Why did I stop writing my blog and what made me want to restart?
In a word, Facebook.
Facebook was where people of my generation were hanging out, so for the past eight years it’s where I’ve been, too. My Facebook friends and my various groups write interesting stuff for the most part, and I feel able to stay in touch with people without any effort on my part. And then, of course, there are the animal videos. I occasionally post pretty pictures and videos, too, and I like to join in the banter from time to time. Just for fun, though.
For a long time, however, I haven’t felt comfortable enough to share my personal thoughts or opinions on Facebook as others seem able to do at the drop of a hat. Maybe it’s my natural reserve, but I suspect it’s something about the platform itself that inclines me not to write freely or show my true colours on the issues floating around the groups I have joined.
For a start, I don’t want my posts to trigger advertising. I already get too many messages about supplements that make everything possible again (some things can be assumed without being shared), Chuck Norris telling me how to make 80 the new 50 (of course, they know my recent birthday), the latest hand tools (yes, I have been renovating), cool travel gear (lots of stuff about my trips on Facebook), and T-shirts to disguise my waistline (they must have seen my last selfie). Have the elves at Facebook found a way to track my needs, or are they merely stimulating my wants? Anyway, it is disconcerting.
Then, when you like one cute koala, how do dozens of adorable animals suddenly find their way to your feed? Is this because of an algorithm? (Algorithm, like most words in English beginning with “al” is rooted in Arabic. It means the “man of Kwarizm”, or the 9th-century Persian mathematician —polymath— Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Musa. One of his books also gave us the word “algebra”, so ‘nuff said.) I had always suspected the Facebook platform of using its members more than being used by them, which I suppose is necessary if it is to make money from targeted advertising, but I want it to be more subtle. An example of the failure of an algorithm is the regular banning of members of a Plymouth group I belong to for using the word “hoe” in a post. Plymouth Hoe (meaning “high ground”) is a major landmark in Plymouth, Devon. It was where legend says Francis Drake was playing bowls when he heard about the Spanish Armada entering the English Channel. But it sounds like an American word for prostitute, so Facebook bans it. Perhaps Google and Facebook will get better at unobtrusively spying on everything we do online as the algorithms improve, but for now I am circumspect about what I post.
I am less circumspect with my blog, however. Anything any sales person or con artist wants to know about me can be found herein. My scribblings will be seen only by those who seek them out (not many), and not used to elicit responses that can direct ads to unsuspecting targets. This is why I have started to write on it again. Have I abandoned Facebook? Certainly not! Some posts, especially in the groups I follow, are worth reading, but mostly I like to hear what my friends are up to, and let them know what I’ve done or seen.
And, as always, I enjoy the cute animals.