thought for today

facebook challenges

Facebook! What a great idea.  I could use one spot to contact all of my friends and family and in return let them contact me in short snippets of conversation.

I found a friend with whom I had lost contact.  I saw my grandson's pictures right away.  I even got regular glimpses of my cousin's new poster baby.  Family from far away seemed closer now, even family I had not seen since I was a child.

But there is a downside.  Politics I don't like, negative thinking made easy to share by crude pictures and even cruder language.  Only about four of the 200 people I suddenly had as friends used the language, or posted really offensive views, but I felt I had to police my page.  It turned into work.

I learned to "hide" stories or language I didn't like.  I learned to "unsubscribe" repeat offenders.  The hide button is a drop down from the little box at the top right of each story or feed.

Wow!  The more people you let into your space, the more ways it can be violated.  I have a mostly loving, positive, group.  I have a passionate few who have causes they want to champion.  As long as these are my causes as well, I am happy.  But when someone waves a National Rifle Association slogan, I am chilled to the bone.  

I'm not expecting to take part in a violent revolution, and don't see a need for assault weapons in my home or my neighbors' homes. Hide.  Hide.  I am so glad I found that button on the upper right of each story.

It isn't that I want to be friends only with those whose views echo my own.  I want my page to reflect my own values when people search for me.  So, I have to work the page, use that "hide" button.  Sometimes I even feel I need to unsubscribe someone's regular updates if they are working me too hard.  Click on the friend, and pull down the menu to find "unsubscribe."  He or she is still  your friend, but unless they send you a note or tag you in a photo, you no longer see their "stuff."  Nice compromise.

Is it really worth it?  Right now I am trying out a period of "unsubscribe" from the whole Facebook account.  I discovered it under Account Settings/Security.  Unsubscribe means no one's updates go on your page, and your page is invisible until you turn it back on.  You still get the email notices from friends who ping you directly, but your page doesn't activate.  If you click on one of those email notices, however, your unsubscribe is over.  

Use discrimination.  If it is electronic, it is fair game for the world.  To quote Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, "The question isn't, 'What do we want to know about people?', It's, 'What do people want to tell about themselves?'"

Blessings,

Kathy