My Break-Up with FB

Recent revelations regarding Facebook’s complicit role in unauthorized sharing (selling) of it’s users data with 3rd party companies as well as the enormous propaganda machine the social media giant turned a blind eye to during the 2016 presidential campaign have caused me to take serious issue with the social media platform. 

To be fair, Facebook & I had already been sharing an estranged, on & off again relationship over the past 10 years or so - I guess I’d long since fallen out of love with many things people chose to share & perhaps more importantly, my (admittedly) presumed reasoning for their doing so. What once seemed like an excellent way to keep in touch with (or tabs on) friends, now very much feels like a never-ending competition among co-workers, peers & family members alike.

I hate having to witness the brazen insensitivity of folk when it comes to relationship issues, death announcements & other handle-with-care posts of the like. None of the rude comments, jealous reactions, or First 48 theories do anything to enhance my quality of life, so I’m simply choosing not to partake.

But it was really the weaponization of Facebook in recent years, by both foreign & domestic players alike, to further sew decent, hate & bigotry into the very fabric of our democracy that pissed me off. On top of that, its just hurtful to know there are so many among us who absolutely refuse to see any issue from a perspective different than their own.   

It’s recently been estimated that about 50% of Americans get their news from Facebook. Yes, an unregulated, ad driven, unverified news saturated & highly politicized social media website is now responsible for how roughly half of US citizens obtain news content - just think about that. 

In some ways, I guess its all a not so friendly reminder of the work we have left to do in this country. Still, the general lack of accountability that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shown before, during & since the past presidential campaign when paired with recent trends of cyber-bullying, suicide posts & racial stand-offs have all left a bad taste in my mouth.

Moving forward, I anticipate using Facebook as more of an emergency telephone book of sort… if absolutely necessary, I can always reactivate my account with the sole intention of retrieving pertinent information regarding friends & deactivate immediately afterward. Otherwise, I really don’t expect to miss it much, if at all.

Cinco de Ghostwriter28...

Well, well, well... this month marks the 5th anniversary of Ghostwriter28.com. It's so very hard to believe I've been at it this long & even though I've taken the occasional break from posting here & there, this remains an active blog & for that, I'm quite proud. 

This is post #168, while the other 167 posts have covered a wide range of subjects... 'reflection, love & sports' are my most frequently used tags.

It'll be interesting to see which tags will dominate the next 5 years of blogging. Since I started in 2010, I've gathered a completely new respect for others who blog. Coming up with content even just once a month proves to be a challenge for me at times, so I'm frequently amazed by those who blog daily & they're really great at it too!

As I recall, I began this blog to help archive some of my thoughts & experiences so that I might someday go back & relive them, Just today, I've spent time looking at my previous posts & have had quite a few chuckles at my own expense. But I'm glad that I bothered to capture some of my feelings on various topics over the years. I hope to become better & more consistent in the years to come.

Many thanks to those of you who've taken the time to drop-in over the years, whether you ended up here by accident or you're a real-life friend of mine, you're all very much appreciated!

404

I've been laying low & away from the social networking scene as of late. No particular reason, it's just my annual 'purge period.' So outside of this blog, my digital footprint has been relatively small over the past 2 months. No Facebook, Instagram or any similar websites for the time being. It's always nice to take a step back, even if it only happens once a year.

It kind of forces me to communicate with those close to me by using more traditional forms of communication (i.e. snail-mail, e-mail, actual telephone chats, yunno sh!t like that). I also like to use this time of year to audit my personal contact lists. Folk who I haven't been in contact with, in some form or another over the past year, frequently get the boot during this period.

Have I spoken with you recently? Lol, but seriously, it's not at all an anger inspired activity, I've just been doing it this way for years now. Its actually a great way to keep my current contact information organized & up to date. I really enjoy the opportunity to reboot at the end of each year, I guess it sort of helps keep things from going stale - any who... Happy New Year!

