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I am curious about your use of “social networks” such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ just to name a few.
Please choose your best answer and then (if you are registered here) leave a comment in the combox below to expand on how you responded.
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Coat of Arms by D Burkart
on ROME 24/4– Day 34 (-7): The burial place of… PLATO?!?: “My baptismal anniversary. I’m mostly Scottish/Irish Catholic, birthed and educated by the Mercy Sisters during the height of the Troubles.…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 35 (-6): adventures in symmetry: “Father, it was perfect symmetry for two people. One cup handle facing one way and the other the other way.”
on ROME 24/4– Day 35 (-6): adventures in symmetry: “From a reader: “What are in the frames between the vestments?” Those are the priest’s vesting prayers. I’ll show more…”
on WDTPRS: 4th Sunday of Easter (Novus Ordo) – Mighty humble Shepherd, humble mighty flock: “Fr Z you are an inspiration in your knowledge about and love for the things of God and the church.…” on ROME 24/4– Day 32 (-9): Happy Birthday Rome!: “Holy cow that pasta. I wish we had smell-o-vision and taste-o-vision.”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “The German grind continues. It is in their nature.”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Scary about the women. What I mean is this: it would be disheartening enough just to find out that a…” on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “I wonder what’s going on with these women. Don’t they know that the greatest example of womanhood is Our Blessed…”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Fr.Z sez: It is really sad that some people still push this rock up the hill. Reminds one of Sisyphus,…”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Alas, those men pushing for ordaining women. STILL trying to get women to do all the work. My mother warned…”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Dear Dcn PB, I don’t see how the reality can be described differently than by saying that the one sacrament…”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Most people, whether pro or con, misunderstand the history and practice of the female diaconate. The deaconess was a separate…”
on Your Sunday Sermon Notes: 3rd Sunday after Easter (N.O. 4th of Easter) 2024: “I remember only the joke at the beginning of the homily: Priests get four weeks of vacation per year. Some…”
on “you must not remember your forefathers…” Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “My children at one of the solid Chesterton Academies have been taught science and theology by an amazing young Catholic…” on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “What is it that changed about the Catholic Herald? Interesting interview by George Farmer. (If only the faithful could be…”
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A Daily Prayer for Priests
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since Sat., 25 Nov. 2006:
I chose “Yes, I gladly use one or more of these networks pretty often”, though I only use Facebook. I use it primarily as a news source and as an archive.
Yes, I use facebook and Twitter. I admit it, I’m one of those annoying facebook people who posts news articles and comments. I don’t know if I change hearts or minds, but I do it anyway. I’ve mixed it up with libs on liberal Catholic facebook pages like Father Martin. The libs are hopeless, but I can’t help myself. I think we need to be out there. So glad Cardinal Dolan “gets it”, and is now on Twitter, and makes his little blog posts, you tubes, etc. I love what Father Z does and also Father Barron. The social networks, that’s where the people are.
Never and never. They’re an evil empire.
Hi Father,
As it relates to what I think you are asking about, I see social media as a key component in the future of evangelizing.
I use Facebook as a social tool with friends and family, but also have befriended spiritual feeds like the UCCSB, Catholic Church, uCatholic.com, (obviously) your feeds. I post more on FB than other social streams: my whereabouts with family, check-in at son’s basketball tournament, etc.
I use Twitter as my tool for the inflow of all things Catholic. I subscribe to many feeds (again, yours included) and really, some that I have learned from others (very powerful concept for you: we subscribe to what you do). When I post on Twitter, it is all things spiritual. I am following far more than I have followers as I am relatively new to the “tweeting”, but am interested in doing my part of spreading the Good News as my following grows.
I LOVE what you are doing with social media. I am blessed to having gotten to know you over the internet as I’m sure many others are. Know that you have big responsibility here, no different than your role as a priest, just a different medium.
Yours in Christ,
Patrick
The options are not really exhaustive. [Thus, I invite you to select the best answer.] What about something to the effect of “I use them [pretty often/once in a while] despite being somewhat hesitant about their benefits and desirability.” That’s what I would vote if it were an option.
I chose Once in a while, but maybe should have been Pretty often. I myself don’t post that often, but look at family and friends every day.
