Letter to Dellis About My Facebook Process

OK, to your question, "What am I on about?" I have a friend who says she won't do Google because they ask too many questions. I live in Google. She loves Facebook, but Facebook drives me crazy because I click on something and get loads of unrelated, uncurated content. 

So, in an effort not to stubbornly reject Facebook, like she rejects Google, I am trying to work to understand it. My rant describes a process. If I click on "notification," "message," or "status" I expect something related, not Zuckerberg gibberish!

rhw

Status: more Facebook rant

I'm on an ongoing rant about Facebook. I received an g-mail that Armalyn "upgraded her status." What in this world does a solution in Utah have to do with someone's personal "status?"

In brief the solution in Utah was poster by Occupy Democrats about reducing costs by housing rather than jailing the homeless.  Good idea but.....


Armalyn commented:
Armalyn De La O I am not sure. I didn't update my status about homelessness in utah. Sorry

I wrote back:

Armalyn, of course, my comment was about Facebook, not you. Facebook uses terms like "notification," "Status," in a way I'm not sure about. When I click on "notification," or "message," or "status" I see arbitrary entries with little relationship to each other. For me, a person interested in patterns and connections, I find this unsettling.

Now I see Dellis's name, another friend "liking" the original Utah post. So Dellis, I'm sending this to you in order to try to understand how Facebook breaks.

Facebook Rant to my friend Wilson

Hi,

I'm on a rant about Facebook photos and videos. Here is my comment about the "Elephant" video that you just sent to me on Facebook which I looked at because I received an g-mail telling me that Wilson sent me a video. I thought it might be a thoughtful communication from you so I immediately looked at it. But....

(My Facebook Comment) "Ronald Walcott This is what drives me crazy with Face book. I get a shared video from my friend Wilson, but I have no idea why he sent it, or how he feels about it. It becomes like so many Facebook communications, a communication without heart or soul."

 

Your son does the same thing most of the time. He sends a photo of some people who are unidentified with him included often with a goofy expression.

 

And it seems most people on Facebook do the same thing.  I get photos of people, animals, posters, groups, buildings, etc. and I have no idea who, what, or where they are and why the person bothers to send it out to the world.

 

Yes, I know it's the style of the SELFE. I was at the beach today and I saw so many people taking selfes and making a goofy expression. I find the whole trend very tiresome.

 

I have not heard from you in ages.  I seldom waist my time with Facebook for the reasons cited above so a Facebook "fart" from you does not count.

 

Why don't you send me an email if you feel like it and tell a story about your life.

 

By the way, you son come to California (he may still be here) but didn't find the time to come by, invite me to see him, or AT LEAST, make a short telephone call to say, "Hi, how are you?." What does this tell me?  I can only conclude that I am an unimportant person in his life.

 

I know you are all into the 7th Day Adv. thing, but people who are not are still part of the human race.

Ron

Letter to KPCC

Thanks for sending "theshortlist." I have been reading "Need2Know" for some months. That publication has it's ups and downs, but they almost never fail to include something (an article or a tweet) that makes me smile. 

Reading KPCC's, "theshortlist" for a very short time I ask myself, "Why does KPCC have to be so damn serious and verbose?" If you grind on with boring and repetitious Garrison Keillor who is not funny, and continue with "Car Talk" which I find creepy now that it includes a voice from the beyond, I wonder if you have completely lost your sense of humor?

Ron Walcott