I guess I'm just an old fart, but I'm not sure I understand Facebook and Twitter. I've been invited to be "friends" with several people lately, but I thought we already WERE friends. I obligingly logged on and verified that I, in fact, genuinely like these folks, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Somebody suggested that I add something to their wall, but I'd much rather just pick up the phone and say hi in person.
I barely have enough time to keep up with what's going on here in Letterville, so it's not likely I'll be spending more time checking out anybody's latest happenings on Facebook. It's not that I don't care, but if you need me to know what's going on with your life, you'd best call and just tell me.
And Twitter - who the heck has time for that? Again, I love you all and care about you very much but I just can't seem to get tuned in to social networking.
Now sexting is another matter - any girls in Letterville want my cell number?
Posted by Janette Balogh (Member # 192) on :
I agree Sonny, sexting would be far more interesting to me. haha
I reluctantly finally caved in to someone's invite onto FaceBook, and now have a profile there. I soon started to get all of Letterville inviting me to be a facebook friend on there.
I'm kind of mixed about it though, because while I think having a place to post some photos and current news about yourself is pretty cool, I'm thinking that my friend base doesn't really need to be so broad in that.
I do, afterall, have Letterville that I frequent already, and anything I want to share with the masses here can be broadcasted here as well.
I did start a group on FaceBook for my bike group, and that's been kind of cool. I also actually "found" a good friend from my highschool art classes on Facebook too. That was pretty darn neat!
Still ... Real life is far more interesting to me than cyberlife, and I can't help feel that anything that keeps me from getting off my rump and interacting on a more personal level with people can't be all that healthy.
Let me just take the opportunity here to say this. If you've invited me to be a friend on Facebook, and have not heard back, ... please don't take it personally. I just really don't want my friend base to be all that high on that site, and would rather keep it to a minimum.
~nettie
Posted by Michael Gene Adkins (Member # 882) on :
I started a twitter account to follow some favorite politicians, but I never typed in a phone number to get their "tweets" so I just go to twitter and check on it.
Seems it would be better if their "tweets" were emailed to me. Don't want to get "text" or "sext" on my cell phone all day long!!!!
I have a grand whopping total of 0 (zero!) followers at unsername the_fontry ... I'm thinking of using it to announce progress on my font releases. We'll see. Might be better than answering emails all that time.
Or I could just use it to send out off-color messages to 'nettie-!!!
Posted by Rene Giroux (Member # 4980) on :
I don't get it either.....
People don't even know or talk with their next door neibourg but they want to "text" with half the people in Australia !
Computers and those 'talk' thingies have allowed some people to have virtual lives where they could pretend to be who ever they want without having to face strangers and look at people in the eyes.
I have disconned the internet in the house because the kids would spend hours chatting with the kids they should be playing outside with...
I don't know what the appeal is, I guess to those I say: get a life... A REAL ONE !
And NO, this is NOT what I'm doing now, this is an opened forum where most people know me and a lot have met me in person.
So don't look for me on "chat" places, Twitter, Facebook or any other book or room in the next few centuries, but if you want a REAL encounter, I love to talk signs with real persons. I got wine, Coke, cold beer and if that's not enough we'll got get what ever !
My place doesn't say "logged", it says welcome !
Posted by W. R. Pickett (Member # 3842) on :
...Hey Sonny, don't you want to be my 'friend"??? Janette is... Facebook is fun!
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
What Sonny, said....
Jack
P.S. I rarely even use E-mail
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Well, if you get a notice on Facebook from me requesting a confirmation, what you have to do is send me a check for $100 - then I will know that you really want to be my friend. Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Gee Rene...what a grouch.
Posted by David Wright (Member # 111) on :
Well that does it, you are all off my invite list now.
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
I won't do Facebook or Twitter, and I just deleted my MySpace account this week. I figured since I graduated high school in 1980, I am too old for that kind of thing. It just got to be too much of a chore, and if something becomes a chore, it's not fun anymore. Love....Jill
Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
My daughter forbade me years ago to get on Facebook because I was too old and she said it was creepy somebody my age hanging out there. I guess things have changed or maybe, like Benjamin Button, I'm getting younger.
