Rosher.Net

Blogging came and, for me, went a while back. Initially because I’m a muppet with little to say, then because I was too busy, and finally because Facebook seemed to ping my addiction gland and all my wittering went on there. It still does, but the new improved Facebook with added Timeline causes me to pause and wonder if I’m happy there any more.

Now… I may be a bit previous here – I haven’t even been opted in to Time Line (apparently that happens at the end of this month) so all I know about it is what other folk have written and you know how that can go! However, if the concept as presented is correct, Facebook intend to publish a time line going back to day one, making all those comments and posts easily readable in a linear fashion.

I’ve never posted anything on Facebook that I’d be embarrassed to see again – even the pictures of me singing at Druid Camp dressed in a tasteful gold belly-dancing outfit (are you searching yet?) brings to mind happy memories rather than agonised squirming. However, for me the value of Facebook is the way one can keep in touch with remote friends and acquaintances with a wave and a ‘hi’ and a ‘happy birthday!’ – simple ephemeral waffle – rather than serious essay material. Hel, essays belong on blogs. Oh, hello…

Facebook is of course free at the point of delivery, and free stuff is generally worth precisely what you pay for it. Free in cash terms, at least, as it’s the tailored adverts and commercial data mining that actually pay for the facility. As someone said, if you’re not the seller or the purchaser you’re the commodity… and that was fine, I knew they made money on my waffle, but the value of having on-line interaction was worth the slight ethical taint I felt when I pointedly avoided clicking on the adverts – especially when I posted a Pagan comment and the software instantly responded with adverts asking “are you seeking Jesus?”… lol.

So the nice happy environment where I could post a one-liner such as ‘lovely Sunrise this morning’ is potentially being compromised because back in 2008 I posted about my medical condition, or my divorce, or my rubbish manager, or my then girlfriend who now isn’t *… and Facebook have decided to rake up all the old crap that would otherwise be left undisturbed. The dead, be they conversations, posts, comments or relatives, should be allowed to remain dead and rest in peace.

Perhaps this is just a rant. Well, yes, it’s a rant! But maybe it is premature, unnecessary and utterly pointless rant… in which case it will sink into obscurity like the rest of my also-searchable blog. As a confirmed Facebook addict I may just suck it up and stay. Or I may waffle in Twitter and ramble in here. Who knows. My name’s bish and I have a problem…

* no, none of the above, never did, wasn’t me… And apologies to Phil who waited months for me to notice and approve his comment! I’m back now, perhaps…