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Should I break down and join Facebook?
Despite my better instincts, more and more lately I feel the pull to join Facebook. The thing is that almost all my friends are in Facebook and a few library groups are now gathering there too. There’s even some talk that social networks, like Facebook, are killing blogs. While I’m not so sure of that, my traffic numbers certainly don’t support that, it does raise some questions about where trends are going.
Now why haven’t I joined Facebook? 1) Just yet one more site to work on every day. Boundaries must be drawn somewhere. 2) I still haven’t recovered from my anger of YouTube selling us. That’s right, YouTube didn’t sell its software, Google already had that, it sold all of our contact information and all of the content we created. It sold people and what they created. And what’s to say that Facebook won’t do the same any day now? While it’s cool that sites are free, they’re never truly free and I resent having all my contact information and content that I’ve created sold without my permission. Sorry, but no waiver is going to cut it for me.
Now why should I join Facebook? 1) Keep connected with my friends, family and colleagues. 2) Play with a cool new tool.
There are the pros and cons, now it’s time to decide. Is using the “in” website worth losing ownership over what I write and control over who has my personal information? Am I willing to risk being “sold” to the highest bidder than finally pays Facebook’s price?
Remember, I’m the same girl that pays a monthly fee to host this site on my own time and dime so no one can control me. So, which is more important? Connecting with friends, family, and colleagues… or resisting being sold by The Man?
Posted by Laurie on August 10th, 2007 under Laurie speaks!3 Responses to “Should I break down and join Facebook?”
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August 10th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Hi!
I use an RSS feed to check blogs and find them imformative and helpful. I use facebook as what it is designed for – a social networking tool where I play scrabble and post pictures and events.
Therefore, for me blogs and social networking utilities serve different functions.
August 10th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I agree with Shawna. Blogs and social networking are different. I use Facebook as a social tool as well.
I don’t put all of my contact info on there, nor do I publish anything. I make use of the multiple privacy settings to control who sees what. I use it to send notes to people and share pictures. It’s great to keep in touch with people, and I even use it to plan my weekends and social events. If you join I will send you the Facebook invite to the ABC Festival even though you are too far away to atend.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Yes! You should break down and join facebook, but not at the expense of this fantastic site!!
I am same as Jen, I don’t put all of my contact info on there and use the privacy settings to control who can see what I’ve got on there. I love facebook — especially seeing everyone’s pictures. My parents and brother and sister are on it now too and I find it an easy way to keep in touch.
I don’t have a blog nor am I all that familiar with the blog world, so I can’t make any comparisons there. But I do think email may become old technology as more people move into these social networking sites… it may be an inevitability, just like getting a cellphone is.
Aynslie