Facebook

[Warkitty]

Ok, I think my facebook is getting out of hand.

At first it was cute. I got friend requests from ultra-runners in Switzerland. Well hey, why not get some new pen-pals, right? There's that common trail running theme going, they're cute, why not?
Then other ultra runners from other countries appeared. I don't read French or Italian, but it occasionally appears in the status updates. I can't decide if it's worth the babblefish translation when so much is colloquial between the Swiss and Belgian dialects.

Still, all that was kinda cool. Then the old High School friends started to appear along with college friends not heard from in years. Still, cool because I knew them or used to hang out with them right? I started wondering how I knew so many people.

Then family members found me. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles... and when you have three parents to start with, two with at least 5 siblings and almost all of THEM with kids (some of them with grandkids) the numbers really started shooting through the roof.

Then there's the local cyclists, some of whom I remember riding with at some point in my fuzzy memory, the runners, and then the pagan community started to find me through old college friends and sci-fi fandom friends and my head started to spin. I REALLY got wondering how many of these people I do I even remember?

I just this past few days got some requests from people I've given up on recalling. One I left sitting in the requests box for a week while I tried to figure out how the hell I knew her. We had no common friends... where did this 17yr old kid come from? Finally figured out she's from the barn where I've started riding horses again. How she determined she wanted to friend me I have no idea. Today I got a friend request from someone I must have gone to high school with. He's got mutual friends from one of my HS groups of friends (the younger crowd)... we must have known each other... but I'll be damned at this point if I can remember him. I shrugged and went with it. I mean, I've accepted complete strangers on flimsier connections at this point, why not?

I have a choice at this point. Pare the thing down to JUST the people I remember speaking to face to face (and lose some great online penpals from over the years) and still have over 300 "friends" listed, or just go with it and accept the random friends requests until I reach whatever limit the program gives. I'm sure Gary will let us all know what that limit is, when he reaches it

[gridbug]

You're just being that way because you didn't get your coffee

[Bob]

yup, me too...
so facebook is introducing all my friends to each other.

family, church, forum, highschool, college, bartending, and models.

"if I didn't have anything to do with you 30 years ago what the F$*& makes you think I'll like you now???"

[grin]

[Walker, Texas Ranger]

I'm sure Gary will let us all know what that limit is, when he reaches it

I've been told the limit for a personal page (as opposed to a fan page) is 5,000. So I still have a ways to go.

For me, I have an open policy - I approve all friend requests since I am a "media figure".

Interesting thing is, even though I have over 1,500 FB friends, I do, in fact, know a strong majority of them.

I just know a lot of people...

[ScarlettP]

I've gotten really bad. I tell peeps, "If you wanna talk to me, here's my Email. Or join one of my forums. Those are the only places I check." I have no desire to plow through hundreds of generic messages sent out in mass about who's kid got toilet trained today or what people had for lunch yesterday.

Oh wait. Don't we do that here?

[Warkitty]

Oh Scarlett, I admit I miss a lot of status updates, pictures, and other such things.

[daworm]

Yet another reason I don't have a Facebook page.

[tuffmustang]

I just turn off the feed of those who are not on my main list. (ie Distant Relatives, gamer friends, etc).

And if they are someone who I don't really know or want to know, I add them, check out the profile on them and either say ok or delete them from my friends list.

[Justin Thyme]

I put everyone in a list or two. I have one list called favorites that I add anyone I really care about to and set that list as my default read. I'm also currently purging people that are only friends because I needed them to increase the size of my mafia. The game changed and I'm no longer interested in it.

[LimitedRecourse]

It's still more fun than Assbook.

[JC]

Adultfriendfinder is where it's at...

I could read twits on there all day

[Tookie]

The game changed and I'm no longer interested in it.

Yeah it's gotten pretty boring. And Gan Dalf has about as many friends as I do.

[Conservator]

Yeah... it's no fun when you have to watch what you say/post because you know your entire family can read it. I like a little anonymity.

Next Notta party I attend I'm wearing a mask.

[Justin Thyme]

One of the advantages about getting old(er) is that eventually you get to the point where you are the one that the rest of the family worries about what they say around you and you get a pass because you are old. I'm really enjoying watching the interaction of my sons', nieces' and nephews' interactions with their grandmother on FB. They don't censor themselves as much as you might think.

[Warkitty]

Indeed, I don't censor myself much at all.

[LimitedRecourse]

I am the model of restraint.

[Babs]

I've got people I have never e-mailed who have been kicked off this board wanting on my facebook. Hell, No!

[Warkitty]

and I've had nationally re-knowned marathoners responding to my status update.

[Jay]

"media figure".

You're practically a "media figure."

[Bob]

Dec 17, 2009 15:26:40 GMT -5 Warkitty said:

and I've had nationally re-knowned marathoners responding to my status update.

Very cool. I know my head swells when "famous" actresses or models comment on a photo..

[caryc]

Dec 16, 2009 16:33:39 GMT -5 JC said:

Adultfriendfinder is where it's at...

I could read twits on there all day

And I bet you do...NOT surprising!

[Warkitty]

The beauty of FB is you can quietly unfriend someone if you get to realizing you really don't care for them much at all. I rarely do that, but today I realized I was tired of someone's constantly negative and often mean-spirited personality and viola! she's gone. Not just on ignore for later, just... gone.

[sarahm]

I responded to a question put forth by Anne Rice and she responded back to me!

[Jay]

Are you sure that's the *real* Anne Rice?

I think most famous people who actually use facebook/myspace, just have some of their peeps handle their accounts.

[el Gusano]

I use email for the "famous" people I know. They always answer their own email.

[Tsavodiner]

Dec 18, 2009 8:35:54 GMT -5 Warkitty said:

The beauty of FB is you can quietly unfriend someone if you get to realizing you really don't care for them much at all. I rarely do that, but today I realized I was tired of someone's constantly negative and often mean-spirited personality and viola! she's gone. Not just on ignore for later, just... gone.

More room for ME

[Walker, Texas Ranger]

I think most famous people who actually use facebook/myspace, just have some of their peeps handle their accounts.

I knew I was doing it wrong.

[sarahm]

I do believe it was the real Anne Rice. She has always been very accessible to her fans.

[RuneDeer]

Dec 17, 2009 8:48:04 GMT -5 Conservator said:

Yeah... it's no fun when you have to watch what you say/post because you know your entire family can read it.

I have probably taken the ultimate Wimp's Way Out on that one: I started a second FB page just for in-laws and co-workers who would probably be surprised (and not pleasantly) by looking at the general "flavor" of my main page. It's kind of like being a double agent for both CONTROL and KAOS.

[Ringleman#5]

Interesting thing is, even though I have over 1,500 FB friends, I do, in fact, know a strong majority of them.I just know a lot of people...

But we can't all be attention whores, can we?