For seven days I tried to use the hell out out Facebook. I tried to post as much as possible and to check it several times a day. I’ve never been a fan of Facebook. Was I missing something by not using Facebook more?
The Short Story
After a week, thanks to facebook, I had lunch with a friend, found a new dentist, and saw some cool pictures, but I still think most of facebook is spam. I will keep the facebook app on my phone and I will post more than I used to. I suppose it’s kind of fun to put up the occasional picture or check in at a cool or interesting place. However, I’m certainly not addicted to facebook after a week and I’ll probably be using it mostly when I’m just bored. For advertising, I think it can be a useful tool, but I already knew that. As a way to get in touch with people, it isn’t bad, but why would you contact someone on facebook when you could just text them?
I suppose facebook has some value, or I should say, some potential for value. If you are willing to sift thru and ignore a lot of meaningless crap you can find the value. For people who are already in touch by other means facebook is just another way to communicate and send pictures, and it’s pretty cool. For people who are not in touch, it’s a way to possibly get in touch and catch up on old times, even if you both forget about each other again almost immediately after the encounter, but what’s wrong with that? Nothing. In the end, Facebook is a slightly useful communication tool that is filled with spam. Perhaps I’m still missing something, but I believe if facebook were to somehow evaporate tonight and be completely gone by tomorrow morning, two weeks from now the entire world will have moved on and no one would miss it.
The Long Story
Here’s the day by day:
Friday
Using the hell out of facebook is hard. What is everyone posting on here? It’s hard for me to get over the idea that facebook is a waste of time. I tried a new recipe and it came out really good so I took a picture and posted it. To my surprise, comments and likes blew up right away from people telling me how good it looked. I have to admit, I liked the attention.
Saturday
I had made plans to go to lunch at a mexican restaurant with my friend Ross. Before leaving my house, I posted a quick status update that I was heading to the place for lunch. Not ten minutes later I got a text from my friend JD. He was just down the street and wanted to know if I wanted company for lunch. I told him to come on over and he joined me and Ross at the restaurant. In this case, social media really was “social”.
Sunday
Watched Felix jump out of a balloon from the edge of space and posted an update about it. Also posted to let everyone know I was performing that night at NCT.
Monday
I posted an advertisement for the two man improv show that I’m a part of. In the past, I’ve always tried to remember to post advertisements for shows on Facebook. Prior to this, advertising my performances has really been the only thing I’ve used facebook for and I don’t advertise all of them.
Tuesday
I realized that I’ve been wanting to find a new dentist. I posted on Facebook to ask if anyone wanted to recommend their dentist to me. Three people replied right away with their dentist’s phone numbers and website information. Score another one for Facebook, one of these guys will probably be my new dentist.
Wednesday
Didn’t post today, too busy at work. I did check throughout the day when I had time to see what everyone else was posting.
Thursday
I was thinking about how badly I wanted a bacon cheddar chicken tender melt from this bar I used to go to in Maryland. I posted about it. I got plenty of “likes” from people who either like Maryland or like bacon cheddar chicken tender melts. I also found a really cool graphic on the BBC website that shows how big our solar system is. I found the graphic just fascinating and posted it to my page. Sadly, no one else thought it was interesting. I’ve noticed that when I’m bored, I’ll check the facebook app on my phone to see if anything is happening. Usually, nothing is.
Friday
I performed an improv show last night and posted today to thank everyone for coming out to the show. Marc, the other dude I performed with, also posted a picture of him and I at the theater. I did enjoy seeing all the “likes” and comments to what he and I posted. It’s nice to know that people are supportive and happy for us. I’ve noticed there is a decent amount of that going on on facebook. People tend to really enjoy posting their support for their friends, or friends of friends.
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