tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post5610766715520289451..comments2024-03-04T04:08:39.755-08:00Comments on The Fies Files: Linked OutBrian Fieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16347700145666751363noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post-3492469101958924592011-09-27T15:49:55.218-07:002011-09-27T15:49:55.218-07:00Hmm, my comment didn't post. I noted that you ...Hmm, my comment didn't post. I noted that you might find Google Plus, with its capacity to separate contacts into discrete "circles" or groups, serves your need to have one central social networking point but keep your science-writer and comic-book contacts separate. It's Google Plus's only real advantage over Facebook that I can see.ronniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14044863062652781155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post-33878071892178084012011-09-27T01:54:51.596-07:002011-09-27T01:54:51.596-07:00Great blog post, Brian. It's true that these s...Great blog post, Brian. It's true that these sites are hard to quit. But I tend to view them as another place to put links to my site and blog! I haven't used MySpace for years but my profile is still there, with my links on it. LinkedIn is a bit more of a nag though, as you say, with its constant emails, so I may yet follow your lead and quit.Royston Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post-6774020498210088262011-09-25T09:30:41.526-07:002011-09-25T09:30:41.526-07:00First they came for the expensive strawberry jam b...First they came for the expensive strawberry jam buyers, and I did not speak out for I did not buy expensive strawberry jam...Brian Fieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347700145666751363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post-54753237245490062092011-09-25T07:31:38.224-07:002011-09-25T07:31:38.224-07:00I've never understood the harrumphing over bei...I've never understood the harrumphing over being "used" by Facebook et al. It's a fair trade: we get free interactivity with friends around the world, and the social network companies get ad space and marketing info. It's mutual exploitation. <br /><br />There's a similar hand-wringing with the portable grocery scanners popping up in several supermarkets near my home - - a fellow I work with said he would NEVER let anyone track his grocery purchases, little realizing he's leaving a trail whenever he swipes his debit card at the cash register. I'd rather blaze through the grocery aisles with the scanner, skipping the unloading and reloading of the shopping cart at the end, than worry about Stop 'n' Shop Inc knowing that I buy the slightly more-expensive strawberry jam.Jim O'Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01806624628546492210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post-23083557794899353442011-09-24T12:19:00.670-07:002011-09-24T12:19:00.670-07:00My son Jed drops by here once in awhile, but rathe...My son Jed drops by here once in awhile, but rather than count on that, I'll pass along his response to the recurring rumor that Facebook is about to start charging for access:<br /><br />"Facebook is not about to start charging you a fee, relax. See, it goes like this - companies are in business to make money, they do this by charging a fee to their customers. You are not a customer, you are chattel. The customers appear in the right margin. Facebook will start charging you the day the zoo charges admission to the monkeys."<br /><br />A smart lad.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16807727819590358834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post-72119840143602181752011-09-24T09:01:43.445-07:002011-09-24T09:01:43.445-07:00Facebook still adds value to my life and possibly ...Facebook still adds value to my life and possibly my career. It's been a very nice way for me to keep in touch with far-flung family and old friends. Besides, I seem to be one of the very few who doesn't mind the recent "upgrade." <br /><br />Still, Sherwood's insight about Facebook users being product (whose information, contacts and eyeballs are bought and sold) rather than clients occurred to me when I signed up--an intrusion I tried to minimize by providing little more than my name (no birthday, location, etc.). It's a trade-off I'm OK with for now.<br /><br />Over time, my nagging complaint with Facebook is its tiny, tiny attention span. Posts have a maximum life of three or four hours before they drop off everybody's radar. There's no solution for it, it's built into Facebook's DNA; many of its short-attention-span users probably consider it a feature instead of a bug.<br /><br />There are times I imagine chucking it all and using my time more productively. If I ever do, this blog will be the last to go.Brian Fieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16347700145666751363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post-37161563429841409932011-09-24T08:29:29.166-07:002011-09-24T08:29:29.166-07:00I like my invisible irrational boundaries clean an...<i>I like my invisible irrational boundaries clean and high.</i><br /><br />You're in good company: Clark Kent, Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, et al did, too. Maybe you should start thinking of your Comics World persona as your superhero side.<br /><br />And, Mike, I'm close to pulling the plug on Facebook, too, but for a simpler reason. A few days ago someone pointed out to me that, since it's free, users are FB's <i>product</i> rather than its clients. While that should have been obvious to me, it wasn't, and now I feel used every time I post something there. The group for far-flung Harringtons that I'm part of will probably keep me there, though.Sherwood Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575868746160608731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1568334561722760329.post-11424612477282935392011-09-24T04:51:49.957-07:002011-09-24T04:51:49.957-07:00I recently dropped LinkIn for much the same reason...I recently dropped LinkIn for much the same reason. Someone had told me I needed to be there, but over several years, I never figured out any benefit that didn't exist in other places, and it was a pestery kind of place that kept wanting you to acknowledge people for no apparent reason, but mostly to accept the connection. Whatever that was for.<br /><br />Except that when I joined, my cousin emailed me to find out if I'd been fired or was looking for a new gig or what. I guess LinkedIn is kind of a career-oriented version of Match.com -- and equally a sign of desperation and lack of ingenuity.<br /><br />I'm currently reassessing Facebook in light of its overhaul and continued obfuscation. Like LinkedIn, it seems to have a lot of people who collect "friends" simply to have a large number, and I've decided that I really don't need to see the posts of people who I don't know in real life, who never post comics, who never comment on my postings and who never post in a language I can even identify, much less read.<br /><br />The scary thing is, I really do have a pretty good number of those kinds of "friends."Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16807727819590358834noreply@blogger.com