Facebook Friending Rules

Facebook is trying to control how many friends we have and doesn't want you to meet new people.

One thing I like better about Google+ and also about MySpace back when it was still a great place to hang out, is that they don’t try to tell you who to be friends with or how many even. There is supposedly a limit on Google+ but many have exceeded that without penalty. They even have a way of gathering large numbers of friends at one time. Now that’s friendly.

This will be Facebook’s downfall. They are getting too big for their britches and want to be the only ones allowed to advertise and make money. Being greedy will kill a site quickly and I won’t cry any cyber tears when it happens.

When you open a free site for people to use you have to have advertisers to pay the bills; revenue is how it’s done but you can’t get too stingy with your proceeds or you run off subscribers. Help your followers and they help you.

Making friends:

I’ve made many great friends online over the years and some I consider closer than people I know locally. If not for social networking sites I wouldn’t have met them. The wonderful thing about the World Wide Web is getting to know individuals all over the globe we wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to meet. We learn about other cultures and what is going on in other parts of the world.

If they don’t want us to add friends then why do they have that “Add Friend” box under people’s names out to the side tempting us to meet new people? That’s like putting a brand new candy on a table full of children and saying you can have this candy but only if you have eaten it before. Well it’s a new candy so how can I have eaten it before? If I already knew these people they would be in my existing friend list. See how stupid this is?

Facebook’s privacy policy:

They initially tried to make the “friends only” policy on the pretense of keeping our privacy safe but that flew out the window with this new “timeline” which they admit will help them sell even more of our information to advertisers. Truthfully, they’ve been selling our information all along this just gives retailers and services even more information: what the inside of our house looks like, our children’s ages, what kind of car we drive, what kind of food we eat, etc. etc.

If it’s on the web, it’s public; I get that but give the rest of us the opportunity to publish what we do. In this failing economy there are people out of work who could use this tool to find employment. It’s not going to hurt Zuckerberg to let a few poor folks make a dime here and there.

Google+ encourages networking

Google+ helps those of us trying to advertise. It’s in Google’s best interest to help us since many of us use their Adsense program. They don’t set limits to how many followers you have and realize we are adults (or at least we are supposed to be) and if we don’t want to be someone’s friend we simply ignore their request and move on, it’s as simple as that. Much more friendly than being grounded like we are junior high students.

Facebook sends you a rude note telling you that you’ve sent a friend request to someone you don’t know (God forbid) and if it happens again they will take your “friend request” privileges away for seven days. I read that one person lost their “friending” rights for fourteen days. Since when is it offensive to reach out a hand in friendship?

I am not a child and will not be reprimanded. If Facebook doesn’t change their ways I’ll leave. I will not be treated this way. They aren’t the only game in town and they are going to lose many subscribers if they don’t change.

Advertising

Granted, some of my motives are to advertise my work but I also just enjoy meeting new people.

Sometimes I see a comment or post I agree with or enjoy reading and think, “They look like an interesting person; I’d like to talk to them more.” According to Facebook, this is a no-no. You only get so many friends in this life and no more are allowed.

If you aren’t already related to them or met them in person you can’t introduce yourself to them on Facebook. However, Facebook can sell all of your personal information, at least any they’ve tricked you into giving them, to any affiliate they do business with. You don’t believe me? Follow the link below to their “advertising policy.”

If you start getting telemarketing calls on your cell phone you’ll know how they got your number. That extra junk mail in your box just might be compliments of Facebook.

I don’t need Facebook to talk to people I already know.

The people I know here locally I talk to on the phone or in person; I don’t need a computer monitor to do that. Friends and family in other states have conversations with me via email or phone, not on a social networking site.

The Internet is handy for meeting people worldwide I wouldn’t normally meet.

Social networking sites are supposed to be about “networking.”

According to Merriam-Webster networking means:

The exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically : the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business.

It’s lonely at the top.

Once a person gets so big and rich they become paranoid, they think that everyone is a potential threat who might take their place and they start trying to control everyone else. It’s only a matter of time before the rug is jerked out from under him and he’ll go back to being who he was before: a lonely geek without any friends.

In closing

If you get one of these alerts and you’ve sent out a few requests don’t click on the box that says, “Do you want to withdraw all the requests you’ve sent?” (I can't remember the exact wording) It’s a scare tactic. I got a couple dozen new friends after being “grounded” so don’t worry about it. I figured if I’m going to be in trouble anyway why not go all the way? Gee, I feel like a kid again who has been caught in the parent’s liquor cabinet.