Chit-Chat...

So I've got these 4 buddies that I've been chatting with (via group messaging app). If only I could disclose the sheer fuckery that takes place within, lol. 

We each, at the very strong urging of a mutual friend (& sister), accepted invitations to join the private chat group at some point earlier this fall. 

The on-going chatter typically begins between 6-7am (Monday thru Friday) & continues well into the evening. Group members chime-in (at their own discretion) at various points of the day to talk about absolutely anything under the sun. One never knows what the next chat topic will be, but it's sure to be funny!

Early morning commute & lunch times provide ample opportunity for each member to talk sh!t, but it's the chat sessions that take place following the close of business on weekdays that crack me up the most! Each chat group member is different & in so many ways too - it provides quite an entertaining dynamic.

The group is pretty active during the weekend as well... so we're usually up, chatting away by 10am or so. It's pretty interesting, more closely following the lives of 4 friends in such a manner. It seems the chat group reveals interesting & unknown information about a member each day. There's never a dull moment I tell ya. 

Soon we'll be selecting our secret Santa gift recipients... I'm pretty excited about that. As you can see from the photos attached to this post, we share daily (& sometimes hourly) selfie shots, sometimes there are themes for the selfies - we like to have fun with it, we can get really competitive about it too. 

The group even has bylaws governing the amount of time we can spend away from the chat, as well as the frequency of those breaks - lmao! But in all seriousness, the chat group is a pretty cool way for us all to pass the time. It's nice to keep up with several good friends whom I wouldn't otherwise be able to hang with as much.

Social 'Not'working

Ok, so a month or so back I decided to try my hand at a couple of dating websites (yes - I am that desperate, lmao). 

BlackPeopleMeet.com & PlentyOfFish.com, were the 2 websites upon which I chose to post profiles to. The results so far have been... mixed.

The problem I have with dating websites (from the male perspective) is that most of the messages that a guy might send get lost among all the crazy/clown mail. So at the end of the day, it’s just as difficult as meeting someone with similar interest out on the street – i.e., still a crap-shoot.

Indeed, many of the women I’ve attempted to contact seem quite remarkable, save for their ability to select messages to read and/or respond to, lmao. But as stated earlier, I’m sure women get bombarded with bullshit on these websites, so it doesn’t anger me.

But I can say it’s already been very entertaining. Especially the quacks who do manage to contact me 1^st. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m the catch of the century, but of the women who actually reach-out... VERY few qualify for employment, lol.   

To be fair, writing about oneself can be difficult, I guess that’s why some people choose the write nothing at all approach, lol (good luck with that), so I’m often willing to apply the customary benefit of the doubt clause in most cases, but many are so busy trying to put their best (or someone else’s) foot forward that they end up trying too hard, or worse - being dishonest, in which case > next!

So in light of this, I try my best to be upfront and forthcoming on dating websites. I can’t really think of another instance when trying to accurately depict oneself (in words) is more important that a dating website profile (well perhaps a job resume, but hell... even then, lying actually helps, lmao).

If I don’t take away anything else from these 2 websites, one thing is clear. There are SOOOO many people out here in the world, good or bad, attractive or unattractive, accomplished or inexperienced, who just cannot find that special someone for whatever reasons, so technically, I guess the last thing I should feel is lonely, but still...

Wow...

This makes web log post no. 92 & I can hardly believe it's already been an entire year since I 1st blogged. Though the page construction/content development for this site has indeed been a learning process, I'm rather pleased with the digital gumbo of arbitrary thoughts I've chosen to share during that time.

Hopefully you guys have been able to stomach my informative, emotional & (sometimes nonsensical) thoughts as well. I never imaged I'd actually come up with that much to say about... well, nothing in particular at all. In 1 of my initial posts, I recall mentioning how I'd be winging it until I decided exactly what it was I wanted to blog about on a regular basis - 11,772 page hits later, I guess I'm still just winging it, but I'm comfortable with expressing my various thoughts here & expect I'll continue to do so for years to come.

