This
week (18th December 2018) I have experienced issues with the behemoth
that is Facebook that have been both inconvenient and frustrating. Facebook has in its wisdom chosen to block my blog on
Google Blogspot which is my most important website. No clear reason has been
given and attempting to contact Facebook has been near impossible. Like many
web based organisations today, it is run by computer, its IT support is based
on algorithms and its replies are impersonal automated responses.
Whether
I have been caught failing in their ‘Community Standards,’ which is an ambiguous
description that covers so many ‘sins’ that it has little meaning or whether
the blog has been labelled as spam, remains unclear. The situation has however,
forced me to review my use of Facebook and question its validity to my own requirements
apropos personal expression.
Independent
writers and artists are facing progressively challenging times, as censorship
of an inappropriate nature becomes increasingly evident. How damaging this will
be in the long term to our internet rights or how limiting this will prove, as
we continue to suffer the onslaught of childish political correctness, is
unknown.
Although
Facebook would never admit it publicly and their business news certainly
displays no hint of such things, it is clear that Facebook is facing
challenges. Having destroyed My Space and strangled Google Plus in the cradle,
Facebook still faces competition from Twitter, WhatsApp and Tumblr. It is clear
that many are leaving Facebook for these alternative sites but because people
do not deactivate accounts, the statistics reflecting Facebook usage remain artificially
high. Groups that claim ten thousand members are in reality groups with an
active membership (by which I mean readers and those that post) of only a few
hundred. Numerous persons now deceased still officially have Facebook accounts
and again this produces inaccurate usage statistics.
In
reviewing my own approach to social networking sites such a Facebook, I take a far
more pragmatic approach than many. I ask a very simple question and that
question is; what benefit do I derive? In the case of Facebook I have three uses
for the site.
Firstly
it is a communication tool. I can message people privately and I can discuss
issues publicly, either on a ‘wall’ or in a group. In this manner I have developed
friendships and acquaintanceships with persons across the globe. Secondly
Facebook enables me to receive and send out updates or notifications, of events
via like pages. This aspect of Facebook is useful to me as a theatre-goer and
as an event organiser. Unfortunately it is becoming increasingly clear that
notifications do not reach people as effectively as previous experience has
shown. Facebook in this regard, has begun to show signs of failure. The third
use is that I can share links to various news items and my websites such as
Etsy, Ebay, YouTube and blog.
In
having my primary site barred from Facebook, my need for Facebook has been
reduced by at least one third and perhaps half, as the effectiveness covered in
point two is already compromised. This forces me and this requirement is not
unwelcome, to revaluate my own use and need for Facebook. Do I reduce my
activity or leave? Do I continue to seek (as these considerations are in not any
way newly formed) an alternative to Facebook?
Although
my Google BlogSpot site will remain as my flagship site (link below) but in
response to the current difficulties with Facebook, I have begun work on a
supplementary site. This alternative blog has been created via the WordPress
platform (link below). This WordPress blog is still very much in the early developmental
stages.
Google
has recently announced that their own social networking site, that
disappointing failure Google Plus, will be deleted in the summer of 2019. Sadly
most people will not notice. It was hoped at its launch that if Google Plus did
not do to Facebook what Facebook did to My Space, it would at least be a wake-up
call for Facebook. This did not prove to be the case, Facebook staggered on
almost oblivious to the competitor, leaving Google Plus to wither and die in
the nursery.
Since
my ability to share my blogs and other sites will cease altogether on Google
Plus next year and my ability to share on Facebook is now severely limited. I earnestly
request that all those who enjoy my work and follow me informally on Google
Plus or on Facebook, consider following both of my blogs via the respective
links found on each of the blogs.
Chattering
Magpie - Summoner of the Hearth
Chattering
Magpie
UPDATE: Although Facebook reinstated access to my blog after three days, the lesson has been learned and I continue to evaluate my use of the platform.
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