I use facebook to keep in touch with family and friends from out of state, but also am FB friends with most of my local real life friends just because they ask. I’m not one to post updates about myself often, but I do use it to share articles and websites about the faith. Its a way to evangelize. I’m also hooked on one of the games.
I chose use one or more pretty often. I use facebook mostly. I like keeping in touch with family and friends who are out of state. I also like that I’ve acquired some solid Catholic friends from around the world. Many do not have access to good Masses or any traditional Masses and so we talk about that. I love using fb as a spiritual tool for getting info out to friends and family who might not otherwise be exposed to Catholic items. And I love receiving all the news in the Catholic world both good and bad.
Facebook – I rarely post anything and consume once a day for about 20 minutes total, though not necessarily continuous and always when I am waiting for something else to finish happening. I fully admit that it’s a way for me to know what’s happening in the life of people that I otherwise wouldn’t talk to. Maybe 20 years ago if I still lived near my home town, I would see these folks on a regular basis at a mutual friend’s party or at our future children’s little league games, but the world is a big place, I am far from home, and I never run into the people I grew up with, so Facebook gives me a similarly shallow interaction.
Twitter – The art of being funny in 140 characters. I like to get news on Twitter because it comes from sources I don’t usually visit as part of my daily news routine (thanks to Re-Tweets and Quotes).
Google Plus – I don’t dislike it, but it’s not part of my daily motions and the people I know who are on and use it heavily tend to be the people I see in person, so I have little motivation to go there. Google Plus features that don’t try to emulate existing social networks are fantastic – like Hangout and its various collaboration tools.
No, I have never used them from lack of understanding or fear.
My phone is ‘just a phone’ – I don’t text, or do Facebook, or anything like that. My teenage kids say that I’m a dinosaur when it comes to technology, but it’s because I don’t know how, and I’m also afraid that it will become a temptation to spend even more time on the computer and away from family time, prayer time, reading time, etc.
I can’t say I’ll NEVER use it, because as some have commented, there are good things that can come of this…. so maybe… someday.
As a blogger I use all fairly often for promotional purposes and to follow other blogs.
I use/read Facebook, Twitter, and blogs every day. Social media is and will be very important in the New Evangelization or Church rebuilding project. People on social media learn from one another, exchange ideas, vent, and realize they are not alone in their frustrations with the past forty years.
Imagine if Vatican II didn’t happen in the 1960’s but was going on right now. Imagine our churches, liturgy, devotions, etc, today were exactly as they were in the ’50s. Would the misinterpreted “spirit of Vatican II” be possible? Imagine next Sunday, Father announces he’s ripping the high altar out and installing a table because that’s what the Council fathers are calling for. People would be on their smart phones in the parking lot looking for the source document. Then they’d be checking social media to see if anyone else’s pastor was making such changes. Then they’d be firing off emails & tweets to the bishop or nuncio. No, I am positive there won’t be another “spirit” of any ecumenical council.
Cardinal Dolan opened a Twitter account yesterday. He has over three thousand followers already.
Another who has never used any of these, and most probably never will–though not quite as adamantly opposed as the wording of this option would suggest.
Why? Partly because of the amount of time they can easily consume. Partly that I just don’t want to be THAT accessible to anyone and everyone. Partly my introverted and socially reserved personality. And probably mostly because I am not of the generation to whom computers come naturally. I’m not afraid of these media; I know I could learn to use them if I really wanted to–as I have learned to use many other computer-related functions. But there are so many other things I’d rather learn first and put my time on.
I use facebook pretty often. I got on mainly to keep in touch with friends and family who are too far away to see very often. My friends list is pretty small because after a couple of unpleasant situations which resulted in people being blocked I decided I would only friend people I actually know or who can be vouched for by people I know. I subscribe to some political and religious feeds (like Fr. Z!) and a few silly fan pages for fun. I have only gotten into a few religious or political debates in the two years I’ve been on. I doesn’t seem as though any of them bore much fruit, but perhaps, God willing, seeds have been planted here or there.
