LJ is still a little relevant

[sabotabby]

I'm consciously avoiding Facebook these days. I don't even want to look at it. I gather there are probably some features on it that I need to disable.

Facebook's effect on social networking reminds me of what happened with Chapters-Indigo in Canada. All of the small publishers and bookstores went out of business, and everyone had to go to Chindigo, and then Chindigo realized that it was much more profitable to sell a small number of popular books and lots of diaries and scented candles. So everyone ditched and started buying books on Amazon. I don't know what the SNS equivalent of Amazon is.

I'm avoiding G+ because nymwars have resulted in practically no one I know using it for anything other than posting about nymwars.

I'm trying to like Tumblr but there is not a convenient way to comment. It doesn't feel very social or interactive to just click a heart. And I'm not sure that there is a big audience for pictures of pulp sci-fi covers that look like they have dicks on them, which appears to be the theme I've fallen into.

So I'm glad LJ is still here.

And also because I love you guys.

Comments

[fengi.livejournal.com]

For me Facebook is basically a second email and repository for event invites.

Even before the update, the news feed being a single dynamic page of brief frequent updates means it wasn't scalable. When I had 10 or less connections, it felt useful, but now that I've got a big list, it's fragmented at best and I lost interest.

Plus it's harder to have a full on flamewar meltdown when no one post has any weight.

[sabotabby]

And you can't find posts again, unless FB wants you to find it. Ultimately, you can't post a permalink to an epic flamewar and know that everyone will see it and join in.

Also, one of my dear friends will seriously go on FB for hours and post weird stories from some Chinese news site, and hence my feed is 90% stories of two-headed goats in rural China.

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

And you can't find posts again, unless FB wants you to find it.

This is especially annoying to me.

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

For me Facebook is basically a second email and repository for event invites.

I think the best way to use Facebook is to have an account and ignore it. If someone invites you to an event or an old lost friend contacts you, great. That's useful. If you sign an online petition and they want to put it on your wall, do it. But you should otherwise ignore it until you get the email notification and then only look at what you were notified for. Facebook has rendered itself useless for regularly keeping track of your friends. All hail Live Journal for keeping posts in chronological order.