I have been using the IFTTT service to post to another rarely used social media outlet, Twitter (BTW, my identity is @RMachida in case you care to follow), for years whenever I put up a new blog post. I figured that I could do the same thing with Facebook. I installed the iPhone app and started exploring to see how to create a page and automating posts and got sucked into "adding friends" as the site was suggesting names of people that I had lost track of decades ago.
This response was predictable as I've avoided the site for quite a while and rarely had anything positive to say about the service. I was reminded of the problems when Dom had posted about the theft of his photos. Somewhat related is the terms of service on the site. According to nycounsel.com
... although you still “own” the photograph, you grant the social media sites a license to use your photograph anyway they see fit for free AND you grant them the right to let others use you picture as well!Pretty shady behavior and it's not limited to Facebook...
I figure that my photos and posts have little if any monetary value so I'm not really concerned.
Richard, I totally understand. I have a facebook account but that's where it ends.
ReplyDeleteI guess that I now have a little more time to explore the different parts and pieces that make up FB and see how they work (or don't!). I've had the account for a couple of years but just logged in about every for months or so. I figured that that action may qualify as "activity".
DeleteWelcome to the big time suck that is FB....still, not a bad way to reconnect with people.
ReplyDeleteNot too bad but they keep adding pieces maybe trying to figure out how to monetize the service. If they charged for the service then their numbers would be a fraction of what they are today.
DeleteHi Richard,
ReplyDeleteI started using FB more often when I was living in Seattle. It was just a better way to connect with family and some friends. I still use it for that and now many of my bicycle friends are there as well. I haven't blogged since the tour, but I posted to both for a while, or posted links. There are some things I don't like about FB, but it's a convenient way to connect with others. We have a lot of nieces and nephews starting new families and so, lots of baby pics to be shared. I have twitter, instagram, and a couple others, but don't really use them.
I figure anything I put online takes the chance of being stolen. I try to keep the pics small and low res, and hope for the best, but it's one of those risks that's hard to avoid.
It probably is a better way to keep in touch with friends and family. I know some where it is the only way. Others don't want anything to do with the service. If you look at the flow of $$, who do they consider their clients? I think that the users of the service including their information and relationships are their product.
DeleteWelcome to Facebook, or as we like to call it "waste book". A waste of our time but at the same time it allows us to keep in touch with friends and family. Without it we wouldn't get most news either it seems.
ReplyDeleteOf course we don't have twitter, instagram, pinterest or any of the other accounts.
WasteBook, what a fitting description. I still have my Twitter acct that I've had ever since their first year of operation but deleted my Instagram acct when I heard that they were purchased by FB. Never had a Pinterest acct. Can't figure out the value of the service.
DeleteI'm a heavy Facebook user, both for keeping track of new friends and reconnecting with old friends, but also use it as a forum for social commentary (like the recent Cdn election - much to the chagrin of some of my "friends"), as well as for sharing common interests like motorcycling. I don't use it to share pictures of cats however - I do have some sense of social responsibility. :)
ReplyDeleteI could do without all of the political ranting that seems to be everywhere. Maybe that's the advantage of Twitter. Ranting is more difficult in 140 characters.
DeleteI'm there but I'm not posting much. Sometimes it helps staying in contact though.
ReplyDeleteVery little posting. My son mentioned that the only value he's found is the messaging.
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