Thursday, April 02, 2009

to FB or not to FB, that is the question



do you facebook?

i've been facebooking since july of last year. i have been using facebook mobile since january. i haven't studied the statstics, but i'm willing to bet there is a direct correlation between the number of blog posts i have (or have not) written and the amount of time i've spent on facebook since then.

i've said it before, and i'll say it again... i am an instant gratification girl. i love status updates. i love comments. i love the "i like it" button. i love becoming a fan. i love sharing obscure you tube videos.

i love connecting with friends.

i love that my father still cautions me to be "careful on the Internet..."

of course, you must be careful with what you share. facebook is very much a public bulletin board, and you need to proceed with caution. back in december, when Grabbie was living her last days, my cousins and i all had an agreement that we would not acknowledge her death in our facebook status' until we were sure that everyone had been notified personally. who wants to get that kind of news from facebook?

today, i am following the labor and delivery of a friend's baby. it's a different situation for me, as the friend is the father in this scenario. usually, i am rooting for my girls on labor and delivery day! i have been entertained by his status updates since roughly 4:18 this morning... it's almost like being there!

during our adventures through new orleans, our favorite phrase was "facebook it!" when something particulary funny, weird, abnormal, crazy or otherwise notable happened.

just today, i found out that there is a name for people who use social networking sites like i do... it's called WILB, or Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing. and, it turns out, those of us who do it are 9% more productive at work!! you know what i like to do with that kind of good news???

FACEBOOK IT!!

do you facebook?

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I FB, as you know, and I like it. I was weary at first, not really knowing what would come of it or if the people that I interact with would use it. But I have found so.many.people- I enjoy it. I like the instant gratification and being able to keep tabs on some people vis status updates.

That being said, I don't like all the applications and notifications and other stuff that I get invited to do. I just like people, I don't need flair.

Rebekah said...

i quit facebook about a month ago. it's new and exciting at first, but after a while it just got boring to me. and i was sick and tired of all my friends communicating with me only through status updates, pokes, sending my invites to takes quizzes, asking me to join them on the oregon trail, etc., etc., etc. the final nail in the coffin was facebook's slight of hand trick with their user agreement. yeah, they finally caved to pressure, but it showed what their main motivations are (and i guess they're not that surprising).

i might join another type of social networking site in the future, but i doubt i'd hang out there very long. blogs and emails are still my favorite ways to keep in touch.

if you are neglecting your blog for facebook, i hate facebook even more! start posting again, lady!

{krista} said...

I love facebook, but I'll always love blogging (and my google reader) more!

Dacia said...

I'm a facebook addict!

Lene said...

Facebook..that ever present evil blog mistress, but I do love it.

Chris said...

I LOVE FB and sadly, my blog posts show that. So easy to type in a quick status update that says it all. :-) I admit, Hello, my name is Chris and I am a FB addict.

The i like button is the best. HAHA

Elizabeth said...

I am a every few days facebooker. But I love it.

Janiece said...

I started on facebook long before blogging.
But, I think my facebook is more random than my blog. My blog usually has had a thought process behind it.
Facebook is like diarhea of the mouth.
LOVE IT!

Amy said...

Facebook hasn't snagged me so much yet. But I do read your updates daily (and smile at the pure Lellyness).

The Monkeys said...

So funny. I have noticed a decided downturn in the amount of blog post by a lot of friends due to instant gratification. I do FB, but sometimes it does annoy me! It was fun to find all those friends from HS out there, though and see what they are up to.

Jill said...

I don't Facebook, and see the loss of bloggers to it as another reason not to.

Darla said...

Lelly,

I love facebook. Have caught up with friends, relatives, classmates from years ago...
What is your Name.. I want YOU as a friend.. Mine is Darla Ruffin Mast!!!
Whohoo.. another facebook buddy!!

MaryRC said...

i facebook too.. were facebook buds. i to have found a direct correlation between blogging and facebook activity. i really only have time for one. so i do one or the other it seems. when im not in the mood for blogging i facebook, when im not in the mood for facebook i blog. at first fb was all consuming, but im the honeymoon is over and im back on the blogging track because my blog was so neglected and my readership dissipated. i blame facebook. but i wont quit either, just figuring my balance. :-) i mobil fb more now.

janna said...

I facebook.

Barb said...

I have a facebook account but I never log on. Ever.

Cecilia said...

I love facebook! And I have to admit that ever since I started in February, I've had less blog posts :(

Now I have to go add you as my FB friend!!!!

Alisha said...

To me Facebook seems like TMI, in a random way, not in an inappropriate or gross way. Honestly, I don't care that some acquaintance I had in high school is "putting her kids to bed." And since I don't know her parents or friends, it's weird to me to get their comments on her bedtime activities.

I think I don't quite *get* Facebook . . . it certainly hasn't had the instant appeal for me that blogging did . . . Plus I don't think Facebook is pretty. Blogs are pretty. I'm all about pretty. I need all the "pretty" I can get in my life. If I want sterile, gender-neutral, functional I can log on to my work website.

(Now that was a TMI comment, I realize!)

michelle said...

I'm cracking up over Alisha's comment -- I feel a lot the same way. I only log onto Facebook when I get a friend request. I guess I'm more committed to blogging. Marc really likes Facebook, however.

Natasha said...

I like FB. I do not, however, like that management at my office and board members also like FB. I did not feel like I could tell them they could not be my "friend." So, I have to be careful what I put on there. My boss was mad I didn't invite him over for the bellini's - man, it was a girl's only jewelry party at my house for cryin' out loud!! If it wasn't for FB, he never would've known.

Natasha said...

I am with Alisha too.