Facebook

[silly moo]

I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family in England and Australia, I find it's a good way of sharing photographs without sending lots of emails.

Quite a few of the manufacturers and preserved railways have news pages so it's good for the latest news.

I've only displayed the minimum of personal information and don't play any of the online games like Farmville.

I think like anything else, it's good if it's used with care.

One thing I don't see the point of is Twitter.

Regards

Veronica.

[tadpole]

I do do facebook, and like it because:

- I keep in touch with old friends, colleagues, dodgy relatives, that I wouldn't otherwise be in touch with.
- I've made friends, well facebook friends, with people I've never met. Maybe we can become proper friends one day.
- I don't mind the targeted advertising, and have seen a couple of N-gauge links I wouldn't otherwise have seen.
- I would never have come across this forum were it not for facebook.

I do worry about the privacy thing, but have so far not had any issues (my wife has!).

Can't quite get into twitter, I do have an account but can't even remember my login.

[scotsoft]

I gave it a try a couple of years ago. I gave it six months to "hook" me, it didn't, so I left.

What did annoy me was the amount of emails I received after I left from faceache, telling me x, y and z were missing me, when I knew x, y and z, who never contacted me before faceache linked us through our email address books, were not missing me one bit.
So the Orwellian faceache is set up to emotionally blackmail people who leave its vile clutches, which reminded me of those religeous cults we used to hear so much about.

As for sharing pictures, I can send one email and with one click of the mouse button, if I wanted it to, it will go to every single person in my address book.

I much prefer to send an individual email and even better pick up the telephone and have a chat.
I did use Skype until Microsoft took it over, then I had nothing but problems with it, so that went as well.

Some may think I am against technology well nothing can be so far from the truth.
I have withdrawal symptoms when I can't get my daily fix in front of my computers, PC, laptop, netbook and Android phone.  I also happily admit to being a complete gadget freak.

There are far too many faceache security and privacy issues, which I doubt will ever be addressed, for me to ever go near that site again.

Rant over -   

cheers John.

[Newportnobby]

Years ago my stepdaughter was cyber-bullied through MSN messaging, to the extent we had to get the police involved. Nowadays we have sickos who post messages from someone who has recently died to their parents.
Sorry, but there's enough rubbish coming over the phone, the telly, the mailbox etc for me to want to invite even more of it into my life. You can stick Twitface where the sun don't shine as far as I'm concerned. 

[Sprintex]

- I keep in touch with old friends, colleagues, dodgy relatives, that I wouldn't otherwise be in touch with.

Obviously everyone is different but this is the part I don't understand with Faceache.

If you wouldn't otherwise make a point of keeping in touch with these people via phone/e-mail/post then why bother at all? 


Paul

[poliss]

I use Facebook mostly to keep up with model railway stuff, such as Hornby, Miniatur Wunderland and ANE Model. The boss of decoder manufacturer ANE Model is very pretty too. 
As I said before, Facebook is nothing special. It's just a collection of lots of forums that don't do as much as ordinary forums. You hear a lot about it because TV and radio people know about it.
Skype is mostly Hype. In all the comparison tests done that I've heard of it usually comes bottom for quality. Other, better, VOIP and video chat applications were around years before Skype. I use ICQ, Yahoo and AOL.

Ask a 'media' journalist what VOIP or IRC are and I expect you'd get a blank look from them.

[moogle]

Don't use either of them.
All my friends are REAL not virtual.
Buddies are a different thing, like the guys and gals on here, as we all share a common interest.
If I wanted to read about someone eating some toast or any other meaningless thing, I'd join.
But I don't. Not saying they don't have their place.
Just not in my life!

[poliss]

Have you ever met anyone from the Internet moogle?

[tadpole]

If you wouldn't otherwise make a point of keeping in touch with these people via phone/e-mail/post then why bother at all? 

A fair question.

I have a small core of lifelong chums, none of whom live less than 400 miles from me, but whom I would keep in "proper" touch with come hell or high water. Some of these are also on facebook, and this is a great way of having a communal laugh together, which you can't do by phone.

But I also have also lived and worked in many parts of the country/world, and shared good times with many transient friends/colleagues. We've all moved on to new things, and while we're still friendly, we're not necessarily bosom buddies, and are happy to bump into each other at an airport, or on facebook. We probably wouldn't bother phoning unless we happened to be passing and fancied a beer.  Again, facebook is great for nattering to these groups communally, and if others want to join in, so much the better.

I am terrible at phoning/writing, so admit I am guilty of using email as a targeted substitute, and facebook as a less formal, scattergun substitute.

[Sprintex]

Fair enough 

Hence why I said "everyone is different", personally I only have a few very close friends and that's it, any casual aquaintances that don't become true friends I don't tend to bother with once things move on. Ships that pass in the night 

Interesting to know how other people see things though 


Paul

[Mustermark]

I'm with you tadpole. It can be useful exactly as you describe.  There are a lot of people in life that you get to know and it would be nice to stay in touch, but like you said dont see or phone because life moves on. Facebook is a good easy way to keep in touch with old friends where life would normally mean you'd lose touch. And if it's not much bother then why not bother?

I only ever used facebook for my kids, and they have all turned adult now and grown out of it so i rarely ever use it now.

But i see it as a useful tool that is there if you want to use it.  I dont think there's much to find scary or stupid about it as a thing in itself. I'm sure people are stupid with it, like any internet you want to be careful what you say. But it is what you make of it.  Most if us dont need it, some enjoy it or find it useful.  But many find it easy and useful.

But as far as the original post is concerned, i think tadpole has answered the question about what it is really for.

[OwL]

Have  no interest in Facebook, twitter or skype. For me this forum feeds my online needs as aim able to chat and talk about a subject which i am very engrossed in (n gauge)

I am not knocking these social network sites just not for me and the fact that people who I do not know can look at my personal business does not sit well with me.

I think people can be a bit obsessed with it, but I suppose iam obsessed with this hobby, so everyone has their addiction, n gauge is mine.

I have recently got an I phone. This is because in my new job role I do a lot of traveling, this smart phone will help me keep in contact here and is very useful for mobile banking and keeping up to date with football without lugging a laptop around. Comes in darn handy for making phone calls too 

[Mustermark]

Comes in darn handy for making phone calls too 

That's a balanced view there Owl. I would agree from most of the rest of this thread that it's not for everyone. Can't say I'm too bothered what color Brad Pitt's socks are today.

[moogle]

Have you ever met anyone from the Internet moogle?

There's people that live inside the internet?  WOW! I didn't know that. 
In that case, no.

Can't say I'm too bothered what color Brad Pitt's socks are today.

Probably Pink... 

As to the OP's post:

Just wondering?
Am I the only person in the world who doesn't get Facebook??
I have an account but can never get past Page 1  !!!
I have a few "friends" it seems,  but they are people I've never heard of and I really don't want to know that someone has just had a piece of steak for tea !!
I'm sure there must be much,much more to Facebook but I really cannot see it.
Can anyone offer any advice ??

As to your questions:

1) No. You are not alone!

2) If you use it be careful and keep your privacy settings on maximum as tadpole, silly moo, poliss and others have said.

Maybe one of them can help you get past page one?

[EtchedPixels]

If you use it better still don't put any information on it you don't absolutely need to provide. What's not there is rather harder to have leaked, stolen, sold to people or otherwise abused.