Social media, friend or foe?

[Chris]

@Ted, don't ask me how, but it seems like we've managed to keep this place pretty solid in terms of the members who post here.

There was only one or two bad apples, but they got banned months ago.

I can honestly say that everyone on this forum so far is a straight shooter. Having guys like @Jerry Bransford and @mrblaine is a privilege as well, since they have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to these rigs.

 

[Ted]

Jerry has helped me many times with questions I have had. Mr Blaine I have just met here but do recognize his name. I'll be getting a Big Brake Kit from him later. Had planned on it this week but due to an accident I will be out of work 2 to 10 weeks + waiting on a surgery date. 2 ways to do the surgery and may or may no be able to have the easy one done. Said it basically depends on how bad the damge is. Figure just in case I shouldn''t spend any money I don't really have to.

 

[Ryan Thomas]

Jerry has helped me many times with questions I have had. Mr Blaine I have just met here but do recognize his name. I'll be getting a Big Brake Kit from him later. Had planned on it this week but due to an accident I will be out of work 2 to 10 weeks + waiting on a surgery date. 2 ways to do the surgery and may or may no be able to have the easy one done. Said it basically depends on how bad the damge is. Figure just in case I shouldn''t spend any money I don't really have to.

Dude, good luck with the surgery!
I've had too many already, and very much dislike them... Hopefully you get to do it the "easy way" :/

 

[Ted]

Dude, good luck with the surgery!
I've had too many already, and very much dislike them... Hopefully you get to do it the "easy way" :/

I have had my gall bladder removed. Some surgery over a bull accident with 27 fractures and a calapsed lung and now this. I hope this is the last one. So far this is the least painful. Doc wants to get it donebecause he said there is a chance of circulation getting cutoff with a intestine and killing it then it is even more serious and painful. So lets get it done.

 

[UpperMI]

I'm not trying to be snarky (honestly) - but there is *zero* difference.
Well, there's one difference - we're all nice to each other
Other than that, it is exactly the same as far as dissemination of information, and collection of information by anyone that wishes to.
It is also, exactly as easy to find out who posted, and where from if you have access to the right equipment - which, btw, the feds tapped the major internet backbones both before and after they go through the major providers. They can see it all.
Everything.

If you think it's hard to find out who is at a keyboard, or where it's at - you are fooling yourself. The second (millisecond) a computer attaches to the internet, they have the ability to find it. Even the TOR network, which was supposedly untraceable, was totally compromised.

Don't think anything is secure - it isn't. It's a sad fact of life now.

Hence why I said you are technically correct. And I'm not trying to be snarky either with that response, I agree that this is a form of social media. Personally I'm not concerned if the Gov't knows what I post or that I hang out on a Jeep site. Privacy or security is the furthest thing from my mind when I'm on this web site. However; I think the context of the original statement revolved around people's love affair or use/over use of social media. Especially social media known to and consumed by the masses. I truly believe that social media is making it harder for people to connect. They type instead of talk (and trust me I appreciate the irony in that statement as I type this). As opposed to here, I would love the chance to meet you guys (and girls) face to face. To trail ride and talk shop. Our difficulty is that their is a physical separation between all of us. Everyone here shares a common interest and genuinely likes to help each other. So if I had to sum it up I would say it like this, I see most social media as a tool that divides people, encourages separation. It kills the "art of conversation". I see this type of social media as something that brings people together under a common (and expensive ) interest. This type of social media actually allows people to connect. Does that make sense? I'm having a hard time trying to articulate this thought.....

 

[Ryan Thomas]

Hence why I said you are technically correct. And I'm not trying to be snarky either with that response, I agree that this is a form of social media. Personally I'm not concerned if the Gov't knows what I post or that I hang out on a Jeep site. Privacy or security is the furthest thing from my mind when I'm on this web site. However; I think the context of the original statement revolved around people's love affair or use/over use of social media. Especially social media known to and consumed by the masses. I truly believe that social media is making it harder for people to connect. They type instead of talk (and trust me I appreciate the irony in that statement as I type this). As opposed to here, I would love the chance to meet you guys (and girls) face to face. To trail ride and talk shop. Our difficulty is that their is a physical separation between all of us. Everyone here shares a common interest and genuinely likes to help each other. So if I had to sum it up I would say it like this, I see most social media as a tool that divides people, encourages separation. It kills the "art of conversation". I see this type of social media as something that brings people together under a common (and expensive ) interest. This type of social media actually allows people to connect. Does that make sense? I'm having a hard time trying to articulate this thought.....

