Upon a marvelous and brilliant book idea I had one day, I was rapidly and shamefully shut down by the little fact that this said marvelous and brilliant book idea has been thought of and published...many times. That's my downfall in life, my brilliant ideas are revealed in my head too damn late. But because I thought this is still a marvelous and brilliant book idea - notwithstanding of its prior existence already - I decided to slowly unravel my would-be-book on this blog for this marvelous and brilliant book idea cannot be caged in this mind of mine forever.
What's this marvelous and brilliant book idea you may wonder? Well, ever thought how some , if not most Facebook users are just so poorly lacking online social etiquette, i.e. incessant self-whoring and obnoxiously-written status updates? Good, because I do and it's driving me insane, to say the least. I thought: well, why not underline these irksome manners that exist in social networking websites and compile a what-not-to-do book? Actually, I should rephrase that as there is no book to be written about, so I guess what I meant to say is to compile a what-not-to-do blog!
My mission: Browse, stalk, read, roll eyes in disgust in order to collect in a scientifically methodological manner the trashiness that arise in the 21st century revolutionary website: Facebook.
PREFACE
(Had it been an original book idea, the potential published manuscript would have included a preface, so let me have my preface, goddamnit.)
Facebook, a quasi-revolutionary computer online software that gathered friends, family, co-workers, frenemies, neighbors, hey-I-saw-you-forasplitsecond-at-a-friend's friend's friend-dinner-party acquaintances and complete strangers looking for non-strings attached relationships, enables the users to share everything and anything from mere importance to utter uselessness in manners that are free and democratic.
Sometimes, the freedom to post whatever pleases you takes a toll on the people that are friends with you whom must endure the nonsensical and grammatically-incorrect status updates and visually-unattractive pictures of more nonsensical things and people in your surroundings. The politically-correct way to avoid all of that would be to not be on Facebook at all or limit my viewing of your daily posts, but I find that ranting about all of those nonsensical things that are being posted on Facebook and still viewing them is a lot easier than to quit Facebook. I'm sure I am not only speaking for myself here when I say that I'm a creature of habit; once I start something, I won't stop. I guess that's the easy way to explain why I wouldn't limit my Facebook usage despite all that I see on a daily basis. I'm the first to confess, I am not the solution but part of the problem. I, just like many, fuel this very consumption of Facebook and the gratuitous proof of Westernized individualism. But sometimes, hell, can people look and sound dumb.
So if I had to make a toast in the honor of this book/blog (fine, I'll settle to that fact that there won't ever be a book!), I would raise my glass and make this toast to all the status updates in this world, especially to the very irrelevant ones...updated every five minutes!
CHAPTER 1.
Spell check.
When you're about to update your status with something that internally inside of you, you know - you very well know - that is completely, undeniably and obviously useless, the least you can do is refrain yourself from writing a barely legible status update. If you're going to sound stupid, you might as well show that you know how to spell at least. It's not "whit", it's "with". You cannot say "I did went", it's "I did go". So this brings me to the next linked topic, if you're going to write something in a language you are not comfortable with, then just don't. I don't have to feel like the only comment I want to make on your status update is a copy paste of what you just wrote and edit it! I rather not understand something you wrote properly in another language then having to roll my eyes at mistakes on basic English grammar.
I'm an avid blackberry user and I spend also a lot of time on Facebook on my mobile. I update frequently from this said device and despite the lack of a regular computer keyboard, I'm still able to type with my two thumbs properly-spelled texts. I don't see why and how this would not apply to everyone else. Don't blame your clumsy fingers. The last time I checked, your fingers aren't the ones with the brain to spell words. The only acceptable time where your fingers and brain may slip simultaneously would be when you're under the influence of alcohol. Then again, if you're drunk, just don't use your phone, period, for anything. Spell check would be your last concern in that case.
