OneGuyFromBarlick

A remark in another thread has prompted me to start this thread. I realised we had nowhere to discuss issues about the various social media sites available and thought it would be a good place to discuss the pro's and con's of the various sites in general.

To start off lets hit the big one, Facebook. Who uses it and what for?

For years I avoided it, but I've found its useful to keep tabs on my mob and what they're up to.

I suspect many on here use OGFB to avoid Facebook....

Not interested in it...

I use Facebook, initially to look at local "Then & Now" sites covering Colne, Barlick & Earby. As I gained confidence and found how to use it effectively I adopted a dog through Pendle Dogs in Need and help with the Earby & District Local History page and keep in touch easily with friends. I love it!

I use it to keep in touch with family and friends. I also follow a number of the "Then and Now" sites, I am joint admin on one of them.

When we did the coast to coast bike ride I set up a closed group for the participants and supporters that was invaluable in the planning stages, we planned our training rides via the group and used it to encourage one another. Very useful when discussing and sorting our accommodation for the three day trip and any other issues that were relevant. Built in messaging to computer or phone was very useful as well.

I have added Doc as a friend and can now follow his adventures on the high seas. He and Carole are currently living the high life in the Canary Islands where it is a tad warmer than here.

I use facebook to see what posts my daughter puts on there. My facebook profile says nothing about me and has no photo of me, I very rarely interact with anyone on there. I sometimes share a funny video / story etc with my daughter.
I can see that a site like that could become very time consuming and dominating if you tried to keep up with too many people 'or things' on there. I'm not interested and don't feel the need to get that involved.

I like to see what my family and friends are up to, also it has put me back in touch with old friends.

What a coincidence, Ian, you starting such a thread just now. I've avoided them in the past but signed up last week to Facebook and Twitter. I'm not interested in joining social cyber gatherings or `following' trendy people etc. What prompted me was when I had trouble contacting my ISP, Plusnet, recently and Tripps said he'd been advised by `his lad' to use Twitter because companies responded more readily to that medium. I've read in the past that companies are desperate to respond to people on social media - it's a way of cutting costs of course. I haven't used either yet but will do when I need to get some action for a company or other organisation.. I didn't like the way Twitter demanded a phone number before I was allowed to register then sent repeated text messages to it! I hear in the news that Twitter is losing support and people are going to Facebook instead. Twitter is increasingly used by people who verbally abuse others.

I personally can't see the point in Twitter it has always seemed self limiting with it's 140 character posting regime. Like you I'm not really interested in celebrity goings on and such but can maybe see a use as another avenue for contact with organisations who may follow it.

Facebook is a lot more versatile and you have control over how you interact with it. There is a lot of good (and bad) that can be achieved using it. As Cathy says it is perfectly possible to be a member without giving a lot away about yourself if that is your wish. There is a lot of fabulous content out there on the net using the platform.

This is the Plusnet Twitter Help page that I got via Tripps. I haven't needed to try it yet but there seems to be plenty of activity there. LINK

I have lodged a question on Ronseals Facebook site today regarding a query I have about the table I varnished a couple of weeks ago. All of the previous customer queries have been answered so it looks like the site is monitored by CS, will wait for feedback. (see Kitchen Refurb).

I'm afraid I am a dinosaur, you don't miss what you have never had and I have enough distraction in my full schedule without adding anything to it. Besides, I don't trust 'social media' in this age when all data is valuable and collected. If they have a scale of interest I must rank as extremely boring......

Ronseal got back to me via their Facebook site and basically said that there is nothing to be done apart from sanding it down and doing the job again. Facebook users will be able to see our exchanges here on the Ronseal UK site, they are in the visitors posts section on the left hand side. I have taken them to task as I followed their recommendation of correct product which is clearly not fit for purpose. No mention from them that they have a polyurethane based product that would have done a better job. I have suggested they look at altering their marketing.

Ian, that's the where these social media sites can be very useful and quick to get a response. One thing I'd recommend for anyone registering with sites like Facebook and Twitter is as soon as you're signed up go to your account details and see what settings there are. The companies, not surprisingly, want you to use all their facilities and sign you into them by default but you can uncheck the ones you don't want and stop unwanted people trying to contact you etc.

Yes, a good tip there Tiz. Cathy mentioned that she uses the site with a low profile, you don't need to give a whole lot away if you don't want too.

Recently re-installed Whats App for its group contact facilites. I know Stanley used it to keep in touch with far flung family.

On the Facebook side of things I now joint admin three sites.

phpBB here and am developing another one for use within the Consituency Labour Party. IT Coordinator role also include a Synology client and various other bits of party software not strictly social media but related. There will be another website platform when we have decided which way to go.

I still don't tweet.

I still use Whatsapp and ditched Facebook which was my only other venture into social media. Too intrusive. Whatsapp does what it says on the tin.

Despite my previous post regarding Twitter. Yesterday I found I had a need to establish an account on that platform. On entering my email address as part of the registration process I found that it was already in use! Not by myself in a long forgotten dalliance with the platform but by a totally unknown in relation to a nom de plumbe user name. As the genuine holder of the email address, the Twitter security regime allowed me to expunge the account with a single click. I went on to successfully register using the same address. I didn't bother looking for the tweets they had made using my email address as it is not visible to other users as far as I can see, cant be bothered.

I needed to register in relation to the @bebosomfriends feed. All sorted so no sweat.

That's disturbing!

There will be alot more that are using stolen emails as well on all platforms, of that I am sure. I didn't look at the feed, wish I had done now to see what the flavour of tweets were before I toasted the account.

It would only have raised your blood pressure Ian, best left alone I'd suggest. The time for action would be if any consequences came back to bug you.

Today, Facebook have "upgraded" the user interface for the platform with a totally "new and improved" look. Well all I can say after testing it for half a day is that it is rubbish, I suppose some folk might like it but count me out! Fortunately FB provided a link to revert to the normal style which I have done. How long that will last I don't know, I have given suitable feedback for my decision to dump it.

Mine is still the same as usual.... so far.

It sounds like the mess that BBC Radio made when they replaced iPlayer with Sounds.

PanBiker wrote: ↑08 Jul 2020, 15:11 Today, Facebook have "upgraded" the user interface for the platform with a totally "new and improved" look. Well all I can say after testing it for half a day is that it is rubbish, I suppose some folk might like it but count me out! Fortunately FB provided a link to revert to the normal style which I have done. How long that will last I don't know, I have given suitable feedback for my decision to dump it.

Same here...