Do not have, nor do I desire a Facebook account. One of my life’s irritations is the number of businesses (esp restaurants) that ONLY keep a Fb presence, no website. Invariably they seem to be full of pictures of folks eating at the restaurant, etc, but have no useful, easily found information such as menu, pricing, daily specials, hours of operation, etc.
@Kyeh
Personally, those ‘deals’ bother me less, since it is up to me to participate to get the discount if I want it. Sort of like my take on ‘loyalty cards’ etc. If it bugs me that they track which brand of yogurt I eat then I shouldn’t use the card.
@chienfou But I think I should be able to get in on the discounts and contests without having to join Facebook. Which I am never going to do. I don’t have a problem with supermarket cards - I use them all the time.
@Kyeh
Yeah I hear you. The problem for me is the contest is a way to create traffic on the FB page, and it is still a ‘voluntary’ activity.
Giving out normal business information but limiting it to only some people (or not having it available at all) seems like a bad business model. Of course, since I generally don’t go to places that won’t provide me with basic info, I guess that solves that dilemma.
I’m replying to @chienfou but the Meh site will only let me post it as a new post, not a reply.
I understand the frustration, but try to see if from the business owners perspective: with Facebook they have a free way to reach their customers, and it’s easy to use. Not having to pay for web hosting, web design, etc. is appealing to the technically challenged and frugal.
Though there is no excuse to not have a Yelp and Google Maps listing which at least allows them to have an online presence and share basic info with a customer. I’m often stunned at how many business owners haven’t claimed their Yelp and Google Maps listing.
@KENSAI what kills me about that is that the market entry price for a nice-looking website is $12/month (sometimes less, but I’m thinking square space). It’s got such a low cost for something that has a really high potential for return. I absolutely feel more confident visiting a restaurant with a website, even if it’s just something that details address, phone number and menu.
@jitc@KENSAI
My wife has a website for her ACT test prep site. As mentioned it is not that expensive. No need to be super flashy, just sort of like the old Yellow Pages ad for today’s consumer. Link me to your FB page if you must, but keep basic info there at least.
@jitc It’s not about the cost of the $12 web hosting, I bet if you were to ask 100 restaurants why they don’t have a web site, most would probably point to a lack of technological skill and intimidation as the real barrier. We know it’s not that hard, but you have to have the right kind of person on your staff to run it.
Which is why it’s all the more baffling when they don’t take advantage of what Yelp and Google Maps has to offer.
@KENSAI I mention the price not because I don’t think restaurant owners wouldn’t pay, but because it points to the clear technological ignorance that seems pretty typical within the industry. Even sadder are the ones who probably have a couple of people on the waitstaff who are young enough to feel comfortable hopping online and putting the site together in minutes. It’s my guess that same lack of tech skill and knowledge are what prevent them from taking advantage of Yelp’s and Google Map’s offerings. They seem almost just as if not more complicated than a basic website template.
I was thinking that same thing, is the FB “poke” still even a thing? I haven’t seen it used in yea…rs!
Hey @chienfou, @Kyeh and others like you, you FB boycotters, I have a question;
I’ve never understood HOW you’ve NEVER joined FB, even if just to have checked it out?
I’ve just ALWAYS been WAY to curious!
…and possibly have a bit of FOMO.
@Lynnerizer I just never signed up … I saw it over my friend’s shoulder at work and she used to tell me how annoying it was and I also hear a lot about it from my sister, who uses it all the time. I’m not all that social really, although I have fun here on Meh.
@Kyeh@Lynnerizer
Personally, I feel that the hyper-connected world we live in with hundreds of FB friends, twitter followers etc. etc. leaves me cold. I don’t really want that many people to have unfettered insight into my life, and if I want to share that info I will do it with family/friends of my choosing (or yes, here on meh forums)
Things like TikToc etc only serve to self-promote and create a world of people motivated by what a bunch of random strangers think of them etc. One of my favorite Black Mirror episodes (Nosedive) is about the use of “likes” to define your social status and how you are able to function in society.
