I have a soapbox and I’m not afraid to use it!

Something that’s really been biting me in the butt lately is how people are a little demanding on social networking sites. In this post I’m referring to Facebook and some of its recent changes that have come in over the last few months.

Some people like the changes, others don’t. I like some of the new additions to the social networking site but some really do annoy me. I’m not a huge fan of the tickers. I know there are others who like them but most people I’ve spoken to (and that’s only a select number of friends, I haven’t done any big studies here) aren’t keen on them either. I think the beef most of us have is that it’s not a choice we were given. Long gone are the days on Facebook where they put out a new feature and each member decides whether they want it turned on or off. Now we just have to put up with it.

So, in the last couple of months one of the problems was that I was showing up in the chat list. It didn’t occur to me when I started getting more messages popping up in my inbox what was happening. Silly me had got mobile messages for Facebook and it was showing me as on my mobile phone in the chat list. I don’t use Facebook chat at all, since I find it quite invasive at the best of times. If I go on Facebook, I want to use its other features but if I want to chat I will use a chat client such as Google talk or MSN messenger etc. I don’t use the chat feature on Facebook simply because I’ve made that mistake before, I often get swamped by people wanting to chat. I found that letting people know I was busy didn’t work, they all seemed to believe they were the exception to the rule. I got sick of banging my head against a brick wall so I stopped using it. Or so I thought!

Once I realised that I was appearing in the chat list, I removed the app on my phone and figured that would stop it. Well, it did ease the situation somewhat, though I did get some whining from select members of my friend’s list and I still have people ‘chatting’ through inbox messages. It’s so frustrating though when people struggle to understand basic concepts like “I don’t actually like chatting” or “I prefer to do other things when I’m on Facebook” or even “I’m busy!”

I will win this one in the end though, even if it means giving said friends time out in the naughty corner!

[I had a friend recently tell me that one of his friends sent him a message in his inbox and because he didn't respond to it almost immediately, he got an earful. What the hell is wrong with people demanding such things!!]

So, one problem on the way to being fixed….except – those damn tickers! I don’t really give two shits whether people read what I’m saying on other people’s statuses, what I say isn’t necessarily a private thing, if it was I’d say it privately through an email or something. What I notice though is that some people can’t help but follow others around and read what they’re doing and/or saying. I guess in a way it’s promoting slight (and I say slight) stalker behaviour. And it’s the latter that concerns me. I know that might seem so trivial to some (or a lot) of people but it’s how I feel about it and that’s all that counts to me. I’m uncomfortable that some of my friends can stalk me around Facebook. I guess it triggers memories of my past abuse as a child.

I know that they can turn off the Comments and Likes under the subscription button but let’s be realistic, it’s as hard as getting the “chatters” out of my inbox and I’ve got enough grey hair.

Back to the tickers, I only play one game on Facebook and luckily I don’t show up in the game ticker but then to fly ‘under the radar’ playing a game requires a bit of careful planning or you can inadvertently out yourself by sending gifts or something similar.

I don’t know, what to do about these n00bs who don’t have a clue? Any suggestions?

It seems as though we’re in an age where too many people online don’t have much of a clue about how to use these social networks or are just plain ignorant. Or am I being elitist? LOL