Yeah, that's gotta be it........
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
It's a lot like e-mail . . . people you only THOUGHT you were friends with MAY abolish the friendship if you don't foward this to 10 people including the one who sent it to you . . .
Meanwhile, it still makes the kids laugh when I call Face-Book and My-Space 'My Face'.
Someone was askin' about Erica, I said, 'Oh yeh, she's on 'MY FACE'' All the teens laugh, and I say, 'WELL! . . . it's ALL about YOUR face ain't it?'
It's not Generation X . . . it's Generation I -the ME-MYSELF-& I' generation.
I only just begun to realize how self-absorbed some of these kids really are . . .
The word 'twitter' is really weird because it reminds me of several things all at once:
-the song 'Rockin' Robin' -Conway Twitty -A harsh response, as in 'YOU TWIT' -woofers & tweeters -Pooty-tat (as in the one with Sylvester) -The old english 'to-wit' -Quitter
It's a dumb word for e-mailing/texting from a cell phone . . . or WHAT ever it means . . .
It's just as bad as BLOG which also reminds me of several things all at once:
-Mud bog -Blob -Blah (as in blah-blah-blah or a 'case of the blah's) -Oblahdee-oblahdah -A block of log
I'm very concerned about where the english language is going and how my mind will deal with all these words when I'm really old . . .
Posted by Dawud Shaheed (Member # 5719) on :
poke
Posted by Rodger MacMunn (Member # 4316) on :
Jill, I agree.......we're too old for that stuff. It sure seems like a kid's thing. Perhaps we need our own......how about WrinkleBook?
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
I reluctantly signed onto facebook & I am glad I did. (Thanks for guilting me into it Kimberly!)
I hooked up with my 2nd cousin in Ohio who I only see at funerals & didn't know her married name, a great friend from HS whose been bopping around the country without me being able to keep up, some people I've worked with that are in different parts of the country, a fun friend from HS who has no family within 200 miles of here anymore. Funny thing is, over 1/2 of my HS class is on there & the cliques are gone.
Not to mention Mafia Wars is totally addicting. Sign up, join my mafia & I'll tell you which Lettervillian is a serious scrapper, kicking mobster's butts left & right. (You'll never guess who!) Posted by John Deaton (Member # 925) on :
I have talked to friends I havent seen in years and made connections with others in the business on Facebook. I think its great.
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
I don't do Twitter, but I am on FB quite a bit- I seem to have way more friends on there than I do in real life- ha
Same with "Blogging"- I could care less for most of it, but I occasionally post some things that are important to me- mostly on "Kontain" which is kind of a combination of "Blogger", "Facebook", "MySpace", "Vimeo" and "PhotoBucket" all rolled into one- it let's you post blogs, photos, videos etc.
Posted by Brent Logan (Member # 6587) on :
I designed one of those digital billboards at work a couple of weeks ago. It was for a truckstop advertising diesel prices. The board is right on I-80. The tech guys fixed it so the customer could change the prices on the billboard through their Twitter account. They have an old fashioned gas war going on with the competition (I guess it's cost effective when the truckers lose their a*s at the slot machines inside). Anyway, the lawyers had to step in and make the truckstop owner sign a liability waiver stating the sign company is not responsible in case someone hacks into the Twitter account and change the numbers, or worse yet, types in something nasty. Now that would take sexting to a whole new level. Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
And yes, there is generational line between those who graduated before the 80's and those in the 90's and after- I was right in between ('86)
For those before, computers were not in the picture much, if at all- the closest was typing class and even that was on a manual typewriter. So, today it is not uncommon to dismiss the technology, because you have lived a good part of your life with out it.
For those after, in the late 80's and 90's, computers were popping up everywhere in just about every area of our lives.
Now it cell phones and instant messaging- with handheld devices way more powerful than most home computers- and the kids don't realize that there is any kind of life without relying on the technology.