Since the inception of this blog site, I've learned quite a bit about life, people & most importantly myself. In writing this post, I've had quite a few laughs, mostly at my own expense, while looking through some of the older entries. Indeed, many thoughts on certain topics & people have changed in a year's time, but others remain completely intact & it's been fun examining each circumstance.

If looking back at my feelings & reactions from the previous year provides this much amusement, things should really get interesting after a 5 or 10-year review of this blog. Ok, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself - who knows what technology we'll be using to capture our individual instances of contemplation years from now? What I do know is that I've enjoyed this blogging thing, I should have gotten around to this years ago!

I guess there's really no cast or crew to thank since this is a 1-man show, but I certainly appreciate each moment you've wasted unraveling the ball of confusion that often describes me. Unfortunately, I've got a strict no-refund policy, so I'm afraid you'll never be able to recapture any of time you might have spent deciphering my random/fleeting thoughts, but again - I appreciate it :-D

RT @Ghostwriter28

Ok - now that my Facebook profile has been deactivated for an entire month (I hadn't posted since October anyway), I think I'd better hurry & give my 2 cents on why I ultimately prefer Twitter before I lose complete touch with what Facebook is.

Right now, there's just too much shit goin on with Facebook, between gettin poked by someone who never speaks or calls, declining numerous invites from shameless club/party promoters (only to have fresh invites take the place of those deleted by the end of the day), being tagged in everyone else's photo albums (usually without permission), side-stepping Mafia Wars & FarmVille requests daily, I just needed an indefinite break from it all.

Then there's the issue with Facebook's ever-changing privacy terms & toggles (causing me to NEVER fully understand what is & isn't being published in the Newsfeeds of friends & strangers alike). I haven't got much to hide, but that doesn't mean I enjoy being investigated by past, present & potential employers, lovers & haters either, lol.

Just how much info is considered too much to share in a status update nowadays? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the judge reduced the amount of debt you owe a creditor, but should this really be the type of shit posted as your current status? I don't know, maybe I'm just gettin old. But ironically, those who post these kinds of status updates would be far better suited for a social networking website like Twitter, where the posting of random thoughts & activities are actually encouraged.

I'm also wondering if chronic use of social networking as a primary means of communication among peers/associates weaken our ability to communicate with 1 another in real life. Quite honestly, I love the idea of Facebook in essence, but I think we've grown so accustomed to sharing news with 'friends' via Facebook status updates that we've severely handicapped our own ability (or willingness) to reach-out & actually touch people.

Do you truly value 167 posts to your wall, all wishing you a happy birthday, when it's clear that outside of 6 people, none of you 639 'friends' would have a clue (or really even care if they did) that it's your birthday if not for the barrage of wall posts from others alerting them of the fact? But truthfully speaking, I image many people DO love the attention, artificial as it may be.

The thing that initially drew me to Facebook was the fact that you knew that most of your peers were almost guaranteed to have an active profile there. A great tool for reconnecting with people you haven't heard from in years. But that too grew to become a stale feature for me & I found myself wanting to be less accessible to people with each login. Shit, between this blog & my Twitter page, I think that's more that enough info for the typical stranger anyway.

I didn't really see much on-going discourse on Facebook outside of the funniest YouTube post of the morning or some woman proclaiming how's she's done with men for good while 37 of her equally bitter friends chime in to share the moment as well, lol. It became more & more difficult to filter-out all of Facebook's bullshit & get to the news & thoughts of the people I actually logged-in to see. As a result, I went another route about 2 years back & I've never been happier.

"I tried Twitter, but I just don't get it." <-- This is probably the most common thing I hear about Twitter from folks who aren't regular users of the website. The statement slightly amuses me since you really couldn't come up with much more of a simple concept than Twitter. You simply update your profile with what your doing, thinking, wondering or whatever. 9 times out of 10, someone in the Twitter-World has a thought or opinion on what you just imparted. But people use Twitter in all kinds of different ways & I guess that's what makes it so difficult to fully explain.

