Is it just me, or does anyone else think Facebook is the most worthless waste of time ever?
Facebook is so maddeningly useless to me, I just can’t stand it anymore. I don’t want to be poked, bitten by vampires, sent drinks, find out if my movie tastes are like someone else’s, join a group for which I have no time, add another whatever the hell wall widget, or anything else.
I’m DONE.
So if you were my friend on Facebook, so sorry. It ain’t you. You can still find me on LinkedIn, which is the only real useful network to me, and Pownce, which is also pretty close to worthless.
I get more real networking done with blogging, commenting, emailing, and instant messaging than I ever did with Facebook.
So if you want to be in my real network, email me at michaelmartine@gmail.com or Skype me at michael.martine.
11 Comments
Michael, I find Facebook annoying too. Too many goofy applications and people don’t even use them correctly.
Hi Mike, I feel about the same as you re Facebook as well as many other social networking sites. They’ve become a playground for people with too much free time on their hands.
I’ve kept my profile active as a link back to my main website but basically just ignore requests to add friends, etc. Personally I don’t like being poked either online or in person. Later…
Facebook is better used as a personal networking tool than a professional blogging tool. Although Lara Saad apparently makes some good income though Facebook (perhaps the rest of us will find out how during the next few months).
I’m bored by Facebook, and I find it a waste of my time. I also enjoy blogging, commenting, and instant messaging with family.
Hey Michael,
What is this about looking for love in online spaces? Was Facebook really another version of a lonely hearts club?
This whole social media thing has left me feeling sorta jaded. I get more connection with posting and commenting on relevant blogs than these things. Plus I meet more like-minded people.
I never got started with Facebook because of all of the stuff you mentioned in your post. It seemed more of a big waste of time and just a TOY for self amusement, more appropo for kids and people who had loads of time to waste.
I’ve heard gurus SAY Facebook could do so much but never saw anything worthwhile coming from what they did on it. So I passed. Based on your comments, I’m very glad I did.
I have found LinkedIn to be valuable, because it’s focused on business and work relationships. Other than that, my most powerful networking tools are blogging, comments, and email/IM. This next year, I’d like to make blogging conferences a part of this, as well.
@michael martine - yes linkedin is useful; but I hate to say this, because facebook’s userbase is growing so fast, it is also becoming important and I think it might be as necessary as linkedin.
Mike,
I second your opinion on face book. I must admit that I still have an active profile there but I am not sure why. Is it ‘irrational exuberance’?
A TOTAL waste of precious time. The moment you log in, you have these annoying things poking, winking, bumping, scratching, grinding against, lean towards, lean away from…….It never stops.
The Path to consummate irritation.
Yes, Linked in is so peaceful comparatively. Blogs, comments and the community formed around your own activity online should be your primary asset, just like you said.
I have been contemplating signing up with facebook as some of my friends in Canada (whom I havent been in contact with for 10 years or more)are members. I found out I can reach them on facebook from a mutual friend. I have never ventured into the whole social networking thing aside from blogs and a few forums. I’m sure glad I stumbled on this blog; as I may re-think the situation. Besides who likes being poked at or nagged all the time.
@Mike: if you want to keep friends and business separate, I can see how Facebook is just fun, but LinkedIn is for business. I guess it would depend on what kind of friends you have. Nearly all my friends are business friends and nearly everything I do of every waking hour of the day is related to business, so for me Facebook is pretty useless, whereas LinkedIn is highly useful. By the way, I don’t find a link to a YouTube video as the commenter’s URL to be acceptable, so I edited it out. Please don’t do it again, thanks.
I too am pretty sick of all the useless third-party applications. What I do like about Facebook, though, is the Events application. As a college student, I like to see what my friends are doing and what kinds of things are going on around campus, etc. That’s the real value of Facebook for me. Plus, the vast majority of students are on it, so you can find almost anyone if you need to contact them and don’t know their phone number or email address.
3 Trackbacks
[...] you’re approaching the social networking game all wrong. It could be that you’re on the wrong network to begin with. Maybe these tips will help you rearrange your Facebook for more effective [...]
[...] of a decline in personal blogs and a shift towards social time wasters media networks like Facebook and StumbleUpon. To suggest this means a decline in blogging generally is to fail to see the bigger [...]
[...] grow your blog in several important ways. With all the social media hoopla (and in some cases, backlash), I wanted to write a clear explanation for you about the relationship between social media and [...]