But I have to admit- the "ol' fart" in me wants to slap the phonesand pocket pcs out of these kids hands while they are texting in inappropriate places- (church, school, restaurants, funerals, sporting events, just about anywhere in public...) usually to the kid right next to them- why can't they just write a note or whisper in their ear like we used to do! Baaa- and get off my lawn....
Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :
It took me a long while to sign up for Facebook too. I allowed all the bad stuff I heard to effect my decision. But now that I'm on it, I'm glad I gave it a 2nd shot. I pick and chose my friends carefully and it's been fun staying in touch with friends from long ago. In fact, a few from my elementary school are getting together for an evening next week due to our Facebook meetings!
Twitter I tried out, but deleted it shortly after.
Posted by Tony Teveris (Member # 2911) on :
I don’t get it either. I laugh because most people worry about the government watching them, GPS, SS, etc but they will go on message boards and all the public social networks and post pictures, say all kinds of things and truly believe it’s ok.
Just go on Facebook Search and type Teveris, you will find Lena, Shane and Cassandra all mine and they just didn't listen. There are others also, but not mine.
Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
WRINKLEBOOK - I think you may have something there Rodger. And the youngsters will have to join us sooner or later.......
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
I don't fully "get it" yet... but I know I never will if I don't check it out. My clients are getting younger every year too... and just like a lot of you brush slingers gradually accepted the realities of adding vinyl to your tool box for making signs (while still keeping the hand lettering carving and striping crafts alive... thank god)... I think a lot of us business owners should have an open mind about marketing opportunities of the future... and spending a little time to interact with these new technologies just may pay off some day.
I don't have time right now to go into all that I've learned, but I've invested a fair amount of attention in the last 4 months & I think there is an opportunity hidden in all this sillyness on the surface.
I check into FB and Twitter every day, but I only type something there about once a week. Thanks to Bruce Bowers I took another look at LinkedIn recently. I had signed up there a few years ago, but didn't bother establishing myself there.
Now I have 22 connections including high level officials at the largest local bank & local County Government. I have completed my profile, which took some effort, but now my presence on LinkedIn is just one more positive bit of exposure for Island Sign. Since most of my connections there are on my small island, it could lead to some business opportunities.
One last tip for now. I have an account at ping.fm From that account I have set-up affiliations with my accounts at FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, and my own newest blog http://www.islandsignmaui.com
I can send out a "tweet" (or whatever you want to call it) from ping.fm, & it will show up in all those other places from that one click.
A lot of people are using these sites in much the same way as I believe we should be using business related blogs. By uploading fresh, valuable & relevant (to our business)content on a regular basis... this will vastly increase our own websites likelihood of ranking higher on all the most used search engines.
By posting those same bits of valuable info on multiple sites (with one click, if you set it up that way) you are then creating an opportunity for visitors to both visit your site from those other places, & comment on, refer to, or paste links from your site in these multitude of other places... and when THAT starts happening, you can really expect it to help both your search engine ranking AND a possible increase in sales...
...and the other cumulative effect of uploading frequent, relevant content... is that you create a reputation as a recognized expert in your field & this helps build you brand, and the longer you do that, the exponential advantages increase beyond what any of us might expect in the conversations in this thread so far today...
Sonny, I'll just give you a call sometime.. social media or not... glad to be your friend!
Posted by W. R. Pickett (Member # 3842) on :
...FB is a good place to post portfolios of sign work ( and stuff) for cheap skates like me who don't have a web site yet!
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
Sonny, I'm glad that you brought this up. Seems many of us share your sentiments and are puzzled why we're doing this. I seem to have been immersed the past couple days and am starting to look for the undue button. I thought all was fine before, and now feel like I'm falling into a hole that might be difficult escaping.
Posted by bruce ward (Member # 1289) on :
hooked up with several school freinds of the 80s and we have had a few parties its been great. i dont add clients and I will go thru my freinds list and delete them after a while if they disinterest me.