I can dig it

 

[derekmac]

Forums are a thing of the past. For that reason, I like them. It's usually the more mature folks that stick with them, so they tend to have much less drama on them.

My local wheeling club has a forum, and a FB page. Some people only use one of the other, which can be a pain. I use the forum mostly as there are a couple of idiots that annoy the hell out of me on the FB page.

I meant no offense when I said that forums are a thing of the past. I was on a couple of great forums that slowly died as people started using social media more. I was really happy when I found this great forum!

So yes, forums are social media, but they're old school social media.

 

[Travis]

This is the only form of social media I use. I could care less who wrote what on fb. I hear enough of that from my wife.

 

[Chris]

Forums are a thing of the past. For that reason, I like them.

It's sad but true, and also why I continue to use forums as well.

Here's my biggest issue with Facebook groups that are supposed to act like forums: THEY AREN'T INDEXED BY GOOGLE!

You know what that means, right? It means that every single informative question and answer ever posted on a Facebook group can NOT be found by doing a Google search! You're losing a huge, huge element there of how beneficial a forum can be.

All this stuff we post on forums is indexed in Google and can be found by countless others to come 10, 20, even 30 years from now.

Think of how valuable that information is when someone comes along who might be having the same issue you are having with your Wrangler 10 years ago.

For that very reason I will always continue to admire forums. I think there's a lot of older forums out there that need to be updated, but I think the majority of us old school guys will stick with forums.

The ones who flock to Facebook (and similar) are the younger generations and the "kids" who are more concerned about how many likes they get on their photo than actually connecting with knowledgable people.

I mean shit... Can any of you imagine @mrblaine on Facebook? He'd be tearing some of those kids a new asshole for their ignorance alone. Hell, I don't blame him, sometimes I'm tempted to do the same thing myself when they ask 6 times in a week, "what oil is the best?"... LOL

 

[derekmac]

I HATE trying to find something that was posted in a FB page!!! The search function works (sort of), but nowhere near as easy/well as a forum. Doing a Google search is what brought me here. Google has never brought me to a FB page... Google knows best, and Google likes forums more. LOL (I feel Google rants coming now, lol )

 

[Chris]

I HATE trying to find something that was posted in a FB page!!! The search function works (sort of), but nowhere near as easy/well as a forum. Doing a Google search is what brought me here. Google has never brought me to a FB page... Google knows best, and Google likes forums more. LOL (I feel Google rants coming now, lol )

You're right. The Facebook search function is lacking at best. Not to mention that the pages or groups can't be neatly categorized like a forum can be (such as a wheel and tire section, off topic section, etc).

I just don't view it as a replacement for a forum. I view it as probably beneficial if you have something like a local Jeep club, but not an entire forum.

 

[RaymondT]

Forums existed on the internet back when we were rocking Windows 3.1 . I don't even think the term "social media" had been coined in those days. What we had then and what this forum offers is maturity, thoughtful posts, and meaningful dialogue. The sh*t spewed back and forth on a crackberry or the one-line drivel on a sports forum (so some idiots can drive up their post counts) is worthless.

I have found Facebook to be of some value tho - family and joining groups such as former shipmates. Just takes a lot more maintenance than it should.

 

[Chris]

I can attest to the whole "post count" bullshit on some forums.

That's why I didn't display post count on this forum. It's nothing more than some dumb number that most people try to show off as if it means something.

I feel like when all you care about is post count, you end up with a lot of worthless posts in a lot of instances.

 

[GreenTJ]

Social media(Facebook,instagram) I hate it,use it only because I have to, if I could delete my personal and keep the buisness page up I would..hahah only thing I really use it for on the personal side is trolling when I get bored other then that..

 

[Chris]

Social media(Facebook,instagram) I hate it,use it only because I have to, if I could delete my personal and keep the buisness page up I would..hahah only thing I really use it for on the personal side is trolling when I get bored other then that..

Facebook is fun for trolling, I'll admit that. I can troll the whiners who comment on the news articles all day long. It's so funny to watch them get so worked up.

