my life, now. I used to check it every day, and I still get info on my Blackberry if I want. I haven't checked it this week, that I can remember.

Many of my high school classmates have contacted me in the last few months. It does seem to me that the use y people my age has just exploded recently!

I, to, appreciate being able to see the babies and grandbabies that I might not otherwise get to see!

Something that happened to me, which ties in with the article...My son and his girlfriend of 5 years broke up recently. She was a hair stylist and cut my hair. I got along with her great and always considered her part of the family. I got my hair cut twice after they broke up, then she unfriended me on Facebook at about a month after the break up, and I kind of took that as a sign that she didn't want contact with me or my business anymore. That hurt a little bit. I would have preferred that she just be honest, that she tell me she couldn't see me any more for whatever reason. As it is, I can only infer what I infer.

I did learn that you don't get a notice if you are unfriended--but you will notice eventually.

Karen

[kelownagirl]

Facebook - yes, two accounts. One personal. very private, only real life friends and family. Second one, with my Kelownagurl name. I friend pretty well anyone who asks me on that one. I mostly post training type updates and don't really hang out there a lot but I enjoyed checking it once a day and seeing what people are up to.

Twitter - yes, I'm on it a ton. I follow and am followed by about 800 people. Some of them I have gotten to know really well, very much like my close buds on TE. I use it as IM type thing more than anything else. I post details of my life but mostly it's the @replies that make me hang out there. I chat with online friends, mostly in real time. However, I would not twitter the same way under my real name.

I have tried very hard not to link my real name with my Kelownagurl name. I'm not so worried that Internet friends finding out my real name, but I mostly don't want my students and their families to make the connection. If you google one, you don't find the other. At least last time I checked... lol...

[Cataboo]

I've noticed that my sister & brother don't seem to be friends on facebook anymore- but I've not made any mention of it just in case whichever one of them got unfriended, doesn't know. I'm assuming it was my sister who did the unfriending.

I've also been watching an internet friend's facebook account most of the day - 17 hours ago he posted that he misses his grandmother. He's got 228 friends, lots of whom are in real life.

So I didn't want to say something about his grandmother just in case she wasn't dead and maybe he just hadn't seen her in a long time...

I waited a couple hours (well, not specifically for this purpose, but next time I logged in...)...and I noticed that noone had commented on his missing his grandmother, despite him typically having a busy page. So I asked 'oh, do you mean your grandmother who lives in australia?"

The answer was yes, she'd just died this morning...

So it's been 17 hours since he first posted, and still noone other than me has commmented on that.

I hope people are calling him in person and he's not upset that his 228 friends aren't more supportive.

[smurfalicious]

Wow that article was bitter and negative. How did that get past the editors? And really, coming unhinged because an ex found you on Facebook? Lord if she saw the retarded emails from my ex on myspace she'd be in a facility.

I dunno, people can't see your stuff unless you confirm them as a friend, and they can't find you unless they know your full name. I figure it takes the same sense as you'd have choosing real life interactions. Someone sketches you out, don't accept their request. Like this girl from my high school who I don't remember and has Sarah Palin and John McCain on her profile. Mmmm, delete.

I have Horsebook and Dogbook going now too. PJ needs some horsey friends. So do my dogs. Funny, my pet store coworkers don't have dogbook pages. Boo!

[Kalidurga]

Second one, with my Kelownagurl name...

I have tried very hard not to link my real name with my Kelownagurl name.

I'm also on Facebook with my internet screen name (Kali Durga, instead of Kalidurga as it is here) instead of my actual name. The people who have become real friends know my real name, while my internet "friends" know only my on-line pseudonym. That's worked nicely for me so far.

[shootingstar]

And, by the way, Lance Armstrong is on Twitter. I find some of his tweets interesting but it annoys me when he says he's "driving the kids to school" (why doesn't he get a tandem with a trail-a-bike?) and other stuff of his daily life like that.

Interesting. Most likely to ride with his kids to school (assuming it's just 1 school for 3 boys), via safe bike route...can't be no more time than walking to the school unless it's out of district.

Anyway, back on topic....it's just a feat for me to do minor email exchange with some of my own siblings. They are all younger than me...but um..let's just say it's easier by phone. For certain, for 1 sister I wouldn't dream of twittering or starting up Facebook with her, since I am aware her life is busy enough with 3 children under 12 and holding down a job 30 hrs. per wk. Am just content to get the odd photo here and there by email every few months.

Same with my closest, long-time friends out of town --only emails on substantive changes in our lives every few months.

So right now, if I were to Facebook, it might be for work-related reasons to be part of professional networks.. which really am not keen to clutter more...when I already subscribe to several listservs, etc. to get the latest developments related to my field, pushed into my email box.

I probably sound like a pointy-headed person looking to chill out in some sort of desert/white tabula rasa of nothingness, calm and no virtual clutter. Sort of no techno-Zen zone.

Maybe that's why like others, I go cycling...

But let's keep on going about your Facebook experiences..