Ive enjoyed it but the orgasm is over. i log on evey now and then now but not like I did
Posted by PatRaap (Member # 4290) on :
I checked into Facebook a couple months ago. Yep...got hooked. Our last local Chamber breakfast was hosted by a gal from the College here, and how networking on Facebook and Linked In is the "new thing". Haven't got it all figured out yet, but you can attach your business/portfolio to your profile, post pics, and start a fan club. When someone signs up, their friends see it, and it keeps traveling down the line. Next thing you know, you have a following of people that have checked out your photos and visited your website. Linked In is a bit more professional, and more referral type, but also a good free networking site. Dennis thinks I am nuts, but it can be some free easy advertising.
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
I'm with Rene. I don't get it and I don't care if I ever do. I just don't have time to tweet or read endless blogs or what ever they are on FB. I barely have enough time to keep up with Letterville. What I really don't get is texting. Why sit there and punch in an endless stream of letters on a cell phone when you could just call and accomplish the same conversation in a fraction of the time? The youngsters of today are going to have severe arthritis in their thumbs by the time they are forty.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
I didn't get texting until my employee started using it to tell me if he was running late. I asked him why people his age like to text and he used a few examples: If you are away from the email option, but simply need to initiate a quick 1-way communication, and it isn't urgent enough to bother the recipient (like an employer), nor are you wishing it to turn into a full blown conversation with the associated small talk & social niceties...
...even though you may not get away with texting near Todd in a theater, it is still somewhat less intrusive in social settings, such as a restaurant or library perhaps, when even a short phone call would be more intrusive.
I've mostly used the texting feature to write this same employee if I am running late, of if I'm working late & have a question... I don't want to call an employee at home after work, just to ask if they remember moving some tool I need, or if they called so & so about such and such... but if I send a text message, I spare them the choice of answering vs. ignoring "the boss" ...and even if they would have chosen to ignore a call (in their current inebriated condition ) ...this way I will usually get the answer I need without feeling I have "bothered" anyone.
I also bought a phone that flips open to a full qwerty keyboard, because it can send emails too. I don't use either function even once a week... but when I do, it's easy to type out the message (so b4 u thnk u need 2 lrn code u dnt. c u l8tr)
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
Here is a LINK to some more basic information that I think does a good job at illuminating some of the potential for benefits. The manner in which I received this information, & the manner in which I am sharing it with you also speaks to the potential for benefits with this new social media!
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
I agree with New York Times editor Maureen Dawd,
"I'd rather be eaten by red ants than twitter."
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
Ditto on that Joe. It'll be a cold day in hell before I'm on twitter.
I signed up for Facebook and connected with a few old friends but if we'd been that close to start with, I wouldn't have lost touch with them.
I'm about out of patience with the constant facebook quizzes, etc. I don't care what color you are or how good of a christian you are or what your mafia wars score is. Not only that but the facebook people insist on changing things on a daily basis. Knock it off!
Just my 2 cents.
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
The constant FB changes are annoying. Just when you have it set to NOT send a notice to everyone in your list when you do a job in mafia wars or whatever, they change something, you're back to telling everyone everything & they've changed where those settings are to stop that again.
As for texting, it's like email. Something I need to ask or tell you, but I don't need to interrupt whatever you are doing by phoning & demanding your attention right now. You answer it when it conveniences you. Also, texting doesn't take the signal strength calling does, so in poor service areas you can text but not call.
Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
Still no takers on my sexting offer?
[ May 24, 2009, 07:51 PM: Message edited by: Sonny Franks ]
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
for all it's ills, twitter did lead me to some cool typography today
Posted by Carole Bersin (Member # 5710) on :
A lot of folks from my church use facebook and talked me into it. I don't participate much in the daily chatter and never do the quizzes but it's alright to see what others are up to and I've gotten to read some interesting articles and seen some youtube videos that I otherwise would not have. It was also a great way to share photos of the mission trip my daughter and I recently went on. Like most other things, you choose how much you participate according to your own comfort level.
and Sonny.... Behave yourself!!
