AndyBlog

Facebook - Mixed Feelings

I have very mixed feelings about Facebook. As with most statements like this, the mixture is much more biased towards the negative.

What I like about it is that way that it genuinely brings people together and engenders a feeling of fun. Sadly, commercial drive is never far away and the large crowds logging on to Facebook are increasingly open to the snares of less scrupulous companies.

What is so clever is the way they get Facebook members themselves to apply the pressure to load applications. I receive an email saying that someone has sent me a message. "Oh!" think I "How nice that someone would send me a message."

I click the link.

Up comes a box inviting me to give the application access to all my data. Mmm...don't like the sound of that at all.

I uncheck a few boxes. I start to feel uneasy.

Next up, a list of all my Facebook friends. I have to send this "App" to 20 other people it says, before I can see my message. I comply, trying to pick people who may be least annoyed by it. Finally I get my message - it's a mass mailing to, you guessed it, 20 friends saying simply (pre written by the App itself) "Hey there! This new App is really cool!" It is accompanied by a picture of a pink teddy bear.

I have been had. I feel dirty. I have been sucked into the viral activity of Facebook. No wonder there are not many new viruses - we don't need them, we have Facebook.

We no long email - we get emails from Facebook telling us to log onto Facebook to get our emails there. Ughh.

We no longer write our own messages, they are pre written for us. Ughh.

Everything is multi-choice, not just open text entry. Facebook actually writes itself and passes it off as our work. Double Ughh.

I realised the depth of my despair when someone told me they didn't need their bog anymore, they used Facebook instead. I suppose it's a way of having some kind of personalised page on the internet - without the need for any considered original content.

A couple of final things (I have had to pick and choose lest this entry be too long)

Look at this grab from Facebook:

I had just spent a while doing an IQ test, sent to me by a few people on Facebook. I quite like IQ tests, so, against my better judgement I gave it a go. Taking the test was a breeze. Enjoyable, even.

Afterwards I hit this screen. I have to invite 20 friends to try this BEFORE I can see my results. I don't even have 20 friends on Facebook, so I never stood even a chance of seeing the fruits of my labours. Since the "App" could access my user data, it knew this - yet i still let m carry on.

Assuming I had the requisite 20 friends, I would be required - pressurised to send an invitation to load the app to them - thus placing them in the same difficult position. Each person breeds 20 more contacts. 20 more lots of data gathered - 20 more lots of adverts seen by using this "App" - 20 more little bits of money for them.

Two more points to note about the screen grab:

a) The "cancel" button did not work. i was locked onto the screen.

b) The advert for a "Free" iPhone is made to look exactly like a Facebook "Continue" button. The fact that they allow such dishonest advertising - so that the fake advert is bigger than the actual Facebook part - says a lot about the way Facebook is run and how much they care.

Saddest of all is that there is much that is good about Facebook, but that the greed is overtaking the good and soon what little good that remains will be squeezed out by the greedy sleaze-merchants. Sadly, I do believe that this includes Facebook themselves.

Come on Facebook, clean up your act NOW.

1) Make all invitations completely free to opt in or out as desired.

2) Ban advertising that emulates official buttons of the site.

3) Stop acting like a computer virus - people will not be fooled forever.

The radio show last week...

No two ways about it, the radio show last week was close to a disaster.

I had been playing tracks all evening pre-show with no problems, but the minute I started to broadcast for real, the uplink started skipping.

That was to be just the start of it. Later in the show I came close to a complete giggling fit whilst reading out stories people had written. I actually wondered whether it was time to pack up and give in.

Well, here I am gearing up for tonight's show, so I clearly have decided to give it another go. I wouldn't want to give you all such an easy let-off anyway.

If you haven't listened to my muddled and slight off-beat radio programme before, you can easily join in with a copy of iTunes, Real Player or WinAMP. You'll also need a sound-card in your computer and either a pair of headphones or some speakers.

Then just go to: http://www.adlib.co.uk and click where it indicates you should click. You might want to bookmark the programme for later use - or you might want to forget all about it and pretend that it never happened.

It's OK. I understand. I really do.

Yeah, like /that's/ sensible

If you don't see the words, click to enlarge the picture.

I have had to re-add the words on the sign, or something very similar to them as I can't remember the exact wording. This is not a paste-up to make the sign ridiculous, it is just very hard to photograph these matrix signs, as they actually display at around 50-60hz - similar to a TV screen. The human eye sees them no problem, but the faster shutter speed of a Canon IXUS sees just a few splotches of orange.

OK, explanation over.

Real posting goes like this:

Saw this sign as we were leaving Glasgow headed for Edinburgh. I can't believe that traffic department could be more silly - even if they tried. For those of you who hate pictures and can't be bothered to click on this one to read the text, it invites the viewer to dial up a web site to view traffic information.

Now, even if the driver seeing this sign does not immediately grab for their smart-phone and attempt too dial-in the URL, the rush alone, to get a paper and pencil to write down the web address, is likely to cause a few deaths each year.

Whatever happened to that lovely mainstay of illuminated signage: "Tune to 95.7 FM for the latest travel news and information"

This is one of those few occasions where the internet does not, and should not ever, reign supreme.

I am English (England)

This sort of thing really makes my blood boil. I mean, honestly!

Ad.Lib Radio and YOU

I've finally done some upgrade to the Ad.Lib Radio web site.

I've placed the Podcasts on their own page and tidied up the main page a little - hopefully making the timing of the show easier to understand.

The other change is to associate the station more closely with the area in which we are broadcasting from. Ad.Lib Radio is based in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and therefore South-East Northumberland. I'd like to reflect our location, and also to throw open the station to geographically orientated programming.

So, if you have any ideas with where we might take this germ of an idea, please do let me know. I'd like to see the station used for more than just one show - and by more people than me. You don't need much knowledge of computers to run an internet show - just get in touch with me.

So, please do listen to the show on Wednesday nights 10pm-11pm or download the podcast from the web site.

It's best to listen live if you can, because the dual experience of listening and chatting with other listeners is particularly special - or so I'm told. I certainly enjoy talking to those listening when I'm trying to impersonate a radio presenter.

Enough said. I try to keep these posts balanced so as not to transgress into the repugnant territory of "relentless self publicity".

Bizzy Bizzy

Between filming for the Legacy of Life DVD and coding the Tiree community web site I have been completely run off my feet these last few days.

Hence the lack of blogging. It's the old conundrum - when there's a lot to write about, there is least time. The funny thing is that it is not that there is no time to blog - more that I end up in a stressed state and so unable to turn my mind to blogging.

What I am learning is that it is at times like when it is better just to write something - just like this. No clever set piece about something smashing, just a straightforward outpouring of whatever is racing through my brain.

On second thoughts, better not to do that - well, not completely. As ever, there is much which passes through my brain which really should not see the light of day. I doubt my thoughts will ever be completely pure - are yours?

I rest my case.

I have been very moved by my experiences filming for Legacy of Life - there are some truly moving and inspiring stories associated with organ donation and transplant. I feel quite small when talking to people who have lost loves ones under such difficult circumstances.

Quite an achievement, you might think. Fair enough.

I did the web site for them as well - here you can read some stories, or download in PDF format their excellent book. I would urge you to consider the who issue of organ donation - at least talk about it some.

http://www.legacyoflife.co.uk/