Twitter exclusively. I have met many wonderful and interesting people. I follow people who share my interests on a variety of topics. I avoid facebook because I get too angry by what some of my beloved family choose to say. ;)
I am @kafbst. I’m surprised none of the other twitter fans posted their handles.
Yes, I use one or more gladly but only once in a while.
I’m on Facebook, but really don’t use it much. I would hesitate to say “gladly,” as well. I use it to connect with people, which is nice, but the whole News Feed/constant status updates/reveal all your personal life info I don’t really get into much. I’ve seen too many people get sucked in! And I think it perpetuates the idea of everybody’s personal life stories and thoughts are the “news” for the day…and then that becomes our very limited world.
I checked never, which is not entirely true. I have a face book account. Have not bothered to resurrect it since mother board fried in old computer last year. Am utterly uninterested in the stuff many of my relatives post there. (How many pictures of someone’s kid do I need to see in a week? Or of their mother who, in the words of her friends, is always “on camera?” But not opposed in principle. Will probably do more at some unspecified future date.
I gladly use Facebook in possibly (definitely?) excessive amounts of time. I also check Google+ occasionally; I have a Twitter account, but never really got hooked on it.
If Pinterest is a social network, add that to the list of networks I use a lot.
I tried facebook, but got tired of the inane comments an posts. The hole thing seemed to lack substance. The final straw was when my sister told me I didn’t understand it and was making people angry by being too religious and too political. Oh well.
“No, I did use them but stopped for lack of interest.”
I used Facebook ever so briefly but stopped because of privacy concerns. I tried Twitter but see no purpose to it other than attracting attention to oneself. AND I don’t have time to read everyone’s Tweets whom I followed. Most were banal, mundane or unremarkable.
I had a FB account for about a year. At first, it was fun to reconnect with long-lost school friends and distant relatives. Gradually, I noticed I was wasting a lot of time reading trivia posted by people I barely knew. Then, a teen friend of my granddaughter posted a disguised porn video (labeled as “prom pictures”) which I innocently opened….thereby spreading it to all of my other contacts. After that embarrassment, I decided to give up FB for Lent last year. It was such a relief, I never reactivated the account. I don’t miss it. That said, I can see how it could be used in a positive way for evangelization. Just not by me!
My vote was “No, I have never used them from lack of understanding or fear.”
Expanded reasoning:
First, I have only one friend who lives out-of-state. We communicate by phone and email, so a social network account isn’t necessary for me to keep up with friends or relatives.
Second, I have many acquaintances all over the place. My having a social network account might be useful to them if any of them want to contact me. So that’s a vague “pro” argument, but…
Third, I keep hearing about privacy issues/problems in connection with Facebook (mostly) and other social networks. Some of it seems to be the fault of the users, and some of it the fault of the providers. I can’t figure out who has the greatest share of the fault, so I’m hesitant to sign up for anything. Will the service provider cause a problem for me, or will I inadvertently do it to myself?
Fourth, I keep hearing horror stories about people being fired or not hired because of something they said or did on a social network. Most recently, a sheriff’s deputy in Alabama (I think) was fired for “Liking” the sheriff’s political rival on Facebook, and a federal judge has upheld the firing based on his assumption that using the “Like” button is not protected as free speech under the First Amendment. So as with point number three, will someone post something on or link something to my page which will cause me a problem, or will I inadvertently do it to myself?
Fifth, I can see that having a Facebook page could be helpful where employment is concerned. In light of the problems I mentioned above I have looked at LinkedIn, which is supposed to be for professionals, but I’m not sold on that either. Which leads me to…
Sixth, I might be better off to set up my own website if I really think I need to have an “online presence” as they call it.
Demographic info:
I’m in my mid-40s, and I hope to be graduating from college with a BA in Art (Art History) this coming Sunday – if I don’t screw up my last two projects, which is what I should be working on right now. So all of this technology still is a novelty to me, and I’m certain that I’ll need to contend with advertising myself online someday, possibly soon. Also, having a Facebook account would make it easier for me to keep up with the Art Department’s activities after I graduate since that seems to be their primary means of communicating electronically with students and graduates.
Sigh. The Internet is great, but it certainly presents some dilemmas!
