[Air-L] facebook, twitter and annoyances

[Peter Timusk]

On 31-Oct-09, at 11:06 AM, Barry Wellman wrote:

> Nancy, I think it is more complex. What if there are really
> interesting people whose posts are often filled with gems, but at  
> the same
> posts some self-infatuated or status update stuff ("going for  
> breakfast")
> ("sitting in my garden") stuff which is not interesting to almost all.


"All"... a statistical term used in generalizations. My "all" on  
facebook is only my friends who almost all expect a few aoirs, I have  
met face to face and shared some good times. These are often  
coworkers, high school friends, musicians in my scene and a few  
bosses, family etc. As I set my stuff there to viewable "only by my  
friends" I not so sure in my case that your claim that this is all  
uninteresting holds. It is your judgment or someone else's like the  
journalist's  but hey who are you/they to say?

Most of my status updates are these ordinary day to day things like  
today I am telling people I am home doing paperwork but will be going  
downtown shopping today.

Now I think, I and others do post witty stuff as well. I am a poet at  
times. But sharing wit with friends is cool too. I am not writing on  
facebook for the mass media, as my blogs can do that if people are  
interested in the themes I write about.

I think you are assuming these interesting people are public and I am  
talking about a private facebook social network. Not private from the  
adverts but private for the ordinary person.

I am sure you know something of private networks so now what do you say?


Peter Timusk,
B.Math statistics (2002), B.A. legal studies (2006) Carleton University
Systems Science Graduate student, University of Ottawa.
just trying to stay linear.
Read by hundreds of lurkers every week.
kiitos paljon,  merci,  thank you and muchas gracias for reading.