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Facebook filled a niche for me that nothing else had. I try to explain to people who aren’t on facebook why I liked it so much. I tell them, its not like email because you don’t have to reply back to someone so there isn’t a sense of obligation. Also, you aren’t creating an obligation for someone else to reply back to you. Yet, you can communicate. You can just post your pictures and someone, who you like but would never have sent your pictures to, sees them and comments on them.

What its really like is a block party. You see people who you like and want to see but who you wouldn’t go out to a cafe alone and talk for an hour with. You get to see friends you haven’t seen in a while and catch up. You get to be connected in a much more satisfying and relaxed way with friends that you email. Its awesome! Its relaxed, casual, social- its a lot of fun.

SIGH.

The new facebook is not a block party. Its not relaxed and social. Its frenetic. I left a message in my status that I wouldn’t be on fb – my friends should contact me by email. Is it so that facebook staff will notice I and other users aren’t on? ( a little) Am I willing to give up fb just to make a point? NO. Its because it actually, literally HURTS MY EYES. 

I know some people complain about change just because something is different, and I know the facebook staff has seen that before when they  have made changes. This is not the case here. I love technology and gadgets, and I actually like change FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGE. But in this case, it really is badly designed. 

Visually it is overwhelming. I thought I could get used to that, but FUNCTIONALLY it doesn’t work the same. It doesn’t work as well. It doesn’t fill the unique niche it used to fill anymore. That is a shame.

The old home page worked well. I got to see what people were doing with a quick perusal. I got to see the block party kind of information. Information that people wanted to share with the group. The new home page shows every single activity people make on facebook. This is more like eavesdropping on a really uninteresting party telephone line. Its boring AND Its embarrassing.

I don’t want to see all of other people’s activities, and I felt like I was spamming everyone when I saw that everything I had done was on the home page. My profile page is just a mess. I can’t delete anything and it looks awful. Instead of being able to tidy up my place before people drop by for a visit, its like my crap is everywhere.

The new facebook changes what worked so well in creating an online space to interact with people. Facebook staff, if you are listening, please, please, please bring the old facebook back. I really valued it. I told lots of people about it who joined just because of me. Now I would not recommend it to anyone.

Bottom line: This morning I’m working at home and wanted a little social time. I looked on my email- unsatisfying as usual. I called someone. Hmmm… what is it that I want??? Oh yeah, facebook. I wish it still existed.

SIGH.

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All I want is a “to do” list that

  1. I can organize by categories (check, widely available)
  2. That triggers a “next action” to show up when I check off one completed item. (This is called “task dependency”)
  3. Doesn’t show the “next action” until the first action is checked off.

Example:

This would be useful if one task depends on another one getting done. For example, say I need to order Mary a new dress. I have two tasks. 1. Ask Mary which dress she wants, 2. Order the dress for her. Obviously, I need to do the first task to be able to do the second task. And I don’t want to see “Order the dress” on my “to do” list until I can do it. And once I check off “Ask Mary which dress she wants,”  I want “Order the dress” to pop up automatically. I don’t want to have to remember that there is another task that I need to go look for.

I am not alone.  Many people using GTD applications say, “GIVE US TASK DEPENDENCIES ALREADY!!”

I’ve linked to examples of task dependency requests to various task applications below:

There are many more!

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I read an interesting essay today by Will Doig about instant messaging. He and his lover instant messaged all through their relationship, but then they broke up

Time passed. I was single. Dating was misery, and made all the worse by the lack of an IM partner to whom I could talk to about exactly how unbelievably fucking miserable it was. Sounds crazy, but for weeks after his screenname turned gray, I felt an almost uncontrollable urge to message him about how horrible the previous night’s date had gone in that old familiar, silly, semi-tongue-in-cheek inflection.

SayWhatAgain: so he takes me to this party which is actually not a party, but five people in a gaudy apartment doing nothing, and they’re all talking in british accents with total sincerity about which brand of gin is best. gin! it was like being in an episode of Mystery! but even more boring and without the fun cartoon at the beginning.
MauledByStaplers: Your message has been sent to my mobile communication device.

You can read the rest of the essay at Nerve.

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