I Don't Facebook, I Don't Tweet

I Don't Facebook, I Don't Tweet

I just don’t see either of them worth my time. Sure, many receive business leads and profit from their involvement. But, those are needles in the haystack of messages and interruptions. Voice, email and even text messages are direct, one to one communications. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of spam email either; and probably we agree on that one. I see little difference between the clamor of social media and the rise in spam, be it “junk mail” or email. Junk is Junk.

Friends and Followers? Not really. To me it seems the “big lie” approach when someone claims to have hundreds or thousands of friends or followers. Cute phraseology, but hollow and devoid of any real substance. There are some “mass distribution” non-personal “broadcasts” that I do subscribe to. Some bloggers have a theme or subject that interests me and I enjoy reading and learning what they have to say. But receiving a “tweet” that little poopsie left a “dump” on the rug is not what I consider wanted communications.

Sure, I did mention that there are clients to be had (as in obtained, not exploited) via these services. And, I am aware that the subscribers can choose the source. But, the vast majorities of these missiles are self serving from the author, and, frankly; tend to be trite. What they lack in quality, they more than make up in absurd quantity.

There is also the privacy issue. It has been extensively reported that “data mining” for marketing is practiced extensively; generating more targeted spam. The real product is your personal data, your preferences as expressed by keywords that are searched for, indexed, and sold. Not for me. I prefer one to one communications. There have been reports that even directed email is being scanned for similar marketing information. This is objectionable, and possibly will be stopped as an inappropriate (illegal?) invasion of privacy. On the subject of privacy, a careful reading of the rarely looked at “sign up agreement” is basically a relinquishment to all rights to privacy.

Did you ever send an email that you wish you could take back? Of course you did. With a little luck and perhaps an apology you can undo that faux pas. That’s a bit more difficult to manage when it goes to many destinations. And that poorly crafted “publication” is on record forever. A similar email is in one place, and probably will be deleted eventually. A direct email, unless forwarded by the recipient will not make it to the papers or to the networks.

Your “social media” postings are often scrutinized by prospective employers, the police and nobody knows for sure “who else”. People and their priorities change. Your zeal to protect endangered turtles, at the expense of a town’s need for a highway; might mark you much later in life as not being suitable for a specific job or assignment. Recently, prosecutors have introduced social media “manifestos” from sociopaths as evidence of “state of mind” into court cases. Sure, this is an extreme situation; but might foretell a trend in the future. It’s not too much of a stretch to visualize your postings and interest in fast cars into your trial for speeding; perhaps if there was personal injury involved.

As titled, I Don't Facebook, I Don't Tweet; but I am not in any way saying what is best for you. But it would be wise to think carefully about how you use these tools. Under some conditions it’s best for the past to remain in the past; “social media” posts or “follows” can haunt you forever.