December 2, 2016

Facebook is Awesome

There's so much good in FB.  Yes, it has it's dark side, but during the past year I've been focusing on the light stuff and it's been a wonderful experience.

In our last flood, we lost many Christmas ornaments including photos, the kind you hang on the tree.  So I was thrilled when this missing picture showed up on my daughter's FB feed as I couldn't find it on my PC.  She was able to identify the year instantly, and in a click I had the complete ornament set.  It also sparked memories and conversation around how they were goofing around as I tried to take that annual photo.  

FB provides a place for my family and friends to stay connected, and although it's not a replacement for 3D time, it's become a regular prompt for discussion--most great, a few not.  I've picked up a few lessons-learned tips to keep it all good:
  1. Don't share personal info. This includes your full name, address, phone number, primary email (use a spam dedicated account), school/work and important, your birthday.  Why/because you create a googleable presence that brings you up quickly online and there's enough 20/20 footage to remind us why this is not a good thing.  I use my Dad's birthday as it's a few days before mine, it's easy to remember and I'm a ham for birthday wishes.  And don't tag people in photos--they really don't like it when their named picture is all over the web, and think about setting your privacy to disallow your name being tagged as well. Get familiar with those privacy settings so you can control what's "out there" about you.  And that cute Messenger app thing?  You give away your Contact info in order to use it, which is like handing your personal address book to a stranger.
  2. Don't share politics.  Being guilty of this myself, I made an effort to stop, because frankly, nobody gives a damn.  (This excludes Trump memes which are lol--why/because it's my blog/page and I said so.)
  3. Don't slam people on their own page.  You wouldn't/shouldn't walk into someone's house and tell them it smells like butt--you'd leave unless you like that sort of thing.  So if you don't agree, move on.  
  4. Don't posts links to fake news, copy/paste posts that cure cancer/disease/animal cruelty, tag me, etc. It's so easy to fact check before you speak.  And although it may feel righteous, correcting those who do this gets old.  Recipes are pretty safe and provide little fuel to online blazes. 
  5. But DO enjoy the benefits of FB!  See what your kids are into (it's how I found out my little darling was ______.) Continue friendships with folks not in your everyday life.  Create a business page and shamelessly plug www.carasmiths.com .  Follow the Grateful Dead--still.
Have fun and be safe.