my inner geek

I've been playing around a lot more with computer stuff since taking the Betty Blogger course.

I have found the Diggo bookmarking feature really helpful and am storing all of my "must see/must save" info on it. Since the info goes with me wherever I am or whatever computer I'm on, I'm sold. Now when I have to get a new computer I won't need a computer geek to transfer the info onto.

I've been on Facebook since my nephew's wedding in 2008. My sister-in-law posted her photos on it for all of the family to see. It was incredible - pics and text to boot. But, my site remained faceless and profile-less for about a year before I dared enter any info - I've got 4 pics; only 1 of myself. If I choose to "share" I do it through my blog where I am the master of my own universe.

Facebook. I love it and I hate it.

I love that I can pop on and get a quick update on friends' comings and goings and states of mind revealed in short sound bites. I love that I can see photos of my friends and their growing families enjoying themselves. Some friends have quite a photographic eye and talent for snapping pictures and I get to see the great shots they've taken. Lately, a friend of a friend shared breathtaking photos of stars in a clear night sky; and my friend is THE Green Thumb Queen Extraordinaire with the pictures of her garden and flowers to prove it.

I love that when I  ask "friends" a question through Facebook my chances of getting relevant info has expanded exponentially.

What I don't like is that, although you can adjust your privacy settings so that only your "friends" can see your profile info, anyone can see you dancing on tables buck naked at the company Christmas party if that's what somebody chooses to share with their "friends". When it comes to picture sharing what happens on facebook stays on facebook and travels around the world for all to see without your knowledge or control (I could be wrong).

In this day and age, it seems to me, Superman and all his masked and caped friends would need to develop new super powers in order to keep their identity secret cus sure enough one of their friends, most likely the cub reporter Jimmy (having had to many shots of booze) in a drunken stupour would find the urge to "share" his shots on Facebook. Before you know it you'd be surfing some friend of a friend of a friend's photo album, come across pictures 2 through 8 and recognize Clark Kent caught in a moment of wild abandon: tossing off his hornrims; unbuttoning his shirt to reveal the tell-tale blue, skin tight leotard and hint of the tip of a red and yellow emblem before flashing to his senses and clumsily fumbling to re-button his shirt and you'd say to yourself...Hey that guy looks a lot like... .

I also don't get Farmville and all that kind of stuff but then I've never been into the "games" aspect of computers, not even solitaire, so I don't really want to know that you've just adopted a baby pig...IT DOESN'T EXIST AND NEITHER DOES YOUR FARM. GET A LIFE!  Nothing makes me exit Facebook in disgust quicker. Besides, my hamster has been waiting for me while I've been following your exploits in virtual reality land. I visit my i-google homepage regularly to feed, water and exercise it...

HEY WAIT A MINUTE WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH ME? I worked in animation for Pete's sake, I should know better. Thanks to some fellow Betty Blogger (who will remain nameless) who put the cool fish swimming gadget on her blog I explored aBowman and found my hammy - see how cute he is! 

There's another love/hate thing about Facebook and social networking, one can get hooked on an infinite variety of time wasting activity - which I consider most of the apps to be. Playing around with apps during a Betty Blogger drop-in I found that friends are on Marketplace and I noticed it on my list of apps in the more section below the ones I've chosen. I didn't choose it. What was it doing there? A few weeks ago I was just browsing, I thought. So I had to go into settings and block it. I find the amount of access to my information most apps want is unacceptable. Melissa (library lady's assistant) said that many of the apps are created by third parties - I don't know where else my info might go or if I'll end up getting a lot of crap showing up on my computer. If in doubt, don't go there.

I joined the Betty Blogger Summer School "group" as part of the exercise but I can't say that I'll continue to visit the group once the course is complete - it's all I can do to write blog entries and follow blogs I like.

I'll have to limit my vices and blogging's it...except for my hammy... and I'll have to figure out what TWITTER'S all about...but, I swear to God that's it!