Social Media?

I posted last year about how I quit Facebook and those that know me well know how anti-social media I have become.  I don't understand twitter.. AT ALL and  MySpace is pretty much non-existent I think.  I was on  Fitocracy for a while and actually liked it and it motivated me a lot, but I find myself getting sucked into the social aspect of these sites.  I do have Google + set up right now, but I am already getting frustrated with it because I do not know how to manipulate it so I don't keep getting added to peoples circles and getting random messages from people I don't know.  And then there is Facebook.  The king of social media.  Its getting to the point now where you can't even view some companies sites because they replaced them with a Facebook page,  or they offer certain deals, but only if you "like" their page.  My kids were watching an episode of Scooby-doo today and there was a reference on there of "friend-ing and poking".  You can't escape it because it truly is everywhere.

I have personal reasons for wanting to avoid Facebook   I don't feel like getting sucked into the social media hype.  I think it can be detrimental to some people and relationships.  It allows emotions and behaviors to surface among people that under normal circumstances would be a non-issue.  I know this is not true with all people but for some I know it can cause problems.  It also frightens me knowing my kids are growing up in a social media age.  I can't keep them from it forever and there will be a time where they will engage in it and I cannot stop them.  I want them to be able to use the internet responsibly and understand the dangers that are present.  I am not about to let my pre-teens get a page of their own, but even the schools are utilizing sites that allow kids to converse with each other in social media type settings, although they are heavily monitored and only for school-related conversations.  I have seen the sites they are using and they resemble Facebook a lot.

When I started making aprons last winter I was trying to think of ways to promote them.  My friend suggested I use Facebook and immediately I said no way!.  I know I could reach a lot of people through there, and ever since I quit my job, I could really use the extra money.  I have made a few sales through etsy, and I have sold some aprons to family, and even though the craft show was successful, they are too few and far between to become profitable.  I have some displayed in a local shop and have only sold one there, plus I lose a lot on commissions there so it isn't really worth my time.

Brent has been thinking of rejoining Facebook also and is trying to convince me that it's just a tool.  I told him I'd be a hypocrite if I signed up again after I posted how proud I was to have quit.  I would love to sell some more aprons.  I am working on some new designs and I'd like to have a website for them but I am so technologically challenged.  I can't even get a proper blog set up.  I am relying on a standard Google template which is so boring and I don't want to shell out the $$ for someone to do it for me.

What do you think? If I opened up a Facebook page to promote my aprons, would I be a hypocrite?  Is it possible to utilize Facebook as a tool only for promotion without getting all caught up in the drama and hype that comes with it? I value any input that comes my way.

How I Quit Facebook

Chances are, you or someone you know is on facebook.  Heck I have seen pets with their own profiles!  I really didn't realize until lately how unique it was that I am not on it.  Now of course I used to be on it but due to a bet between my husband and I, I no longer partake in that sort of social media.

I had it, my husband had it, and most of our friends and family had it..  it really was sort of fun at first.  I got back in touch with my best friend, talked to old co-workers, friends, classmates, and family I would only see at reunions or funerals.  It wasn't hard to see how it became so popular.  The games were cute and fun and it was hilarious to see what some people posted and gave us a lot of things to talk about. Soon it became a chore to keep up with it, I realized I was wasting a lot of time on facebook and it was pathetic that I would keep refreshing to see what the latest pictures were, or who sent me a gift for my farm.  It was then that my husband gave it up and bet me that I couldn't do the same.

I love a challenge so I took him up on his bet.  Slowly I began deleting people.  I only had about 130 "friends" at the most.  Ten people at a time would get deleted.  Some took it personally and sent me a friend request almost immediately after I deleted them.  Eventually I narrowed my list down to the top 20 or so people that I found it hard to "un-friend".  After I took down all the names, email and physical addresses, and phone numbers from those last people, I sent out a message explaining that I was quitting facebook.   I made sure they had my address as well so if anyone really wanted to contact me, they could.  Then I deleted my account.

Honestly I thought it was going to be harder than it was.  I was a die-hard fan, a daily user and game player.  I used the chat function to talk to people I hadn't seen in years.  Since I moved so far away it allowed me to somehow feel connected to all that I had left behind.  I missed my 10 year high school reunion, I lost touch with some of my closest friends when I left and through facebook I had felt like I belonged in a way.

It has been a while since I deleted my account and not once have I looked back and regretted it.  In fact, being off of it has led me to realize a few things.  Many of those "friends", weren't real friends.  They don't miss me and my virtual profile, they didn't really care about what my kids were up to, or that I had a bad day and was tired of doing laundry. I feel betrayed that I found out about certain events that were going on through a public, online social media site.  Things that I felt should have been told to me over the phone. I realized that I was replacing real relationships with real people, with virtual ones.  I think if used properly, social media sites can be a good means to bring people together, but it scares me how little privacy people have anymore.  I also feel that the fact that some interfaces require you to have a facebook account in order to use their product is discriminatory and unfortunately it seems to be the trend.

I am glad I took my husbands challenge and to know I can lead a normal life without using something that millions, or even billions of people use on a daily basis is gratifying.  I was told the other day that I was someone's hero because I was able to go along in life without a facebook account.  I don't know about being a hero, but I do feel empowered knowing I can control who knows what about me and my life.