Cut It Out With the Facebook Page Changes

 

Facebook page changes are annoying.

Last weekend I logged into Facebook and made the horrifying discovery that the latest round of Facebook page changes had eliminated the automatic filters that I created for different "friend" lists. Like the rest of the world, I'm probably actually only in touch with about 2% of my Facebook "friends." While I don't mind gifting my Facebook friendship to people such as the guy in my 7th grade home room that I never spoke to, I don't want these weirdos to be able to see anything about me. So I created a few lists to categorize my "friends" and filter who can see status updates, wall posts, pictures, etc.

I'm really adamant about keeping that Facebook page of mine on lockdown, so I totally freaked out when during a routine "security check" I realized that the latest Facebook page changes had changed my settings. So this means that the weirdo from my 7th grade home room has read all of my status updates and postings since the latest Facebook page changes took place. Awesome. It's not that I'm saying anything bad or embarrassing on this public forum, it's just that I don't want people I don't know looking at my vacation pictures and reading status updates about my obsession with Donnie Walhberg's abs. Is that so much to ask?

Unless the point of this pop-up is to block status updates, it's kind of a pain since it's impossible to close the message out.

Facebook also sent out an email last week that they would no longer be emailing me to inform me of friend requests, invitation invites, messages, status comments, or much of anything else. Great. So there's another thing I have to do. Periodically check every category on Facebook to make sure I'm not missing any messages, invites, friend requests, or profile comments.

So anyone else thinking that a permanent move over to Google+ could be in their future?

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Etiquette Rules for Social Media

These days you can follow everyone from your favorite hair salon to your creepy old uncle on social media sites, which often creates a bad case of information overload. Normal people typically understand proper Facebook etiquette, but since anyone with an internet connection is free to invade social media sites, all he*l has broken loose.

Follow these Etiquette Rules So you Don’t Become a Nuisance to the Social Media World:

Yes, Facebook connects you to those around you, but how much do you actually want to know about these people?!

Facebook Etiquette Regarding Your Children: You love your children, you’re insanely proud of them, and you want the world to know. This is fabulous, and perfectly normal. Do put pictures of them up on Facebook, but don’t make these naked bathtub pictures. People don’t want to see that, it makes them feel dirty, and anyone that does want to see that probably isn’t someone you’d want looking at pictures of your children. Don’t notify the world via a Facebook status update everytime your kid shats himself. I mean come on people, no one wants to know your every move, much less your two-year old’s diaper schedule. If you must constantly update the world on your child’s hourly activities, perhaps you should filter who gets the privilege of viewing these enticing tidbits.

Etiquette Rules About Your Love Life: A relationship is between two people. If you’ve got a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, whatever… hopefully you can find other ways to communicate with this person besides on a public forum, such as Facebook. There’s no need to write Facebook statuses discussing a fight you had with your significant other, problems in your relationship, or constant mentions of how perfect your relationship is. This is called information overload, my friend. Think about it, why do you feel the need to tell the world over and over again that your girlfriend is a dumb slut or that your boyfriend a.k.a. your “boo boo” is the sweetest man on the planet. You look like a moron, and now you’ve dragged your mate down with you. Get a diary, phone a friend, or just shut up, but please stop posting status updates about your relationship.

Information Overload on the Family Issues: Sure, your sister might be an attention loving freak, and your brother could very well a womanizing man pig, but social media isn’t the proper forum for you to share these thoughts. First of all, you will probably regret saying these things later on, and secondly, your family’s dirty laundry isn’t anyone else’s business. Do you really want your random Facebook friends and Twitter followers to comment on your private family matters? If the answer is yes, get your arse to a shrink. And fast.

Etiquette rules for Serial Commenters: Everyone’s got a few Facebook friends or Twitter followers that feel like everything posted on these widely viewed internet forums, is like a personal message to them. Don’t be that person. Yes, we put content on social media sites for people to comment on. Most people love comments, I certainly do, but even I have my limits. If I create an album with 100 pictures, I don’t expect, or want, anyone to comment on each and every one of them.

Facebook Etiquette for Sending Friend Requests: We all know the drill, you see someone on Facebook that you want to be “friends” with, you send a friend request, then you wait for confirmation that it was accepted. Sometimes that confirmation never comes. This is because your request was denied. If you request someone’s friendship, and click on their profile a few days later only to be able to request their friendship again, your first request was denied. Stop here. Don’t ask again. You’re embarrassing yourself. I once had someone request to be my Facebook friend about 10 different times. That was just plain weird, and really annoying to have to deny 10 different requests from some looney toon.

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