Yeah, there is an overflow of kife proffered forth by many of my facebook friends, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Facebook is a tool, especially for artists, like us. Michael, I think you'd do wonderfully -- by posting interesting links to literature, film, music, world events, people have enriched my life, added to my knowledge or, made me laugh. And Q already covered the networking angle. In the end I click what I want to click, and I have a dormant e-mail so I don't receive any notifications (just create an e-mail, sign up to FB then delete the account, c'est ca!)

J

Wat she said
 

This is exactly why I still have my Facebook account. It's true, if you actually look at my page you can see pics of my 2 little girls (who are adorable) and of me when I was in high school (not so adorable, but amusing looking), but the 1 reason I didn't shut my account down when I realized the scandalous amount of supposedly private info that was being shared about, well, everyone, is that I started meeting other POETS. And it was so different than eratosphere--not formal at all (I always went to the Deep End when I went to erat). And I started putting faces to people, and just chatting, and realized that this was the one way that I, living where I do in Plano, Texas, could be part of a thriving poetry community all of the time, as opposed to once every 2-3 years when I make it to the W-Chester conference. And now that I (within a week) will have a book to sell, Facebook reaches tons more people than any poetry site. So, there you have it; I trade the risk of my privacy for the community of poets.

I'm so sorry if I did any of the things that have hurt people on this thread. I went back to my post and was going to delete it and replace it with an apology but it only said what I thought it said so perhaps you didn't mean... but what if...?

I only wanted to make it clear that I wasn't a technophobe; that I had other reasons for recoiling from virtual interaction from time to time. Not least the ease with which I can upset people who have come to mean a great deal to me.

I do love contributing to online journals. I bless the editors who showed me how. I hope I may continue. But does that mean I am being duplicitous if I ... If I what? I don't think I said anything against e-books or kindles. Did I represent myself as some ditzy romantic anachronism? That bit about the reciprocating saw was in cheerful defence of the imaginary oldster Bill pilloried - but did it come across like that?

I'm scared. This is nobody's fault. Not yours, dear Reader, or Facebook's. It's not even mine. I was born with my head up my own arse. It was the main reason for my becoming a writer. And the main reason why I am temperamentally unsuited to Facebook.

One of the most chilling little scenes in Shakespeare is at the end of Julius Caesar IV ii. Brutus and Cassius are arguing over a disciplinary matter and Brutus accuses Cassius of calling himself the better soldier. His reply:

You wrong me every way! You wrong me Brutus!
I said an elder soldier, not a better.
Did I say better?

still sends students scuttling back through the text to find out.

I reiterate my own apology and hope anyone who was offended will accept it. It is sincere.

Alas, I enjoy Facebook, probably too much. Like a number of other people who've posted on this thread, I find it a satisfying way to keep contact with a wider group of poets than are here, and I like its publicity uses.

I hope my ways of using Facebook aren't the ones that others dislike. But if they are, I also hope that by now those people have figured out how to hide me from their news feeds.

I have no particular problem with Facebook, but part of it is probably a generational thing. The Internet became mainstream when I was in my mid-teens, meaning that I pretty much grew up with it...for good or ill. As such, I've been part of the Internet's evolution into the realm of social media. I initially joined Facebook when my high school's ten-year reunion was being organized. Funnily enough, I didn't even wind up going to that...but I remained on Facebook, and gradually made some more connections.

The key, for me, is to do regular culls. Every year or so I go through my "friends" list and decide whether or not I ever have any meaningful communication with each "friend", and if not...I simply "unfriend" them. Old co-workers, mates from high school and former colleges, people from other avocations I've been involved with...there's just no need to keep up with some people anymore. At this point, I've probably culled more Facebook friends than I currently have.

There are a few Facebook friends I keep for quasi-political reasons, and a few I keep because I'm interested in what they're doing, but most of my current "friends" are people I'd have no qualms going out to dinner with at any given time. Do I have some reservations about Facebook's policies and the nefarious potential for misuse? Sure. But the bigger picture interests me a bit more.

Your experience on Facebook depends on the caliber of your "friended" -- and I have some wonderul friendeds! Every day: wit, tenderness, fascinating links to poems and articles and videos, news, photos, intellectual stimulation, funny bone stimulation. If someone spoils the party, I just put them in limbo so they don't show up on my page, and that's a rare necessity. I'm not much into Twitter and don't see the point yet of Pinterest, but Facebook enchants me.

hey, toorali oorali addity, spot on!
for the ultimate altneu ebook experience, http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/new...urning-system/
and facebook's the healthiest way to keep inlaws up-to-date and close yet at a non-interfering distance, say lots of young folk I know...

I'm on Facebook. Friend me. You won't be sorry. (Or you might be.)