Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Hello peeps,
First off, let me start by saying that it's been a while and I hope you are doing well. Things in Seattle have been good. I'm getting out there and learning this city bit by bit, and it's starting to feel like home to me. I'd be lying if I told you I haven't missed NYC more than I thought I would, but then again, the grass is always greener...... and on that note - if you are in NYC and reading this and would like to meet up over July 4th weekend, I will be around. :)
Now, on to the show: I'm leaving Facebook.
It really started a while back - at least a year ago. I started to become disenchanted with the whole concept of being "friends" with people via some website and nothing more... few or zero phone calls, visits or cups of coffee... It's hard to describe exactly, but words like detached and artificial come to mind. And maybe that's as much a character analysis of who I've been recently as it is of Facebook... but either way I started to think the whole charade was a bit silly.
I started trimming down the "friends" list. First I stopped accepting invitations to connect with people I'd never actually spoken with, even if we went to the same school once upon a time... then went the people I'd met on random encounters but never contacted again... then went people from years ago I'd lost touch with only to "re-connect" with on FB and then never actually speak with again. I got it down to a point where I was connected to close peeps I already speak with on a regular basis and then a number of folks I simply might want to be able to contact someday.
Well, now FB is doing all this stuff I can't figure out how to undo... I am getting updates from anything and everything in my profile that has a FB page, and I have to take extra steps just to check in on the people I really care about. This is pretty much on par with picking up the phone or writing an email at this point... so why not just pick up the phone or write an email?
In a nutshell, I'm done using FB as a means of communication as of June 30. I figure this leaves enough time for peeps to get used to contacting me via other means of communication before I stop checking the page. I don't know when I will actually deactivate the account, because I do think there is some benefit to keeping it active in the off-chance that someone needs my email address or phone number.
Suffice it to say that if you and I have known each other for years and are still in touch, that's probably not going to change any time soon. But if I meet you tomorrow, I'm all about substance at this point. So let's get back to reality. :)