I chose “yes, gladly”, but the full answer is slightly more nuanced. I use Facebook frequently, more for purely social purposes, especially keeping in touch with family. Then I use Twitter… occasionally, mostly for keeping updated on a few different accounts. I have Google+, mostly just so that I do have an account in case it ever happens to take off.
I chose the “never have, never will” but I have no constitutional opposition to them. As of now, I have no interest in them but that might change. That would be fine with me.
I’ve taken to ‘liking’ sites and articles on the web using facebook, largely because of the encouragement (brow beating?) I receive here. I do this in the hope that it will boost the “liked site’s” visibility on the web. I’m still working on figuring out what the share buttons do, how they work and how the information is shared.
I post all my blog posts on Twitter, and sometimes use it to read what other people tweet. In the last ten days or so I have started to use Facebook. I think both are useful in their own way (for a blogger) but I don’t use them privately, nor do I plan to.
Mundabor
Mine is a logistical problem. I opened a F*book account, but after awhile it kept asking me to confirm my login with my mobile phone number. I don’t have a mobile phone & doubt I will for a while for several reasons:since being hit by a car, my thumbs no longer oppose, so its hard to use or hold one; too expensive to add to existing land line; I don’t like the idea of walking around with a GPS in my pocket/purse. As for Twitter, I get in enough trouble with my blog posts. A caution about Linked-In. I made up a faux persona just to try it out. It has taken on a life of its own, faux company, faux bio, etc. Yet it has attracted many job offers & networkers. If mine is fake, who knows how many others are? Scary to think you can buy stock in that worthless company!
Constantly, every day. As a blogger they are indispensable tools for dissemination of information, links to my posts as well as posts and commentary I deem worthy. I also have been graced by several gifts of K+ by you Fr. Z through Klout (in the areas of Marxism and blogging, my two strongest areas, I think) as well as using them to promote this blog and your online ministry. I also use then to narrow down my search for knowledge and information pertaining to my areas of interest as well as current news stories about same.
oakdiocesegirl,
Thanks for the information about Linked-In. That confirms my suspicions, and it pretty much clenches my notion of setting up my own website as the best and safest way to promote myself professionally.
Luddite that I am, I see no value added in all the social media. I “use” FaceBook and Linkedin merely to pre-vet visitors, interns, job applicants, etc. You never know what you’ll find.
I guess your blog and two heraldry blogs are the closest I get to using “social” networks.
–Ned Ludd
(aka Guy Power)
I use several every day. Why are you people not out there boosting Father Z’s Klout score? I followed @kafbst, thanks Kathleen–please follow @robert_pearson, too.
For those interested, I am @anexconsview on Twitter and on FB I can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/anexconsview2
I used Google + for about three weeks, but stopped from lack of interest. I didn’t have time to read everyone’s posts, and it becomes addicting. I’d rather do something productive.
Facebook, though I am on Google+ as well. FB gets basically everything that I share – been on it longer, and figure I can reach more people through it. Perhaps it is because of how I hear Twitter being used most often, but it strikes me as the most narcissistic of the social media things out there, and I refuse to succumb…. ;)
I use Facebook almost every day as a way to keep in touch with family and friends. Having a brother in the military, sometimes facebook is the only way to effectively communicate. I try to post a mix of comedy, music, and religion on my page. Most of my family and friends are fallen away or cafeteria catholics who would probably never sit down to have a conversation about religion with me, but who knows how many, in the privacy of their home will click on something that may get them thinking. I go for the more controversial topics like abortion and contraception that people are less willing to talk about in person, and that they probably never hear about in a homily, but I also throw in links on special saint days and links to beautiful polyphony and chant to avoid being totally obnoxious. Many of my friends have probably hidden me from their news feeds, but they definitely know what I believe, and if they ever come to a point where they have a question or a situation that only religion can address, they know where to find me. Recently, I’ve even started to receive the grace and courage to post links to information on the Catholic view of marriage and homosexuality. That topic seems to send people into fits even more than abortion and contraception. I’m a stay-at-home Mom, so I feel more free to post about religion than someone who has to support a family. Lord knows it would be hard to get a job most places if anyone ever cracked into my account. I also keep my security settings pretty high, don’t put an address or phone number in my info, and I don’t post pics of my kids as there are just way too many perverts trolling social networking sites.
