Facebook

social_facebook_box_blue_0It seems that nowadays everybody is using or talking about Facebook.
Was I missing something by not being surrounded and coddled by “friends”?

To find out, I decided a few days ago to take the plunge and sign with Zuckerberg’s gang.

Up to now I studiously kept away from all forms of social media. But curiosity got the best of me. So, have mercy on me, I tiptoed in.

Social media are curious. They seem to have an unhealthy interest in who you are.
They want to know when and where you were born, who are your family members, where you went to school, where you work, what relationships you have had… and more.
It seems a bit much. Even my lovers didn’t know that much about me.

If you are not careful (and kids are especially vulnerable) you could become prey to all kinds of shady characters trawling the web for easy marks.
So, if you sign up, don’t volunteer too much personal information. Follow the Geneva Convention protocol and just offer name, serial number and if they insist, your pet’s name. That’s all.

And then I wonder what I am really getting from Facebook besides bragging rights?
And who reads what I am posting? Everybody? My friends? The CIA? Al-Qaeda?
This is not very clear.

When you sign up, Facebook doesn’t provide a comprehensive User Manual.
It seems that the old Trial and Error method is the only way to proceed.
You bumble your way through the system and after repeated attempts you succeed or you give up.

So far, I am ambivalent about the whole thing. Who besides my few true friends would want to know what I did or what I ate for breakfast last Sunday?
And some people claim more than a thousand friends… Are they all interested in your mundane routines?

I might want to bail out but it doesn’t seem to be a slam-dunk.
I queried the Internet about how to unsubscribe from Facebook and the results are not encouraging.
Facebook is like the Church of Scientology or the Mafia. Easy to get in, difficult to get out.

As far as I know, there is no easy way to bow out. You might be able to do it but through a very convoluted way. There is alas no easy way out, no single “unsubscribe” button.
And if I decide to break out, will my former “friends” shun me? Will Zuckerberg’s goons hunt me down?
I don’t know.

I might stay but I am not too keen on letting the world know when I change my underwear or when I break wind.

Will I stick with my “friends”? The jury is still out.
Stay tuned…

Alain

Holy icons!

Have you ever wondered what the colorful icons positioned above this article mean?

Social-Media-IconsThey are Social Media symbols (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, Pinterest, etc.) and they allow you to share and exchange information with virtual communities.

For instance, if you are a member of Facebook (and you need to be a member to do this), by clicking on the corresponding icon you will instantly post a link to this article (on your own page) for all your “friends” to see.

No need to send individual messages with attached URL’s anymore.
The Digital media technology will do the hard work for you.
Similarly, you can print or email what you are reading by clicking on the “print” or “email” icons.

And you don’t have to be a teenager to share your interests with your friends.
One click will do it.

What have you got to lose?
Try it, you’ll like it! I guarantee it!

Alain

Trust

A few days ago I watched a movie about a pedophile priest.
A sadly familiar story alas.

The saddest part of this wretched tale is that his superiors knew about his guilty secret but never did anything about it.
A common case of “omertà”, widely practiced by professional associations.

This led me to ponder the following question:
In these complicated times, who can we trust?

When I was a child I was taught to trust figures of authority, but nowadays much fewer people feel confident that these emblematic figures have our best interest at heart.

Politicians? Cops? Doctors? Lawyers? Priests? Bankers?
Can we trust them? Or do they put their own interest above ours?
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they do.

If I had to draw a cartoon about this distressing situation, I would show a man in a bamboo cage wearily watching sharks circling his flimsy enclosure.

Today, instead of telling their children to blindly trust traditional figures of authority, parents would be well advised to instill a healthy dose of skepticism in their catechism.
Does it sound cynical? Absolutely, but cynical people are less likely to get fleeced than trusting souls.

I am not saying that altruism is dead, but it is more the exception than the norm.
In this world, you are more likely to encounter a thousand Bernie Madoff instead of a single Mother Teresa.

So, can you trust anybody?
Yes, but with a bucket of salt.

It would be wise to remember that

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” Lord Acton

Do not come to a meeting to merely listen, because silence implies consent.
Come prepared with facts and very pointed questions
The kind that makes politicians squirm.

And above all, beware of wolves clothed in clerical garbs.
They could be extremely hazardous to your health.

WOLFinsheepsclothing“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Gospel of Matthew 7:15, King James Version).

Cynical indeed, but realistic!

 


Alain