Lastly, but not the least important, I have a hard time with words that are shrunk into mere few letters. I believe adding a "y" and a "o" to "u" to make the proper word "you" would only take 0.2 seconds more than just writing "u" in say a sentence like, "r u going to the movies?" It's okay if you're 12 years old, but if you're in a process of obtaining an university degree, I would suggest to start writing like you're someone who is supposedly in the process of obtaining an university degree. Stop dropping letters! I'm not going to start Googling every possible acronyms in this world to understand the actual meaning of them! Write out the damn word in its entirety!
CHAPTER 2.
Like.
If Facebook excels in anything other than existing, the 'Like' button is the most non-threatening, friendly and socially convenient function on the website. To 'like' a comment, a wall post, a picture or a link of someone, it releases the user from being socially obligated from any further duties that leaving a comment would otherwise create. What do I mean by that? First of all, you will not be constantly notified by other comments from other people on that same post, which often times have nothing to do with you and offer little to no interest to you at all. Secondly, leaving a comment would instigate a string of back-to-back comments between you and the friend you commented on which can lead to a conversation on Facebook that could be done elsewhere and more importantly, in private. Sometimes, you just don't want to start having to comment back and forth on that post which eventually will have nothing to do with the original nature of the post to begin with. When does the conversation end? Ah, the dilemma! Hence, the 'like' button eases this very problem. You acknowledge that you agree with the friend's post without having to compromise your own precious time. Brilliant, I say!
However, the 'like' button has its limit in terms of its usage, or should I say, it's misuse. First of all and I feel like it might be the only point here, 'liking' your own status update or post is utterly and completely irrelevant and nonsensical! It just doesn't make sense. Why would you 'like' your own status? What are you trying to say by 'liking' what you just obviously expressed? On top of writing your status update, you're 'liking' it too? Why don't you just write the update, 'like' it, comment on it (not as a response to someone else's comment, but the first comment following the writing of your update), and 'like' your own comment??! The full package! I feel like someone is trying to feed me 1+1=5. It just doesn't make any sense and I thought the only thing that doesn't make any sense in this world is Kristen Stewart's acting. Now that's something I won't ever 'like'!
Lesson of the day: don't like your own posts. It's ridiculous, vain and plain weird. As if Facebook isn't self-absorbed enough, people now need to like their own posts too! pfft...!
Next chapters to come...
What's this marvelous and brilliant book idea you may wonder? Well, ever thought how some , if not most Facebook users are just so poorly lacking online social etiquette, i.e. incessant self-whoring and obnoxiously-written status updates? Good, because I do and it's driving me insane, to say the least. I thought: well, why not underline these irksome manners that exist in social networking websites and compile a what-not-to-do book? Actually, I should rephrase that as there is no book to be written about, so I guess what I meant to say is to compile a what-not-to-do blog!
My mission: Browse, stalk, read, roll eyes in disgust in order to collect in a scientifically methodological manner the trashiness that arise in the 21st century revolutionary website: Facebook.
PREFACE
(Had it been an original book idea, the potential published manuscript would have included a preface, so let me have my preface, goddamnit.)
Facebook, a quasi-revolutionary computer online software that gathered friends, family, co-workers, frenemies, neighbors, hey-I-saw-you-forasplitsecond-at-a-friend's friend's friend-dinner-party acquaintances and complete strangers looking for non-strings attached relationships, enables the users to share everything and anything from mere importance to utter uselessness in manners that are free and democratic.
Sometimes, the freedom to post whatever pleases you takes a toll on the people that are friends with you whom must endure the nonsensical and grammatically-incorrect status updates and visually-unattractive pictures of more nonsensical things and people in your surroundings. The politically-correct way to avoid all of that would be to not be on Facebook at all or limit my viewing of your daily posts, but I find that ranting about all of those nonsensical things that are being posted on Facebook and still viewing them is a lot easier than to quit Facebook. I'm sure I am not only speaking for myself here when I say that I'm a creature of habit; once I start something, I won't stop. I guess that's the easy way to explain why I wouldn't limit my Facebook usage despite all that I see on a daily basis. I'm the first to confess, I am not the solution but part of the problem. I, just like many, fuel this very consumption of Facebook and the gratuitous proof of Westernized individualism. But sometimes, hell, can people look and sound dumb.
