Sometimes You Need to be Reminded Why Social Media Sucks

Somehow my post about FedEx refusing to ship Cody Wilson’s CNC mill has generated far more Facebook drama than I’m used to. I don’t honestly do much to cultivate my Facebook presence, because for the most part I hate Facebook.

First, Facebook’s late policy of charging me money to access the audience I worked to create annoys the ever living hell out of me. I’m not sure how almost every other post of mine ends up “outperforming 95% of your other posts,” and surely you want to give Facebook money so you can access your followers? If you don’t, we’ll be sure to only show your posts to about 1/8th of your audience, so pay up!

Yeah, screw Facebook, even though it’s my number two non-search engine referrer behind SayUncle. Facebook is evil.

Let’s also remember that Facebook is anti-gun owner. You remember Brain Aitken right? He was prosecuted in New Jersey for activity that is legal in nearly any other state (transporting an unloaded firearm), and is only a free man because of being granted clemency by Governor Christie. Facebook is arguing his plight to get custody of his son back violates its policy of advertising firearms.

I do social media, because you just kind of have to these days. That’s not to say I like it. Compared to what blogging was in its heyday, it’s a vast wasteland, much like Cable TV.

15 thoughts on “Sometimes You Need to be Reminded Why Social Media Sucks”

  1. are those regular readers or Bloomberg trolls. I don’t have an opinion on Fed Ex yet precisely because I totally understand their hesitancy, at least until their own lawyers research the issue and give them a written opinion (backed up, of course, by the value of that lawyers malpractice insurance).

    Still, their anger seems misplaced.

  2. Don’t pay those assholes! The whole “people reached” is BS. I compare my Facebook numbers with the website referral and FB is ALWAYS short and by far.I had posts showing 2K visists from Facebook but FB saying it reached maybe 50 people.

    The best service you can get? We need to get Say Uncle to start accepting money under the table to get our posts mentioned. Every time one of my post makes his list, I can see it reflected in the numbers.
    ;)

    Or Tam… I think we can pay her with pocket Brownings and old school film cameras. :D

  3. I use FB and Twitter mostly just to spread the truth around a little, either demand me to pay for their crap and I’m done with them.
    I do enjoy some of the gun related groups I’m in, but not enough to pay for it.

  4. I barely touch Facebook; it’s something I don’t like for a multitide of reasons.

    I am kindof put-off from social media in general. I’m a little attracted to Diaspora–a decentralized version of Facebook–but not many people use it, and development of it seems to have stagnated. Even so, the primary reason why I personally haven’t gotten on board is simply because I haven’t gotten around to it…

  5. Good Lord! Those are some off the wall comments!

    My prime use of Facebook right now is to play games and to post pictures (and see pictures) of my granddaughter.

    The other use is to communicate quickly with other co-hosts on The Polite Society Podcast. It allows one of us to post an article and then have it seen by the rest.

    As to using it to push the blog, not so much since I haven’t set up a separate blog identity.

  6. Interesting. I can’t use Facebook (contractual requirement from a once and maybe future client that has no problem with my blog — go figure) but haven’t ever thought I was missing anything. In the old unit, we knew it mostly as a way Jody scooped up your wife while you were away.

    I’m intrigued by Twitter because i think I’m enough of a smart-ass to thrive in 140 characters, but fear it would be a timesuck. I’ve already had one MI and have more-than-is-possible of both real and recreational stuff on my bucket list, and the bucket suddenly seems too small for the task.

    I find I get a bigger hit from a mention in a good blog, although the surge from Reddit or Instapundit has to be seen to be believed. Ace of Spades and TFB are great linkers for me. In return, I try to be diligent about links and hat tips.

    When somebody picks up a post on Facebook, I can tell because I get a mountain of off-topic spam comments that have Facebook in their URL.

  7. Facebook is for people who can’t figure out twitter, still use a flip phone and can’t use Snapchat, have never heard of google+, and watch Oprah.

      1. Yeah, seriously. FB is hemorgingig users and it’s losing the most active and important demographic. Why has snap chat’s valuation soared? The future is not what Facebook is offering.

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