I use Facebook a lot because lots of my friends and family use it. I try to post uplifting things and to evangelize a little. I don’t really like twitter but use it only to follow my daughter.
I ticked “No, I have never used them from lack of understanding or fear ” which is the option closest to my position. I never have used these social media and I have no current intention of or interest in doing so – partly because I’m vague about the technicalities of joining these things and getting started. But I’m not saying “never” and I’m not actually hostile to the idea of joining them – I’m just not very interested, or to put it another way, I’m apathetic.
I answered “No, for lack of understanding and fear”
I’ve heard tales about Facebook, tracking and such.
Not that I’ve got anything to hide, it’s just nobody’s business what I do, unless I decide to tell them, not because any information about me was gotten by devious means.
My daughter-in-law, A couple of nieces and a priest-friend have asked me to join their “Facebook pal” thingy, but I’m still leery. And does it cost me extra? I. guess not, but not sure.
I do not fear them – I loathe them.
They are simply scams to mine information.
While I answered “never never” to the poll, the fact is I would use them under one condition – that they were required for employment. In that case I would use them only on work computers and never put actual personal information on them.
I started using Facebook to keep in touch with my kids (in their 20s) who use it quite a lot. Then I got in touch with old schoolmates and college mates. Then some people who admired one or two of my rants. And now I find my friends list is extending itself with all sorts of crazies….
I use Facebook. While I have Gmail, I don’t do the Google+ stuff. So yeah. Facebook. That’s about it.
I use two of them frequently, but certainly not gladly. (I chose the best answer.)
I checked No, Never Use and Never Will…..partly because I’m just not a tech-girl. I only got my very first home computer 2 months ago (!). Technology isn’t inherently evil or anything like that, I just don’t need it. I’m more of an old fashioned girl who prefers actual letter writing, phone calls, etc. The other reason is privacy ~ being a private person doesn’t seem to mesh with posting on Facebook or whatever ANYTHING about myself or my day or my thoughts…that’s what letters and phone calls are for, as far as I’m concerned. That’s just me!
I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and tumblr. The only one I use daily is Facebook, without which I doubt I’d ever know at all what was going on with my friends and family. I certainly would never get invited to parties were it not for events pages. That and I run the Facebook and Twitter pages for my parish (which I dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century by giving them a decent website).
Anyone who questions the use of these networks should check Arbp. Gregory’s comments about his ad limina visit. http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/Vatican.php?id=5395
I voted “No, I did use them but stopped and now I hate them.”
I had FB for awhile…deleted my account (hard to do, btw…) and have never looked back. Hate FB now. They’re eeeeevil.
Twitter…no offense to any Twitter users, but IHMO Twitter is silly.
I have a blog I occasionally post to, I have a smart phone, I email, but other than that I don’t — and more importantly *won’t* — do social networking.
There is an extremely well written article in the current edition of Touchstone magazine On the potential negative consequences of social media to our Christian way of life. I am not a Luddite — do use email, scan blogs, etc — but I think he is convincing. Personally think it detracts from efforts to build up true human interaction with a seductive substitute for it.
Touchstonemag.com
About Face
Why I’m Not on Facebook: An Open Letter to Christian College Students
by Steve Baarendse
I did have Facebook, twice actually. It’s completely gone and can’t be restored. Same with Google+.
I got rid of it for the new year. Too much wasted time. Too many near occasions of sin. Thought it was uncharitable to get rid of individual friends, so figured if it was that much of a struggle I’d be done with it completely. My out of state friends and family all have phones and email and I’ve taken a liking to old fashioned pen and paper letters of late.
Oh and I’m in the Navy and Facebook has become a semi-official means of work communication which scares me, OPSEC, privacy and all.
Voted “no, I did use them but stopped and now hate them.”
I voted “Yes, gladly…pretty often”. I am on Facebook daily, along with other networks.
Having had a long history as a coder, and in IT planning, development, production support and maintenance, and project management, I understand the technical world pretty well. If I’d not had that background, I could easily be with many of you, too overwhelmed or fearful about how to apply myself. I am amazed how well people figure it all out without techie knowledge!
