Online Social Networks

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:28 pm

I just viewed the PBS Frontline program on online social networks. I would consider Chiff & Fipple a social network, but it is about the only online site that I go to and participate in with any regularity. I generally feel very postive about Chiff & Fipple, and I wonder how others feel about the online social networks that they participate in?

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:38 pm

Oh, Doug!

you want us to talk about them here

isn't that a bit rude

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:22 pm

Yes. I've been a regular for years on at least one other board, and met the woman I'm dating there.

~~

I tend to avoid the massively popular sites, which means I've never been involved much with myspace, etc. Although I did create a profile on one, and got hailed at one point by a guy in Israel with the same last name, who was doing genealogy. Who would have guess that a polish jew three generations back lopped the ~sky off his name at Ellis Island to end up with my very uncommon hugenot surname?

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:09 pm

Between homeschooling and whistling, I'm an member of about 6, with two main active ones, of which, this is one.

I have managed to meet some fine folk, several of whom I have additional contact with. I do indeed consider them genuine friends, and the interaction we have is most often as if we were sitting around the same table. I like it very much!

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:53 pm

I am active on a couple of forums such as Chiff. I used to post on some forums on Usenet and even going further back on the old service known as Prodigy. Unfortunately, bots and spammers have overrun most of the unmoderated Usenet.

The online space that I have gotten the most out of is an online summer songwriting workshop. The newer ones such as Facebook and MySpace, I haven't gotten into very much, though I did set up a MySpace page for the songwriting workshop to make it easier for folks to find with searches.

Chiff has its pluses and minuses. Most folks are nice here, however I have met quite a few unpleasant folks, or folks that find me unpleasant. Because of these unpleasant exchanges, I limit my responses here on Chiff. The main benefit I have gotten from Chiff is learning about other whistles and flutes, and acquiring many more instruments.

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:11 am

From various forums and email groups I've had invitations to join about a dozen social networking sites.

Hi5 put my back up by inviting everyone in my addressbook. The prompt for this was in a popup and I had popups disabled. But still they went ahead and did it. I left a criticism on my profile page and haven't been to the site since.

Bebo is for the kind of people who read "Heat" magazine. Not really my kind of people. I have a couple of good friends on it, but it makes my flesh crawl.

Linkedin is allegedly for employment opportunities. I don't think anyone wants an SQL expert working mainly on UNIX.

MySpace: I am on MySpace twice. How the blinking flip can that happen? And there seems to be a UK MySpace which doesn't talk to the US MySpace, plus a Musicians MySpace which doesn't talk to anything else. It is [anagram] CARP! [/anagram]

I can't remember all the others. There's a directory on my "Favourites" list with most of the contact sites that I belong to.

The Image hosting sites, such as Flickr, are now offering contact features.

Frankly, I can't be doing with it. If all my friends were on one site, yes, I'd join it, and I'd possibly even spend time on it. But 99% of it seems to be aimless chat. If that.

Here there are conversations.

buddhu · Post by **buddhu** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:01 am

I'm a member of a couple of music orientated forums, one atheist forum and one general religion/philosophyish forum. I come here more than I visit any of them.

I also have several blogs and accounts with most of the big social, bookmarking and media-sharing networks (including Facebook, Bebo etc). My day job is Internet marketing, and all this stuff - which is collectively known as Web 2.0 - is part of my job.

MySpace is the really scary one.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:05 am

Social networks? It sounds like something they would write about in the society page of the local newspaper and end with "and a good time was had by all."

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:15 am

Walden wrote:Social networks? It sounds like something they would write about in the society page of the local newspaper and end with "and a good time was had by all."

And little do they really know, right?

Here.
Well, much of what I do is computer-based, and C&F offers valuable procrastination opportunities. And I just like interacting with people, and since I'm kind of naturally crappily introverted I don't network easily in real life.

The only other one I check daily is for Alzheimer spouses, and it's great because there you find people expressing the same feelings you were flagellating yourself for having.

So, I'm in favor of it, within reason, but I think I need to program in an automatic shut-off valve that forces me to get back to work.

Charlene · Post by **Charlene** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:22 am

I'm only active on 3 - here, MySpace, and now Facebook.

Joined here because there was a thread about my favorite performer and I wanted to chime in.

Joined MySpace because my younger co-workers were talking about it.

Just this week signed up for Facebook because a friend asked if I had a page there - and he hasn't clicked the final button to officially make me a friend yet.

Facebook seems to be a lot easier and faster to post photos on. MySpace runs really slowly for me. I also have a Webshots page for my photos but that takes a long time to upload things.

There's also Hystersisters, which I haven't kept up on since I recovered from my hysterectomy over 4 years ago. They do have a lot of good advice from other women who have gone through the same problems.

Oh, and there was another place called Last.fm that I thought was going to be fun but they wanted me to download some software to make their system work so I've kind of backed off from there.

My big time waster right now is playing online games at Worldwinner - not a chat room, but I do play against other people. I'll have an easier time resisting that when the weather warms up and I can enjoy being outside in the garden.

fyffer · Post by **fyffer** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:53 am

I have a myspace page, which I only got to keep tabs on my daughter; but I hate it. Myspace is not my style.
More recently, I got a Facebook, which is an even better timewaster than C&F. But, I was able to very easily hook up with some long-lost friends, and network with Fife and Drum folks during the off-season (aka winter). It also gave me the kick-in-the-butt I needed to do some work on some of my music stuff, which I've been meaning to put online for some time now, so in that sense, it was motivational (the time spent there, when I should be doing the job for which I'm being paid notwithstanding).

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:59 pm

I think that if you're a computer-vocation type of person, the occasional foray into the Chiff (or other) takes the place of water-cooler banter.
Messing around with your photobooth program (if you have a MacBook) is another excellent time-waster, as I'm attempting to prove.

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:43 pm

I frequent the Chiff on an almost daily basis, and I have a couple of other places that I go to from time to time; but Chiff tends to be the big one for me (and I'm not even here all that often as of late). I do have a Facebook account, but it's supposed to be to keep an eye on the Izzlets that are also on there. It is a bit addictive, though

StevieJ · Post by **StevieJ** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:54 pm

Facebook? No thanks...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/20 ... 4/facebook

sbfluter · Post by **sbfluter** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:56 pm

I won't even visit My Space or Facebook unless absolutely necessary.

I participate in some forums (this, the session, everything dulcimer and some bicycle forums), run a forum of my own and very sparsely participate in LinkedIn. I figure that's a pretty good way to keep in contact with former co-workers. Never know when you will need to find a new job.

I consider LinkedIn to be the only true "social networking" site that I participate in. Forums aren't quite the same thing to me.

And let me tell you if LinkedIn ever asks for a credit card number, forget it. Flickr asked me for mine and said they would automatically sign me up for yahoo wallet. No thank you. I've heard what Facebook is doing. I assume they're all doing it now.