Posted by Jon Jantz (Member # 6137) on :
Wow, Doug. That is an awesome link. And then all those pictures have links to more awesome links. Thanks for killing about an hour.
Some of the links go to step by steps on how to create that type of lettering.... others just go to more galleries like this... http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Illustrated-type/133204 Posted by Bec Bermudez (Member # 8219) on :
Facebook has been a terrific way for me to sort out and get to know my husband's side of the family!
I also reunited with my Pathfinder troupe and "kids" I knew from summer camp. It's been a lot of fun!
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
wow is right Jon... I didn't have an hour right then (because of all the other links I followed earlier) ..so thanks for the link!
Posted by Rusty Bradley (Member # 6938) on :
I'm not a complete curmudgeon because I do have a MS and Letterville account and my wife has FB account...in fact I stuck my portfolio on MS...but as far as including everything going on in my life for others to view...I don't do that...I don't think the everyday minutia of my life is so important that I need to notify everyone about it...maybe one of the things so attractive about these many venues of personal info is the sense of importance they can give to one's life...in that way it's good...and it's fun and often convenient and I certainly take some advantage of it...but I find my life is such that I don't really require it...I don't even have a cell phone anymore...I got tired of those little tunes going off in my pants while I was driving...nearly wrecked a time or two trying to answer...and I really don't mind being some places where I cant be bothered by outside distractions...in fact I often crave that kind of solitude...the world is a busy place...and that can be fun and often interesting...and I tap into that when I want...but these last few years my preference has been more to simplify...slow down...and as they say..."smell the roses"...that's my tweet for the day.
[ May 25, 2009, 03:55 PM: Message edited by: Rusty Bradley ]
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
Regardless of which of us choose to follow the trend, I believe it is here to stay & is already changing marketing in huge ways. The benefit to pay attention seems relevant to anyone in an industry even remotely related to offering our clients a piece of their marketing strategy.
This link offers another interesting glimpse into why I believe this:
I went kicking and screaming when I finally broke down and got a plotter and one o' them new-fangled computers back in the 80's, but you couldn't pry it away from me now. Guess I'll have to check out this stuff too - it just takes old dogs a little longer to learn new tricks and we don't have time to waste..........
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
LMAO Sonny..I have been following this thread for a couple of days now...so far I have resisted the urge to join any of those "things", "forums" or whatever ya call them.
My life is just too full right now..Like... what time to go to bed, what time to get up, what to do tomorrow, what to do next month, how to make the next flight, what the heck is "twitter"???
(Yeah..I'll be checkin it out too..Who know's..there might be a cute chick who needs Si's address!!! ..OR even worse..Steve's address??? )
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
Hey Sonny here's some sexting:
(,/\,)
(that's a boob flash from a 46-yr-old) Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
You just made my day, Jill..........
Posted by Michael Gene Adkins (Member # 882) on :
(·|·)
so would this be a boob flash from a 20-year old???
Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
Thanks anyway, Michael - but it only counts if you're a 20 year old girl..........
Posted by Michael Gene Adkins (Member # 882) on :
How right you are, Sonny!!!
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
LOL! Billy Pickett!
That's a great idea . . . Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
Billy, and Sheila... I think a FREE blog site from Blogger, or WordPress is an even better idea. My blog is from WordPress, and I had a lot of help setting it up (which wasn't free, but was well worth it... thanks Joe), but I've also learned to add a lot to it myself.
Anyway, just another thought that would allow you to start creating more of a personal web presence, instead of being limited to a FB profile for showing off your portfolio.
One thing I should add about the free part... in my case, I registered the domain name & am also paying for hosting. I first tried out blogging a few years ago, through Blogspot, which was bought by Google & the name changed to Blogger.. it was completely free, and I believe that would also be true with WordPress, if you didn't want the extra luxury of your own domain name & hosting account.
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
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![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)
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) ...this way I will usually get the answer I need without feeling I have "bothered" anyone.![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
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