FB is necessary in keeping up with the zillions of relatives all over the country – I wouldn’t know about new great-nieces/nephews if I didn’t have an FB account. My humongous family can have 3 and 4 births in a month. Theres also reconnecting with schoolmates and a few former co-workers. On top of that I have made and keep in touch with sooo many good Catholics all over the world, through private groups, postings, news stories… It is a lifeline of sorts, I’d think I was the only Catholic around if I only spoke to the fallen-away Catholics on my street [almost every household on my street is a family of fallen-away non-practicing Catholics, so very discouraging].
Those with whom I interact on FB don’t typically post what they ate for lunch, more often it is philosophical conversations, rants about the “bad guys”, and newsy posts. Well, and there is a lot of humor. Lots of that.
I have a Twitter account but I just can’t keep up with the stream of messages. I might Tweet once in awhile but most Tweets I see are those posted on FB. I really prefer friends to post from whatever social network to their FB profile – otherwise, I won’t see it.
My LinkedIn account is purely for business, never for any personal comments.
I have a iGoogle web page where I stick all my RSS feeds, with tabs for various categories – some are magazines, new websites, and many are Catholic blogs on which I interact sometimes.
Can’t face adding Google+ or Pinterest – I just can’t spend the time. My brain can handle only so much networking. There is also food, sleep and laundry.
For those considering starting with Facebook or any social network: there is NO reason to use your real birth date when asked. You can make a close date, the wrong year, whatever, but for privacy security keep in mind that identity thieves need 3 things: you Soc Sec nbr, your date of birth, and your address. Keeping at least two of those utterly private is really wise. Also learn to use the publish button wisely [Public, Friends, Exceptions, selected friends] and create Friend Lists to publish to those you want to – Lists also allow you to keep private certain information like your cell phone number except for your close friends [create a Friend List called Close Friends, and apply privacy settings so that only they can see that].
Now if I could just make FB friends with more of those that frequent this blog. hmmmm.
I use Facebook and Pinterest. I like these two services because my adult kids were on there and it was a way to stay in touch, then I discovered MANY of my long lost chums from HS and College on there and that was FUN. Then my colleges and high schools, and most groups to which I belong have their own facebook pages, and THAT is fun. Some of the blogs I follow have facebook feeds too, and so I see their new posts on facebook first which is handy. The end result is that I use Facebook quite a lot more than I ever thought I would.
I added Pinterest because the girls all said it was fun. I like it. I only pin pictures I like to look at but that should not be confused with wanting any of it. There are many things whose existence I enjoy without desiring to own any of it. Pinterest gives me a nice picture place to enjoy those things.
I keep thinking I’d like Twitter, but truthfully I am so long winded I am not so sure about that. Still, it would be another way to stay connected. I’m such a frumpy old fashioned sort of person it is rather strange that I have turned out to be so techy!
I usually just use Google+. I like that I can keep my family stuff, Catholic stuff, and work stuff separate. Maybe some of you think I shouldn’t but I don’t want to post photos of my kids for all the world to see.
I had facebook when it first came out but it was a ghost town and the people I wanted to communicate with couldn’t get accounts yet. On facebook I mostly just let other people send me stuff, I don’t really post myself.
I have a twitter account but to be honest I just don’t get it and never use it.
I also have some others like linkedin and all but I just never use the things.
It’s scary (facebook). I’m not on facebook but some of my kid’s are. I get all the “news”(dirt/gossip) from them. I can’t believe people reveal “stuff” on there that should be only told in Confession! (Oh, I forgot, they don’t believe in Confession) Along with it being a waste of precious time; I feel it’s in a great part responsible for my daughter’s separation/divorce.
Yes. Facebook, twitter, pinterest, google plus, I enjoy them all. The more the merrier.
Twitter daily and Fb occasionally; the other social networks? no.
(By the way, people pray the Angelus and Regina caeli together via Twitter, in case anyone is interested; #twitterangelus. A way for believers to help sanctify a few minutes during their online days.)
I voted “Yes.” I use FB, Twitter, and pinterest daily and I read several blogs daily. At this point I get all of my news via social media.