So if I had to make a toast in the honor of this book/blog (fine, I'll settle to that fact that there won't ever be a book!), I would raise my glass and make this toast to all the status updates in this world, especially to the very irrelevant ones...updated every five minutes!
CHAPTER 1.
Spell check.
When you're about to update your status with something that internally inside of you, you know - you very well know - that is completely, undeniably and obviously useless, the least you can do is refrain yourself from writing a barely legible status update. If you're going to sound stupid, you might as well show that you know how to spell at least. It's not "whit", it's "with". You cannot say "I did went", it's "I did go". So this brings me to the next linked topic, if you're going to write something in a language you are not comfortable with, then just don't. I don't have to feel like the only comment I want to make on your status update is a copy paste of what you just wrote and edit it! I rather not understand something you wrote properly in another language then having to roll my eyes at mistakes on basic English grammar.
I'm an avid blackberry user and I spend also a lot of time on Facebook on my mobile. I update frequently from this said device and despite the lack of a regular computer keyboard, I'm still able to type with my two thumbs properly-spelled texts. I don't see why and how this would not apply to everyone else. Don't blame your clumsy fingers. The last time I checked, your fingers aren't the ones with the brain to spell words. The only acceptable time where your fingers and brain may slip simultaneously would be when you're under the influence of alcohol. Then again, if you're drunk, just don't use your phone, period, for anything. Spell check would be your last concern in that case.
Lastly, but not the least important, I have a hard time with words that are shrunk into mere few letters. I believe adding a "y" and a "o" to "u" to make the proper word "you" would only take 0.2 seconds more than just writing "u" in say a sentence like, "r u going to the movies?" It's okay if you're 12 years old, but if you're in a process of obtaining an university degree, I would suggest to start writing like you're someone who is supposedly in the process of obtaining an university degree. Stop dropping letters! I'm not going to start Googling every possible acronyms in this world to understand the actual meaning of them! Write out the damn word in its entirety!
CHAPTER 2.
Like.
If Facebook excels in anything other than existing, the 'Like' button is the most non-threatening, friendly and socially convenient function on the website. To 'like' a comment, a wall post, a picture or a link of someone, it releases the user from being socially obligated from any further duties that leaving a comment would otherwise create. What do I mean by that? First of all, you will not be constantly notified by other comments from other people on that same post, which often times have nothing to do with you and offer little to no interest to you at all. Secondly, leaving a comment would instigate a string of back-to-back comments between you and the friend you commented on which can lead to a conversation on Facebook that could be done elsewhere and more importantly, in private. Sometimes, you just don't want to start having to comment back and forth on that post which eventually will have nothing to do with the original nature of the post to begin with. When does the conversation end? Ah, the dilemma! Hence, the 'like' button eases this very problem. You acknowledge that you agree with the friend's post without having to compromise your own precious time. Brilliant, I say!
However, the 'like' button has its limit in terms of its usage, or should I say, it's misuse. First of all and I feel like it might be the only point here, 'liking' your own status update or post is utterly and completely irrelevant and nonsensical! It just doesn't make sense. Why would you 'like' your own status? What are you trying to say by 'liking' what you just obviously expressed? On top of writing your status update, you're 'liking' it too? Why don't you just write the update, 'like' it, comment on it (not as a response to someone else's comment, but the first comment following the writing of your update), and 'like' your own comment??! The full package! I feel like someone is trying to feed me 1+1=5. It just doesn't make any sense and I thought the only thing that doesn't make any sense in this world is Kristen Stewart's acting. Now that's something I won't ever 'like'!
Lesson of the day: don't like your own posts. It's ridiculous, vain and plain weird. As if Facebook isn't self-absorbed enough, people now need to like their own posts too! pfft...!
Next chapters to come...
Haha Bao, well said! It's coming along nicely, cannot wait until you're published and I am your photographer.
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