So, part of the reason I'm spamming here in the vague hope people will join in is because, personally, I don't think Facebook is "all that". Discussions on anything public are just a fucking trainwreck and it does a very good job of deciding what it wants you to see. When it first started it was easy to go down your news feed chronologically and see what people were up to but now it's all algorithmic and you miss stuff.
I've tried to tidy it up a bit by ditching groups and the like, but even so, it misses stuff out. Because of that, I've found myself gravitating towards forums again and I do think they're better in some respects.
I think it did the job well of helping people keep in touch but I find myself keeping in touch less (might just be age though) because I already know what's going on in most people's lives. I'm starting to prefer instagram for a bit of sharing of my life. I've massively gone from posting loads of photos on Facebook (mainly during uni years), to very very little.
I generally make a point of not commenting on friend's posts that are public as I only want them and their friends to see, rather than potentially anyone. I type this whilst posting on a public forum...!
And then there's all the pages and news stories, the comment sections on regular news from regular outlets is just ridiculous. I see a few people from Teh commenting (you included a few times) and I just wonder why you bother attempting to have any sort of constructive discussion in Facebook comments.
I've never been a fan. I have an account I might visit once or twice a year. I much prefer forums, and have always preferred them. I think they're nicer all around.
Sometimes I hope Facebook is a fad that will fade away.
Besides, Beehive rocks, and if you join it up with Ajax chat, you've got it all. (cheer)
I keep hoping for the day Beehive drives some of these cookie cutter forums right off the net. (cheer)
They all seem to want to look like phpBB for some reason. Another system which doesn't thrill me.
I mostly agree, it's just harder to keep a vague track of people if they're not on whatever forum you're on. Then again, realistically I might not actually care about keeping in touch with most people on FB - it's a "nice thing to have" but it hardly makes a difference to my life; it seems to mostly be a distraction.
As someone who is terrible at keeping in touch and generally hates social situations, I enjoy the passive aggressive option of 'liking' a post from someone I haven't spoken to in ages. Just to remind them that I still exist, not that they'd care anyway :C
A 'like' on Facebook is similar to going to the local chip shop and waving to a friend passing by on the other side of the road while you wait for the young lady serving you to finish with your saveloy.
Oh God don't wave, what if they don't recognise you?!
One's arm will have had a tiny warm-up for the fast approaching activity of chip consumption.