I picked “one or more gladly but only once in a while” I wouldn’t have used the term gladly, but oh, well.
I get on twitter (@PomeroyPalouse) when there’s something happening and I want to be “part of the crowd.” For instance, the Stanley Cup playoffs. I’ll watch the game and keep an eye on the twitter feed for stuff I missed while watching. However, with the Canucks, then Bruins, then Senators out, who’s interested anymore?) Another twitter activity is the evening of an election as I can follow what the “pundits” have to say easier than watching and switching channels. Then I’ll go for a week or two without logging on.
I’m friends on facebook with mostly guys from high school (I was in a high school seminary, so yeah, guys.) I’ve also got friends from when we lived in the Seattle area 15 years ago. I usually get on for 5-10 minutes in the morning with my initial cup of coffee. I also use it to post announcements of new pages and/or sections at the website I maintain in my dad’s memory (well worth a visit to JackGordon.org if Fr Z doesn’t mind the plug). But it seems so sloooooooooow. I stopped visiting in mid-March for a week that turned into two then 6 weeks. Using it now, It’s been taking 4-5 minutes or longer to load the most recent 4 or 6 items on my timeline. So I use it, but not gladly.
I signed up for LinkedIn but never got into it. It seems mostly like a way to send me spam. I mean how many times do I need to be asked if Hillary Clinton and I have something in common?
For the demographics, I’m a mid-50’s (Hey, 58 is mid-50s, isn’t it?) guy who’s been around computers since my TRS-80 Level I, 4K, tape-drive system in 1978. I’ve been creating and maintaining our business and personal websites since early 1990’s, and understand how it (mostly) all works, but can’t spend enough time to comfortably work with all the new technology.
I may have to leave Facebook; I have scaled way back. I am too opinionated about morals and the course my dear country is taking. I cannot simply blather on about American Idol or what new nail polish I bought.
Now, I have alienated a gay cousin who believes Kirk Cameron and other Christians are “hate filled” for opposing gay marriage and homosexual acts. I tried to use reason about the answer to speech you disagree with is to answer civilly with arguments of your own. Judging by his reaction to my comment, I guess my little cousin didn’t take civics, logic or debate in his high school. [sigh]
I may actually look into starting an anon blog. As an actress I have to be careful whom I “friend” and what I say. I HATE being so constrained but the Left that controls my profession has no sense of humor and would seriously curtail the Bill of Rights if they could.
AvantiBev:
Having spent most of my adult life working in television, and with film and television people, I know painfully well the problems you face. And with those in the profession who are in Canada, the attitude seems even more leftward, and more rabid.
AvantiBev,
An old friend was a heterosexual model–not a mannequin, he was in TV commercials and magazine ads. In the mid 70’s I was returning from Europe and stopped in New York to see him. While I was there, he went to an audition for a TV ad for a Caribbean vacation that would be filmed in the islands. After he returned, I asked him how it went, whether he got the job. He told me that he would unless the director, a homosexual, could find an actor to have a roll in the hay with during the filming.
I didn’t vote because my opinion wasn’t listed. Here it is:
“I have never used them and doubt I ever will, but I might if I really need to for some unimaginable reason.”
You missed the option “I’m on it mostly so if I need to get back in touch with a friend (or he with me) and his email has changed I can still find him.”
Used to enjoy it, albeit without playing with it nearly as much as some; found it was a big time-waster and not as coherent or rewarding a time-waster as other things I enjoy that would technically have to be classed as such (which I could go into, but then I’d ramble). Still comment on friends statuses if anything worth saying occurs to me when I do check in from time to time because the occassional actual human interaction on Facebook is better than none at all (like how phone calls are better than never hearing from someone even if you’re not much of a phone talker), but I don’t hang around waiting for opportunities.
I supposed that “Gladly but only once in a while” is the most appropriate answer. I’m on Google+ (which I rarely-to-never actually use), Twitter (which I posted to exactly once…I think my account got locked the last time they had a password leak, and I never bothered to reset it), and Facebook (which I use pretty much only for replying to invitations to social events (and reading the occasional post by one of my in-laws). The latter use means I’m on about once a week.
My online life is mostly email and blogs.