@chienfou@Kyeh
I couldn’t believe it when my niece told me about how she had to stop using social media because of the anxiety and depression it was causing her! She was in her first or second year of college and said it’s disgusting how her and her piers would judge each other by the number of “likes” or number of “followers” on FB and IG. She said that she was distracted from her studies and the ONLY way to get back on track was to do away with ALL social media! I had no idea how much this effected our young people. I think of it offten when I am on my IG and I see how many hundreds of thousands of followers some of these people have. What a aweful addiction to live with. I’m a huge reality TV watcher, like that’s ALL I watch besides the news and documentaries, and even those I would pretty much have to consider reality TV. My point is, how terrible it must be for most of them to literally live for likes and followers! Since Facebook came out i’ve always said thank goodness I didn’t have this in high school! I know I would’ve insisted on having a account even if my parents where against it. Just one more thing to battle over back then. Ugh, who needs THAT, high school and childhood pressures are hard enough! Like I said, what a aweful addiction!
Unpopular opinion: (and I say this as a person who does not use Facebook) There is little inherently wrong with Facebook. People are just crappy. In theory, Facebook should be a great facility to keep tabs on real friends, but people prefer to use it as a podium to say horrible things would never say in idle chat with you in person.
By contrast, people on Meh! are typically pretty civil. Occasionally it gets a little sideways, but for the most part people avoid confrontation even when they vehemently disagree. This really isn’t that unexpected, people are typically more polite with strangers and are more likely to let their bad sides shows the better they know someone. Facebook just creates a weird dynamic, because people assume their friends are like-minded, but forget to account for the 500 people who are their “Facebook friends”, and not just the 5 real friends that they could normally speak freely around.
Besides being a conduit to hear rotten people’s ramblings, the biggest drawback of Facebook is because you are friends with people who say horrible things, you get targeted with ads in the mistaken belief you are also horrible. But I don’t really consider this “wrong” on Facebook’s part. TBH, if I ran into a person on the street, and said “this is my friend John”, and John immediately followed that up with one of the horrendous things he typically says on Facebook, I wouldn’t blame the person if they assumed I was a pretty reprehensible person also.
@DrWorm That’s a strong opinion for someone who doesn’t use the product. I don’t entirely disagree though, Facebook does have a strange dynamic where hostility bubbles to the surface at a moment’s notice and I personally have an almost daily “Wait, WHAT do you believe and why!?!” moments.
Facebook is the worst - dropped it in 2016, never looked back
@Felton10 Irk thinks you’re weird:
…“the exclusive domain of weird people. Like owning a pet bird…”
@Kyeh Who me? I’m as normal as anyone else who posts here.
@Felton10
That’s not saying much!
@Felton10 @Kyeh
yeah, that’s a pretty low bar!
Do not have, nor do I desire a Facebook account. One of my life’s irritations is the number of businesses (esp restaurants) that ONLY keep a Fb presence, no website. Invariably they seem to be full of pictures of folks eating at the restaurant, etc, but have no useful, easily found information such as menu, pricing, daily specials, hours of operation, etc.
@chienfou I agree 100%; also businesses that offer deals, coupons, and contests only to Facebook members - “special deal if you like us on Facebook!”
@Kyeh
Personally, those ‘deals’ bother me less, since it is up to me to participate to get the discount if I want it. Sort of like my take on ‘loyalty cards’ etc. If it bugs me that they track which brand of yogurt I eat then I shouldn’t use the card.
@chienfou But I think I should be able to get in on the discounts and contests without having to join Facebook. Which I am never going to do. I don’t have a problem with supermarket cards - I use them all the time.
@Kyeh
Yeah I hear you. The problem for me is the contest is a way to create traffic on the FB page, and it is still a ‘voluntary’ activity.
Giving out normal business information but limiting it to only some people (or not having it available at all) seems like a bad business model. Of course, since I generally don’t go to places that won’t provide me with basic info, I guess that solves that dilemma.
I like IRK…
I’m replying to @chienfou but the Meh site will only let me post it as a new post, not a reply.
I understand the frustration, but try to see if from the business owners perspective: with Facebook they have a free way to reach their customers, and it’s easy to use. Not having to pay for web hosting, web design, etc. is appealing to the technically challenged and frugal.
Though there is no excuse to not have a Yelp and Google Maps listing which at least allows them to have an online presence and share basic info with a customer. I’m often stunned at how many business owners haven’t claimed their Yelp and Google Maps listing.
@KENSAI what kills me about that is that the market entry price for a nice-looking website is $12/month (sometimes less, but I’m thinking square space). It’s got such a low cost for something that has a really high potential for return. I absolutely feel more confident visiting a restaurant with a website, even if it’s just something that details address, phone number and menu.
@jitc @KENSAI
My wife has a website for her ACT test prep site. As mentioned it is not that expensive. No need to be super flashy, just sort of like the old Yellow Pages ad for today’s consumer. Link me to your FB page if you must, but keep basic info there at least.
