Facebook to Make Changes, Outcry to Come!

Facebook users come in a lot of flavors, regardless of whatever stereotype you assign to the service. You have kids who can't spell, sharing way too much of their young lives that they're sure to regret later. You've got Gen Xers (who don't feel old enough yet) reconnecting with classmates and old friends who haven't aged nearly as well as they themselves have, like an ongoing, never-ending reunion. You've got moms and grandmoms who alternatively either live on Facebook (including all of the games), and those who just don't get it no matter how much you try to explain it to them. You've got people who use Facebook in tandem with Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and other services to get their news, all the while interacting with others, including celebrities, journalists and other newsmakers.

I use Facebook daily, in a number of ways, both as an individual and as a blogger. I cross-pollinate it with Twitter and my blog, and am connected through several computers, my phone and my tablet. I sometimes have too many screens going at once, and I'm probably too plugged in, to be honest. I also still use AOL, despite its obsolescence, and despite my being a fairly advanced user. So, it is difficult to pigeonhole people who use any given service, or how they use it. Which was a long way to go to say that: "Uh-oh, Facebook is changing again, y'all, and people are gonna freak out!"

Image from source, Huffington Post

Whenever Facebook changes something, I see countless posts of people complaining about it. Threatening to never use Facebook again. Demanding that it change back. Even starting pages dedicated to getting things changed back to the way they were! Why can't they leave it the way it was?!? It's stupid!!#1`1! And then, they'll get used to it. And then they'll change it, and they'll be pissed that it isn't what they changed it from. If software developers listened to the average complaint on Facebook about changing things, we'd be stuck with version 1.0 of everything, and the internet would all look like Freerepublic.com or The Drudge Report.

[Excerpt]

Facebook Launches Feeds For Photos, Music, Friends-Only, And More

Today at Facebook HQ, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new look for news feed that uses a “mobile-inspired” consistent design across devices, lets you drill into specific content-type feeds, and offers larger images. Photo albums have gotten a facelift as well to be more immersive, and links shared will have longer blurb to preview what you’re about to click to. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Greenlee Gazette is Now on Twitter and Facebook!

Yeah, I'm a little slow getting to the transition, I realize that. But from now on, most posts here on the main site will be posted to Facebook, and all Facebook posts will automatically post to Twitter. Plus, a few "quickie" posts that don't make the main site will be available there as well. I'm trying to cajole Stupid Monkey Planet into setting up a presence there with me, and if he does, I'll make sure everything is cross-posted. Follow me, you'll be glad you did!
 

Facebook Users Are About to Go Insane

Image from source, CNN

Of all the social media platforms, Facebook is the only one I feel I "get." LinkedIn is really new to me, but I understand that it's sort of a business Facebook. Twitter gets me excited when there is a live event like a debate or the Emmys. It's fun to read the real-time comments. But most of the time, I don't know what to do with Twitter. I apparently still have an account at MySpace, but I never figured out what to do with it, and now it is kind of pointless.

I'm actually amazed how many people get flustered or confused about Facebook. I think it's ridiculously easy to grasp. And every time they've made a change to the interface, the users have screamed bloody murder. Then they get used to it, and it becomes the new normal. But now, the Facebook users are about to be greeted by a radically different interface. And they're going to crap themselves over this one. Until they get used to it.

My viewpoint is, change is good. If it isn't good, it will revert, or become something else. If it doesn't change, one day it will look as ugly and dated as Prodigy, The Drudge Report and Free Republic.


[Excerpt]

You'll freak when you see the new Facebook

Facebook users, mark my words: You'll revolt when the site rolls out its new features in the coming weeks.

Facebook is about to completely change the way its profile pages look as part of the website's biggest redesign so far, and only a fraction of the website's 800 million users seem to have the slightest clue. . .


Read more at: CNN

 

What Happens in Vegas: Las Vegas Gets a New Slogan

Oh, they're still using "What Happens Here, Stays Here."  But they're refining it, to deal with smart phones and social media. Sure you can share your experiences. . .just know when to say when!

It should be pointed out that those of us who live in the Las Vegas Valley are not allowed to use the "hey, it's Vegas, baby!" excuse when we misbehave. We don't think it's fair and just might document those things that "the code" disallows! So, watch yourselves. . .




Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

Are Social Networks Actually Anti-Social?

Image from source, NY Times

I can only answer this question for myself, and in that regard I have to say no.  Aside from being something of a time-sucker, Facebook (and Twitter, for me to a much lesser degree) has let me reconnect with people I haven't talked to in years. It allows me to give a quick hello or how-do-you-do to people I probably would not have taken the time to call.  It lets me keep tabs without having to spend an hour on the phone--and I don't like to talk on the phone much.

I know, that kind of sounds anti-social, doesn't it? But I was already that way, I guess.  Also, I reconnected with a friend from high school who--while I sat next to her for four years in the 80s--wasn't one of my "inner circle" back then. But we've been chatting for a year or so now, several times a week.  That never would have happened without Facebook.  So, my verdict is, it depends on how you use them.

[Excerpt]

Antisocial Networking?

Children used to actually talk to their friends. Those hours spent on the family princess phone or hanging out with pals in the neighborhood after school vanished long ago. But now, even chatting on cellphones or via e-mail (through which you can at least converse in paragraphs) is passé. For today’s teenagers and preteens, the give and take of friendship seems to be conducted increasingly in the abbreviated snatches of cellphone texts and instant messages, or through the very public forum of Facebook walls and MySpace bulletins. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Letterman's Top 10 Signs You Twitter Too Much

For the life of me, I still can't figure out what to use Twitter for. Facebook? Sure. Twitter? Why?

Jon Stewart Tries Out Chatroulette (with Guest Stars)

I was a latecomer to Facebook after mostly missing MySpace, and not understanding what to do with Twitter. Now, there's Chatroulette, and it's taking the country--or at least the news media--by storm. Here's what I don't get: if you want to see nekkid people doing nekkid things to themselves or others, there are countless sites devoted to just that. If that isn't your aim, that's still what you're getting with Chatroulette.

Anyway, this clip is laugh out loud funny, with cameos by Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Keith Olbermann and others.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Tech-Talch - Chatroulette
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Sarah Palin Twittering...

Tweeting? Twitting? Twatting? Not sure, haven't really figured out the Twitters yet. But if you want to see what goes on in Caribou Barbie's brain space, have at it!

Sarah Palin's Twitter Page