erstan947

It is the only way I can stay intouch with my extended family. My closest family is 500 miles away.

Jim's Gem

When my DD#3 was away at college Facebook was the way to keep up with what she was doing. She also posts pictures all the time on there so it's how I got to see pictures of her.
All 4 of my children are on facebook but only DD#3 is really active. She's at home right now, she graduated with her masters and is getting married in October. I hardly get on there any more. I just check it once a week or so and see what's going on with my friends.

Maride

When the place I worked at closed, 30 of us were left with no place to go, so many people have left the area. We were like one huge family. Is hard to get to know 300 people closely, but since we all lived in the area and worked together, you bet we at least knew names or at the minimal, that his person worked at the facilities.

Upon the closing, many of us have opened FB pages. I have a Linked In page but I like to keep it professional. My FB page is to keep track of my old work friends. This way everyone knows where we are and what is going on and I don't have to answer the same questions many times over.

lab fairy

I don't think there is anything socially redeeming about facebook or myspace. I find that people are very naive when they think anything posted is private and just for viewing by "friends". You can not believe how many people have lost jobs, scholarships, etc. over these sort of accounts. They are as public as any internet forum in many ways.

We should always remember the old rule: "Once something is posted anywhere it will be there forever." I was amazed to find an old lecture of mine (posted on a school server in 2000 which has now been eliminated but required a password to get into) still circulating on the internet. I didn't post it for any use other than my own classroom but the fact that it was in the top 2 "hits" under that topic says a lot. I wonder what would have happened if I actually intended to post it for the world's use?

Maybe I ought to think a lot more about writing more curriculum again. It would eat into my fun time however.

IrishNY

I like FB. I don't play games but I have a huge extended family and friends from HS all over the country and this is a great way to keep up day to day. It's like having a conversation with them.

It's not dissimilar to this board except with people you know instead of people who share a common interest.

charmpacksplus

The point of Facebook is so people CAN find you. It was originally designed to be an online yearbook for Harvard University, then expanded to other colleges, then worldwide. There are over 500 million users.

I like that I have found almost 100 of my high school classmates, a bunch of cousins I had lost touch with or never met because we are spread out across the country, friends that moved away, former coworker, neighobrs, etc.

You can be just an observer.... you don't have to post anything. You can adjust the privacy settings so that only "friends" that you have accepted as friends can see any info, that is if you entered any info.

I'm hoping that some long lost rich relative with no children will find me and will their entire estate to me. LOL :-D

lab fairy

I guess my point was that people put things on FB and MySpace thinking it is private because only someone "friended" can view the posts and that is not true. I know the Quilting Board is an open forum with a wide open access and fully expect that anything posted can be viewed. Most people are very naive about internet security in general and don't think before posting.

Someone using my lecture on Thermodynamics that was posted on a secured database was surprising but just an example of how unsecure digital information really is. We worry about our credit cards, social security numbers, etc. but don't realize how much information we give people on a daily basis in many ways. I just wanted people to THINK about what they are posting in the cyber void in what most feel is a private place. I have SIL's who think nothing about telling when they leave the house, when they are alone in the house, when they go on vacation... They do everything but leave the door open for someone. Oh, by the way...I am not on facebook and can find this out. Scary.

hazeljane

I agree to a point. And am cautious. My brother teaches adults and has more than once used himself as an example. 20 odd years ago, he went to a concert in Oregon with a group of other people. They passed a street sign that said Weed with an arrow to the right and below it College, with an arrow to the left. He insisted on getting out and someone took a picture of him goofing around under this sign.

This picture, which was not taken by him or posted by him, is now all over the internet, and can be found by googling "weed college".

In this society, all kinds of things that once would have been obscure moments or private moments, can be broadcast by just about anyone. My FB page does not ever contain anything that I would be uncomfortable with strangers knowing about me.

Olivia's Grammy

I like FB bc I can see what my adult grandsons and family members are doing. I have friends that I went to HS with many year ago. I like seeing what they are doing, to a point. I have blocked all the games. I seldom post, but I like to see what's going on.

purplefiend

Because of having a Facebook page I got to see a new picture of my niece who I've not seen since she was a tiny baby. She's 13 now.