I have a love hate relationship with Facebook. In contrast to other social media, where I really do one or two things, Facebook is selfish. It wants all of me. It's a greedy black hole constantly begging for more photos - PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN! - more updates, more tagging, more comments, more likes, more, more, more. At what point do we just decide to hell with text books kids, Facebook or it didn't happen!
I left Facebook back in June and wrote it about it here. I did it partly as a joke - that I was moving to Google+ which I explained was like moving to the woods - and partly because I had Facebook exhaustion per the above. Here are my top takeaways from using Google+:
As expected, it really was like going to the sticks. There's NO...BOD...Y... out there folks. I mean ziltch. No sideboob pics from Vegas. No football sh*t talk. No relationship meltdowns. None. And you know what? BOOOOORINGGGG. I have to say I missed the action and I came to a few usable conclusions as a result. Possibly my initial exhaustion is less about Facebook and more about the other social media I use as well. What if I turn the tables, get rid of Foursquare, Path, Twitter, and so on? So, that means my keeper league really becomes:
I think Instagram is the best of social because of its simplicity and impact. Photos (can be) beautiful and the most articulate way to actually share an experience with someone. I get inspired when looking at Instagram. I don't feel necessarily inspired with Facebook (in fact it depresses me sometimes with all the BS everyone posts), but what I do get from Facebook, that I don't get anywhere else, is the telephone effect. I have everyone I know on speed-dial all the time. I am never not connected. I am never not aware. I guess that is pretty cool.
It took some time away to help me figure out the value in that. Plus I missed brutally destroying my friends in comment threads. Because we all remember that time in college when our buddy lost their wallet to a [redacted] in Cabo. And we need to remind them. All the time. On Facebook.
OK, now your turn. Hit the comments section and let me know what your favorite social platform is and why.