Companies find Twitter useful as an unofficial customer service/public relations forum. Celebrities tweet alot, allowing for unheralded access to voice what you liked & what you didn't. You're almost blown away whenever a celebrity or other high profile individual reads your thoughts & actually replies to you directly. The access Twitter gives the everyday Joe in regard to voicing such opinions about artists, businesses, politicians so on & so fourth is simply put, amazing! Also impressive is Twitter's ability to break news, & break it fast. It's very rare to find a piece of major news in another portal before it's already being discussed in the Twitterverse - it's almost to the point where if it hasn't been tweeted, it's not news...

I think the frustration experienced by some has much to do with the fact that they expect (or want) Twitter to be another Facebook - that's never been the case & I hope it never will be. I imagine the 1st thing a recent convert notices about Twitter is that there are no photo galleries, games or in-depth user profile sections within Twitter's user interface. That's a good thing as Twitter's user interface & overall simplicity really doesn't lend itself towards the over-blown perceptions or misrepresentations of oneself in an attempt to impress others.

RT @Ghostwriter28: You ARE what you TWEET & those various chunks of insight, fuckery & news go a long way towards shaping the following you attract...

Feeling the Itch Again...

About 2 months back I decided I’d take a break from any social networking (outside of this blog of course) until the new year & over the past few days, I've been really anxious about getting back into the swing of things.

Twitter has been my networking drug of choice over the past 2 years & I’ve missed shooting off my random tweets here & there. I've been keeping up with the various tweets of people close to me during my hiatus & it’s killing me not being able to respond to so many post, lol.

Above all, I've missed my Twitter fam & the various thoughts that make up each individual I follow. My tweeps entertain me so much throughout the course of any given day, so I look forward to the constant interaction upon my return to the scene.

I'm not too sure about Facebook though, I've really come to loathe the social networking giant over the years & haven't missed it a bit. I can say with confidence that I won't be toggling on any mobile alert notifications for Facebook come January 1st.

Incidentally, I think you guys can look forward to my 2 cents on why I prefer Twitter over Facebook in the coming weeks. In other news, I've been very productive at work since maintaining radio silence. I hadn't realized so much of my day was being spent fucking around with 1 or the other.

Less than two weeks remain before my triumphant return – so gas up the executive transportation, lol.

Offline...

I think, I'll be taking a break from my most frequently used social networking websites for a while (i.e. - Twitter and Facebook). I guess this is just a part of my normal cycling on & off schedule, yet for some reason I feel as though this particular break may last a bit longer than usual.

Quite frankly, Facebook has long been a bore to me, with hoards & hoards of “friends” posting pics, meaningless status updates so on & so fourth all in an attempt to show-off, brag, inform – or whatever people chose to call it, and quite honestly, I don’t give a shit about 95% of the things I see there. So taking a step back from it, really won’t be much of a problem at all since I’m not on there much anyway.

Twitter, on the other hand, is my 1st love in terms of networking is concerned, but that too has begun to bore me just a tad. It seems as though lately, folks just enjoy the act of posting shit for others to read, but they haven’t been very active in terms of reacting or commenting on the various tweets that come up in their respective timelines, so I’ll chill out on that for a while as well.

Generally, from time to time I like to avoid networking sites to re-focus on my real life obligations & responsibilities like friends, family & work, but during this hiatus I'll also be using the time to create more content for this blog. So hopefully anyone who's interested in what's going on my life will stop by & check out whatever is here.

Or maybe not (judging by the amount of comments I've rec'd on this blog since it's inception back in July, lol). In either instance, I do this for me, so expect to see some fresh material & possibly a newly revamped layout in the coming days/weeks since I'll have the additional time to devote to it. Be well peeps!