I think it's pretty stupid how you have to have a personal Facebook account in order to have a Facebook business page. That's annoyed me for a long, long time.

I have a Facebook page for my business, but in order to manage it, you have to have a personal Facebook profile. It's just stupid how they expect you to do that.

 

[VirtualRussel]

I can attest to the whole "post count" bullshit on some forums.

That's why I didn't display post count on this forum. It's nothing more than some dumb number that most people try to show off as if it means something.

I feel like when all you care about is post count, you end up with a lot of worthless posts in a lot of instances.

But I'm sooooo close to breaking back into the top 10 in total posts too :-(

For my job Social Media, especially in the form of Twitter, is a necessary evil. I did see a great post once that (in very close paraphrasing) "Facebook makes me hate the people I though I knew while Twitter makes me friends with complete strangers."

While I absolutely believe that forums are a form of social media, they typically are topic based and therefore draw together people with a common interest even if they have wildly different backgrounds. I find that this common interest is enough to open people up to discussions as opposed to one sided rants that is pervasive on Facebook. They are no different then old Usenet forums that we used back in the '80s and early '90s. I probably spent more time debating people on rec.sport.football.college than studying for my actual classes :-(

 

[Chris]

But I'm sooooo close to breaking back into the top 10 in total posts too :-(

For my job Social Media, especially in the form of Twitter, is a necessary evil. I did see a great post once that (in very close paraphrasing) "Facebook makes me hate the people I though I knew while Twitter makes me friends with complete strangers."

While I absolutely believe that forums are a form of social media, they typically are topic based and therefore draw together people with a common interest even if they have wildly different backgrounds. I find that this common interest is enough to open people up to discussions as opposed to one sided rants that is pervasive on Facebook. They are no different then old Usenet forums that we used back in the '80s and early '90s. I probably spent more time debating people on rec.sport.football.college than studying for my actual classes :-(

Haha!

My gripe about Twitter is all the "ineffective whining" as I call it.

I'm not going to say it's all whining, but it seems like the majority of stuff I see on Twitter is always people whining about something they're upset about, whether it be politics, guns, or the fact that McDonald's messed up their order.

People take to Twitter every chance they get to complain about something. Shit, just look at the whole Meryl Streep, Donald Trump and Meghan McCain feud that's going on as we speak.

Forums like you said, are a means of brining people together over a common topic in most cases. I rarely ever see things get out of hand on a forum unless it's in the Off-Topic section, in which case I say that's "enter at your own risk".

 

[egclassic]

I HATE FB also. I have friend who is older than me, in his 50's, that is addicted to it.
Last year my wife and I, along with this friend and his wife, all went to Vegas for a couple days. He was constantly updating his FB status of where "WE" were at. I told him, I don't care if you tell everyone you are halfway across the country away from your house, but don't even think of including me on there. No one needs to know where I'm at, let alone, that i'm hundreds of miles away from my house. I was pissed at him for most of the trip for that.

 

[Chris]

I HATE FB also. I have friend who is older than me, in his 50's, that is addicted to it.
Last year my wife and I, along with this friend and his wife, all went to Vegas for a couple days. He was constantly updating his FB status of where "WE" were at. I told him, I don't care if you tell everyone you are halfway across the country away from your house, but don't even think of including me on there. No one needs to know where I'm at, let alone, that i'm hundreds of miles away from my house. I was pissed at him for most of the trip for that.

That's the other annoying thing too.

Everyone I know who uses Facebook is on it 24/7. I mean they are fucking GLUED to their phone wherever they go. Updating their status, seeing what other people posted... It's just disgusting when someone is that disconnected with the real world.

 

[VirtualRussel]

I'm not going to say it's all whining, but it seems like the majority of stuff I see on Twitter is always people whining about something they're upset about, whether it be politics, guns, or the fact that McDonald's messed up their order.

People take to Twitter every chance they get to complain about something. Shit, just look at the whole Meryl Streep, Donald Trump and Meghan McCain feud that's going on as we speak.

I definitely see that part but you only hear about those from the media. Do you actually follow Streep, Trump, or McCain? I'm betting not. I cultivate the people I follow & interact with based on common interests. For example, I have one Twitter group based on golfers I follow (who fortunately don't seem to be political) and another one with people I interact with across the world based on work. I don't care what Alec Baldwin has to Tweet so therefore I don't add him to my "follow" list.