@jitc It’s not about the cost of the $12 web hosting, I bet if you were to ask 100 restaurants why they don’t have a web site, most would probably point to a lack of technological skill and intimidation as the real barrier. We know it’s not that hard, but you have to have the right kind of person on your staff to run it.
Which is why it’s all the more baffling when they don’t take advantage of what Yelp and Google Maps has to offer.
@KENSAI I mention the price not because I don’t think restaurant owners wouldn’t pay, but because it points to the clear technological ignorance that seems pretty typical within the industry. Even sadder are the ones who probably have a couple of people on the waitstaff who are young enough to feel comfortable hopping online and putting the site together in minutes. It’s my guess that same lack of tech skill and knowledge are what prevent them from taking advantage of Yelp’s and Google Map’s offerings. They seem almost just as if not more complicated than a basic website template.
Poke
I was thinking that same thing, is the FB “poke” still even a thing? I haven’t seen it used in yea…rs!
Hey @chienfou, @Kyeh and others like you, you FB boycotters, I have a question;
I’ve never understood HOW you’ve NEVER joined FB, even if just to have checked it out?
I’ve just ALWAYS been WAY to curious!
…and possibly have a bit of FOMO.
@Lynnerizer I just never signed up … I saw it over my friend’s shoulder at work and she used to tell me how annoying it was
and I also hear a lot about it from my sister, who uses it all the time. I’m not all that social really, although I have fun here on Meh.
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer
Personally, I feel that the hyper-connected world we live in with hundreds of FB friends, twitter followers etc. etc. leaves me cold. I don’t really want that many people to have unfettered insight into my life, and if I want to share that info I will do it with family/friends of my choosing (or yes, here on meh forums)
Things like TikToc etc only serve to self-promote and create a world of people motivated by what a bunch of random strangers think of them etc. One of my favorite Black Mirror episodes (Nosedive) is about the use of “likes” to define your social status and how you are able to function in society.
@chienfou @Kyeh
I couldn’t believe it when my niece told me about how she had to stop using social media because of the anxiety and depression it was causing her! She was in her first or second year of college and said it’s disgusting how her and her piers would judge each other by the number of “likes” or number of “followers” on FB and IG. She said that she was distracted from her studies and the ONLY way to get back on track was to do away with ALL social media! I had no idea how much this effected our young people. I think of it offten when I am on my IG and I see how many hundreds of thousands of followers some of these people have. What a aweful addiction to live with. I’m a huge reality TV watcher, like that’s ALL I watch besides the news and documentaries, and even those I would pretty much have to consider reality TV. My point is, how terrible it must be for most of them to literally live for likes and followers! Since Facebook came out i’ve always said thank goodness I didn’t have this in high school! I know I would’ve insisted on having a account even if my parents where against it. Just one more thing to battle over back then. Ugh, who needs THAT, high school and childhood pressures are hard enough! Like I said, what a aweful addiction!
@chienfou @Lynnerizer I agree, so much more pressure, and the bullying you hear about sounds terrible.
Unpopular opinion: (and I say this as a person who does not use Facebook) There is little inherently wrong with Facebook. People are just crappy. In theory, Facebook should be a great facility to keep tabs on real friends, but people prefer to use it as a podium to say horrible things would never say in idle chat with you in person.
By contrast, people on Meh! are typically pretty civil. Occasionally it gets a little sideways, but for the most part people avoid confrontation even when they vehemently disagree. This really isn’t that unexpected, people are typically more polite with strangers and are more likely to let their bad sides shows the better they know someone. Facebook just creates a weird dynamic, because people assume their friends are like-minded, but forget to account for the 500 people who are their “Facebook friends”, and not just the 5 real friends that they could normally speak freely around.
Besides being a conduit to hear rotten people’s ramblings, the biggest drawback of Facebook is because you are friends with people who say horrible things, you get targeted with ads in the mistaken belief you are also horrible. But I don’t really consider this “wrong” on Facebook’s part. TBH, if I ran into a person on the street, and said “this is my friend John”, and John immediately followed that up with one of the horrendous things he typically says on Facebook, I wouldn’t blame the person if they assumed I was a pretty reprehensible person also.
@DrWorm That’s a strong opinion for someone who doesn’t use the product.
I don’t entirely disagree though, Facebook does have a strange dynamic where hostility bubbles to the surface at a moment’s notice and I personally have an almost daily “Wait, WHAT do you believe and why!?!” moments.