Anti-Social-Networking

Or: why I quit facebook and don't tweet.

A couple of weeks back I deleted my facebook account. I don't miss it. I hardly ever used it, and each new "update" just made the web page more painful. Besides, I really don't like the "all your data are belong to us" attitude betrayed by the steadily less private privacy controls.

Which brings up a question: we writing types tend not to be social butterflies. We're not going to write a novel in tweets or facebook updates. Heck, most of us won't write one in blog posts (and we won't mention my collection of dust-gathering blogs...). Where that gets fun is the ever-increasing requirement of publishers that their authors do their own publicity.

That's not the question. The question is this: in a massively networked future society, what happens to the introverts who don't want to be networked every which way? While there's always been an element of "who you know" to success, it's been possible to slip past that gateway and do well anyway, whether by luck, competence, or some other factor. When it's all networked together and your network is what determines if you can be trusted with anything from a McJob (if they still exist) up, what happens to the person who doesn't have and doesn't want a network?

It's an interesting thought, isn't it? For me it comes down to the question of whether the future that seems to be approaching at speed is one where I have a place. And that's before you consider the question of control - which is a minefield all by itself.

I like instant messaging because I can control who I see and who sees me. I'm not splatting something to the entire world. If I make a blog post, I know beforehand it's going out to the whole wide world (or the portion of it that's interested in what I write, which is a rather smaller group). I like knowing which is what, and having control over how much of it random strangers can reach. Or maybe that's just illusory - but the issue of virii and hacking is a different one again.

Is this a writer thing, or is it a geek thing? (Geeks will often choose to have more control even if it means more complexity, where the general population tends to go for simplicity at the expense of control). Or is it an introvert versus extrovert - or, just possibly, a Kate-weird thing?

What do you think? What do you want out of the facebooks and the twitters and whatever replaces them?

Grappling with e-Socialization

I am not the most internet savvy person in the world. My website is functional and basic, and since the host changed I have not been able to figure out how to upload changes (yes, must get onto that).

I am on Facebook, but am not even quite sure what Twitter is. I'm on a few email lists, but mainly as a lurker.

The main problem is time. As it stands I need to make a choice between spending the few precious hours either writing or reading. More often than not its the writing that wins - it has to. And that's balancing a laptop on the bus or squeezing in a few lunchtime hours at the cafe. Weekends are better, but still a tough compromise with family time and activities. I'm not alone here.

But for the few minutes I do manage to log onto Facebook, I find myself baffled by the loquacious multitude. I learn quickly about people's travels, about how they can't wait to see that band, about the coffee they had that morning, how they didn't get enough sleep. Meanwhile I sit staring at the little box for my comment wondering what to write. More often than not I don't end up writing anything. For a start I can't possibly think that anyone is going to be interested in the mundane trivia of my life. Then - when I do have something significant going on - I feel as though I can't share this with a bunch of cyberites, at least not without the expectation of some sort of meaningful response. I need a find a balance with that.

OK. This is just a naked plea for help. What the Hell are you supposed to write on Facebook?

And for those that have grappled with Twitter - is this worth the look?

In the mean time, here is something for those who enjoy Multicultural (and Catholic) humour. This one tickled my fancy . . .

Each Friday night after work, Santa Singh would fire up his outdoor grill and cook a tandoori chicken and some meat kebabs. But, all of his neighbors were strict Catholics...and since it was Lent, they were forbidden from eating chicken and meat on a Friday.

The delicious aroma from the grilled meats was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their Priest.

The Priest came to visit Santa, and suggested that he become a Catholic. After several classes and much study, Santa attended Mass... and as the priest sprinkled holy water over him, he said, “You were born a Sikh, and raised a Sikh, but now, you are a Catholic."

Santa’s neighbors were greatly relieved, until Friday night arrived.

The wonderful aroma of tandoori chicken and meat kebabs filled the neighborhood. The Priest was called immediately by the neighbors and, as he rushed into Santa's backyard, clutching a rosary and prepared to scold him, he stopped and watched in amazement.

There stood Santa, holding a small bottle of holy water which he carefully sprinkled over the grilling meats and chanted: "Oye, you waz born a chicken, and you waz born a lamb, you waz raised a chicken, and you waz raised a lamb but now yara, you are a potato and tomato"!