Facebook, Plurk and other social networks

I've been using Facebook for quite some time, and the things I like about it is it's interactive capabilities that allow me to know what my friends are doing - something another social network site seemed to have missing, so naturally, after seeing - and experiencing this, I gravitated to Facebook more often than said other site.

At first, I thought it wouldn't be that easy, as I already had many friends in the other site. but my Facebook friends - some of them who are likewise friends in the other site, now surpass my friends in said other site, so it shows that I'm spending more time (and effort) updating Facebook than the other. I even posted on the other site's quote portion my Facebook account link... in case peopel are wondering why I visit on rare occasions.

What's stopping me from just dropping the other account? I've still go t a few (though not really that many) straggler friends who still greet me in the other site. Now, you'd wonder what to do in a social network that seems very friendly? For starters, I checked my privacy settings - after all, friends of friends are fine... but I don't want everything too exposed to just everyone - not that I'd place pictures that would put my friends (or me) in a bad light, of course - btu I just wanted to limit the viewing of said pictures to people I know, and not complete strangers.

How much time do I spend on Facebook? Good question... there are days I feel that I spend too much time with it - others where I am thankful for it 9specially in reminding me about others' special occasions. And since my birthday just passed - I got to be on the receiving end of these greetings.. and let me put some statistics here to show you how Facebook keeps me connected with friends.

On March 15 - my birthday, I received 23 text message greetings from friends and family, via my cell phone of course. In my other site? I got about three. From Facebook, I received 49 greetings... even I was surprised at the influx... and though others might also point out that said number was really just a fourth of my friends here, I'd still say I would have a hard time remembering when I received such numbers. I would alos like to point out that one friend greeted me by text, because she was confused with the new Facebook format... which apparently did not remind her of friend's birthdays - as easily as it used to. So these were high numbers despite the learning curve of the new Facebook look and feel.

And since we're on the subject... what about the new look and feel? It can get confusing, and searching for other items aren't as easy as it used to be. I know I had to fumble around to look for my pictures and notes a while ago.

So why did Facebook make the change? Still don't know... though some TV shows say it's in reaction to Twitter's interactivity... and maybe that of Plurk, too. Well, since I've not really used Twitter, I can't react to that - but Plurk is another matter.

I've been a fairly recent Plurker, and what I can say is that it gives me a quick and dirty manner of updating my status - not just in Plurk, but said updates also appear in both Facebook , and my other site. So it's got two things going for it... basically boiling down to having a fast AND convenient manner of letting everyone know what you are doing... and that's it.

I do not see how Plurk forced the hand of Facebook - though from what I read/hear, it's the interactivity - the same strength I chose Facebook over the other site, that got them worried and thus changed theri look and feel.

Does the new design give more leeway... more freedom? I'm still learning, but these past few days have been humorous, as I see some colleagues make some mistakes - due to Facebook's new style or setting... mistakes that somehow cause them to accidentally spam others. Ah... growth pains.

Personally, I don't see any conflict with both Facebook and Plurk.,,, and I'll continue using them both - to keep in touch, to inform... or to simply break the day's monotony. Will I Twitter as well... hmmm... still thinking about that. If I can see some unique capabilities not offered by either Fcebook or plurk, I just might do that.

One thing seemingly going for Twitter is that it's got lots of blog contents - in fact, it's community is composed of a lot of bloggers. I see attempts by Facebook to try showing the same number of blog contents - but since Facebook seemingly did not start that way, few folks kinda miss the fact that you can actually blog in Facebook too - through the notes portion.

In fact, let's take another site... this one in particular, Blogger.com. It's no Twitter either - since there is no limit to how long a suggested article is going to be (or at least, I've not encountered one yet) . Not so in Twitter... you've got a maximum ceiling to the number of words, so you're forced to be succinct, as opposed to my possible ramblings here... and thinking of minutiae considerations, it looks like I've not been minutely blogging as much as I should.

