edcayton Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 How many people on here "get" Facebook? I have just caught the end of a TV programme about it and found some of the information staggering. Both my sons (21 and 24) and my ex seem to spend every waking minute on the blessed thing and I don't even begin to understand the fascination, but then the kids talk about my train forum and all the sad old gits on here! Some of us may be, but I know we have a goodly proportion of younger members, and I'd like to hear from them and, indeed, any less young members who partake in Facebook. Apologies if this has been done before, but I don't recall it. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Accurascale Fran Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 Its a great way to waste half an hour. I combine it with my twitter, use it to keep in touch with friends overseas (sadly this figure is now quite large due to tough economic times) and check out amusing or interesting links my mates might put up on it. I've been known to add the odd interesting/amusing link myself. I have also used it for work purposes, as a tool to promote the last company I worked in, again along with twitter. I don't get this idea of adding people I have never met or interacted with before as friends though. I stick to people I know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Russ (mines a pint) Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 It's good for catching up with people you meant to keep in touch with but for some reason didn't! - like '071' you should be selective though not just add anyone, even people you do know. There are people in earlier life who you know and wished you HAD stayed in touch with, and some you knew, didn't like then and still don't want to know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW James Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I actually use it more than my kids do (23 and 31) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2011 It's good for keeping in touch with friends, though I do make sure that the friends I have on there really are friends and even then I keep a close check on the info I post and that which is posted about me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 96701 Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 I use it quite a bit to keep in touch with friends that I don't get to see often enough, and to post the occasional snippet from the jokes thread. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Oh dear, a 'me too' post. I use it at least once a day. It is the only means I have of communicating with some friends, old and new. Sure, it's full of piffle but I do try to avoid adding to that commodity. Others may disagree! Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold bcnPete Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 I used to laugh at my wife using it...and now I use it more than her! As mentioned, good to make contact with people who you haven't communicated with for a long while... I was sent a message by a girl I nearly married 21 years ago and we hadn't spoken since they day I broke it off ...it was a bit frosty to start with, but now we exchange the odd message and its accepted that we both 'moved on' in our lives. I can see a point where one day I just stop using it though... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 A kinda sorta just about but not quite, me too post. My Farcebook account is locked down as tight as its possible to do. Nobody outside my "friends" list can see anything or invite me. Basically I use it as a personal communication tool with my family and a very few close personal friends. As we are scattered all over the planet its the perfect way to keep in touch without having to send, forward, resent, edit, etc a pile of emails. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I would class myself as pretty "expert" on most matters IT and internet having been involved to one degree or another since I left school and computers were rooms. I'm also "middle aged" (over 60) -so not exactly young or old - though I have always thought that a perspective view on life. So to start with "Facebook" "Twitter" and all the other "me2" formats are not an "age" thing and are also very little to do with being "computer savvy". I personally have nothing to do with either, do not have accounts with them and do not particularly like their type of "social" networking. Though it could probably be said that I do not have a "social" life, I rather see it as not having that type of social life. As far as I am aware the majority of my "social" network also have no interest in these systems. I think many who sign up do not realise just how much of their lives they are exposing to the general public and to an anonymous "corporation" and then wonder why identity theft and job refusals are on the increase. But having said all that I am here on RMWeb! What is that if it is not a social network of sorts? I guess it comes down to value systems, I value RMWeb as a resource far greater than a social network, though as a social network it has more of a feeling of a club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 What's Facebook? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SouthernRegionSteam Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 The thing is you've got to be so careful on Facebook! I'm sure you have all heard various stories about how people have been sacked because of something they posted. What frustrates me is that there are so many people who don't seem to care and post everything about themselves for the world and his wife to see! Yes, there are restrictions, but they are there only if you chose to implement them. I do use Facebook very regularly, but not just for communicating to friends. As I am at uni, I use it to get in touch with people from my course (year and my individual group) as we have set up groups. It also means I can post photos and upload videos if I want to. As has been mentioned, as long as you are careful and sensible there is not much that can go wrong. The most useful feature? For me, it is the fact it tells you when your friends birthdays are! The feature I don't use? Games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 I spend a few minutes a day on FB. I have re-met one or two lost contacts, shared some laughs. I have even been known to re-post good links that others have posted in Wheeltappers here - e.g. the Vancouver bear story this morning. It has also been good for broadcasting news, espcially with Deb's progress through injury and now illness, to a large number of people who know her. My security settings are wide open, because as usual I can't see where the risks lie. Living in a non-English-speaking country helps a bit, there, of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium spamcan61 Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2011 I set up an account when i was working in Stockholm in summer 2010, as it was useful for communicating with the family - not enough bandwidth to use Skype - but deleted the account when I came back home as it served no purpose then. My 19 and 16 year old daughters use it every evening, if they're not on it for a few hours the "are you alright?" messages start! What has been sort of interesting to see is how corporate Facebook and Twitter have become, lots and lots of companies realising they now have new advertising and communications channels, pretty much for free, with and audience of millions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Max Stafford Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 It really does surprise me the kind of information people put up there in full view of the world. I use it but merely as a handy tool for keeping in touch with friends I'd otherwise be detached from. That and the odd rant - " what's so different from here then?", says the avid reader of my postings! Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 I use it for friends and relatives to see and be seen. I've been cyber dumped by a member on here who didn't like my lack of worshipping at the altar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2011 First the internet became widely available to the public at large. Then there was Friends Reunited which was a great way to track down a few folks you maybe had lost touch with and wished you hadn't. It;s popularity waned. Then came the instant messaging services such as MSN Messenger and chat rooms (many of which were subsequently closed when it was found impossible to control the abuse that went on) and the internet-connected Public suddenly had instant communication with as many people as they cared to talk to. Now we have Facebook, an overgrown university networking concept which has expanded to become the interactive (as opposed to Twitter which is basically a glorified message board) networking site of choice able to be used in as many ways as we choose. We can talk to each other, play and share games, links of interest and upload our latest photos. I have an account. I don't use my real surname and the account is set to the maximum security levels. I have blocked all games and game requests simply because I don't wish to participate. Of my FB "Friends" I know personally all but three of the individuals and have conducted very long-term friendships with (though have never met) the others. I have a close connection with those Friends who are non-personal such as the business names and places and in most cases know personally at least one of the people behind the page. We are all in control of quite a lot of our own destiny on FB; it is up to us all to understand that what ever goes on the 'net stays on the 'net. From FB it can be freely copied, downloaded, shared, passed on, abused and misinterpreted. Not all users are seemingly aware nor bothered by such things; when I found I had access (because I am a "friend of a friend" and received them via the news feed) to some images of an intimate nature I unsubscribed from that person's news but it doesn't stop me seeing those again if I went looking. I have occasionally advertised events via FB with some success and find some of the business users news posts to be very helpful. And I enjoy the regular electronic company of a number of good friends whilst being aware of the limitations of privacy (virtually none) inherent with the system. But in time something else will come along and FB, like Friends Reunited and MSN Messenger, will fade away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 I use Facebook to find out what friends are drinking and where! ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PhilH Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 I'm on it most days, but just for a few minutes. One of the reasons I'm on there is that some of the footplate crews on the MHR use it as a means of keeping in touch, getting turns covered etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I use Facebook to find out what friends are drinking and where! ian Ian, to save you checking.... tonight I'll be home to crack open the 5l keg of ZeroDegrees' seasonal. Thursday its gonna be the Dog & Bell in Deptford then onto the Dacre Arms in Blackheath. There, now you all know! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I was on Farcebook for a couple of years, but have now deleted myself from it. I can't justify wasting large amounts of free time on it. The whole ethos of Farcebook is that Mr. Zuckerberg wants everyone to know everything about everyone - and particularly for him and his team to know everything about you - but would rather that you knew very little about him! LinkedIn is far better in that it's for professional use, and there's less scope for embarrassing things to pop up there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I know that a lot of people are facebook "negative" and respect them for it. Could I offer an alternative perspective of how it can facilitate some very positive social interactions. I run a charity which operates a global support service in a particular sector. (I don't really want to blur my work life with social, so please forgive me if I don't name the charity.) Raising awareness of the (free) service we offer has always been challenging, although we do use traditional print advertising, TV appearances, exhibitions, road shows, etc. What facebook has allowed us to do is to reach out to a huge population in specific countries, build a "fan" base and drip feed news from the charity into the community. The advantage, from my perspective, is that for the price of a 1/4 page ad in a trade mag which might sit on a coffee table for a couple of months we have a semi-permanent presence right in front of 10s of thousands of people both in and associated with our target audience. That's a good thing to have achieved. But the icing on the cake is that facebook has provided an additional means for people to ask us for help. Maybe they would have done that through our website, maybe they'd never have heard of us. On facebook we appear as real people, that you can interact with. On our website you're dealing with an anonymous email address, phone number... What I can tell you is that through facebook we have been asked for help to repatriate bodies, provide potable water and food,... Would those people have known about our service without facebook? I'm fairly certain that they wouldn't have done. Yes, occasionally facebook changes a privacy setting or does something else to annoy us. But I'd like to stick with the glass being half full. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted December 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2011 Ian, to save you checking.... tonight I'll be home to crack open the 5l keg of ZeroDegrees' seasonal. Thursday its gonna be the Dog & Bell in Deptford then onto the Dacre Arms in Blackheath. There, now you all know! Andrew Dont tell everyone... you wont be able to get in there if they all turn up! Thats why I am not going to tell you on here that we may be in Tap East on Saturday evening!! ...oops!! Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 LinkedIn is far better in that it's for professional use, and there's less scope for embarrassing things to pop up there. Funny you should say that. The most embarrassing thing I've ever seen in Social Networking came from Linkedin. A recruitment firm sent a Linkedin invite to their entire contacts list. In those days Linkedin's software couldn't handle the concept of BCC. All of their corporate clients' addresses were revealed to the pool of job seekers and visa versa. Oops!. Needless to say they lost a lot of clients that day. Some of the vitriol sent back (to everyone on the original send list btw) was very nasty indeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Andrew Dont tell everyone... you wont be able to get in there if they all turn up! Thats why I am not going to tell you on here that we may be in Tap East on Saturday evening!! ...oops!! Ian ..... or in the Craft Beer Co, Monday night with Warbonnet. d'oh!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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