Meanwhile... as the site wars seem to continue, I just write this article and any other thing that comes to mind... after all, I'm not in it for the strategies - I just like to keep my thoughts documented and posted somewhere (blog), let some friends know what I'm thinking of or doing at a particular time (plurk) and keep tabs with friends - maybe see their pictures and learn more about them (facebook). I don't need changing looks or themes - unless I myself find a reason for making the change.

But how do these social networks affect my productivity and all that? Ah... that will be discussed in a separate segment.

Fun Pictures II

Here's a fresh batch of pictures that I've played with... and wanted to share with everyone else. Unlike my first entry, I now used another fun place for helping enhance some pictures... I'm talking, of course, of magmypic.com which helps you superimpose magazine templates like the one you see on the left, with Bernice's picture.

He he... my kids will most likely kill me for posting this, but what parent can refuse the guilty pleasure of posting cute pictures of their kids from years ago? Yeah... when I saw this picture, I had to scan and post it... but how to post it with a reason? Well, here's a (rather shallow I might admit) reason for doing it - and I get to post said picture.

I could, of course, say that it's preence here is a good compare and contrast with Bernice's face than and now... yeah... that woud be a good alibi.
Now, to play fair, I also played with an old picture of mine. Remember the one I used to be placed in a black and white television tube? - yeah... the one where I looked like a sourpuss? Well, its back (since I have hardly any other almost full facial picture. Still, I have to admit - this cover looks almost natural - and besides... if fame does arrive, it won't really be just mags or TV crew coverage, now - won't it?

Now here's another one of those convincing covers - this one of Bernice and her female classmates... all in the spirit of having fun while posing with their teacher. Of course, I had to choose a more appropriate mag title.

Having said that, lets now look at another set of pictures... this time, using the photofunia.com templates. At his juncture, I'd like to describe this picture like Paris endorsing the CD of Bernice.

What did I say earlier about being famous? Magazine covers and celebrity endorsers too. In this case, not just any endorser, but a very rich one at that.

Next I've got a picture of Bing (goat) in a movie scene that I'm sure she'll cringe on the outside - but like really well on the inside - after all, she is a fan of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series - so I doubt that she'll mind posing as part of the famous Azkaban wanted poster.

Heck, I'm a fan of the movie myself - so I just had to pose for the same picture... I guess the trick here - to make it look natural, was to get a picture where the face was a bit... well... eccentric looking.
And so, Bing's picture does not have that desired 'eccentric' or 'mad' look - her smile being too friendly, and all... mine, on the other hand... let's just say I'll get back to that in a while. It would look rather boring to have two of the same pictures literally right after the other. So, not yet...

Instead, I'd like to show another fun phototfunia template - that of the jigsaw puzzle - and again, it took some getting used to the kind of picture that would match this template - see, if one should choose a not too compatible picture, one person could end up having no face... having possibly landed in the under construction area of the puzzle. In this case, Barbie's face is complete... and the only under construction portion was just her red shirt (not really essential). Another inherent limitation here is that the faces may be a bit blurred due to the puzzle pattern's effect.

I call this next one a guilty pleasure... nuff said, right? adoring fans just rubbing up against - or kissing your poster says it all. And here's the green wall template - cute in a way... how passers-by look at the picture. It simulates some kind of store display.

Here's two more pictures with me... including the previously mentioned Azkaban poster where I look a bit harried - though not as eccentric enough as I might have wanted to. Ah well... it is hard to top Sirius Black's look... so i won't even try... or maybe I'll do give it a try - hwen i feel more up to the challenge. The other picture is - of course, my mug shot in a magazine... though I would have wanted a different title - ah well, maybe photofunia can crete more templates for these? So... I started with a picture of Bernice, and I'm ending this edition of fun pictures with a picture of Bernice as well... this simulating those large tiled panel billboard style... or whatever they're called. Still... as I said in the first article about these - such sites and templates help make some otherwise ordinary -looking picture look less ordinary... and in some instances, priceless even.