gjh.org.uk

Some thoughts...

I've pretty much retired from life online over the past few years. I used to be a prolific poster on a number of different fora and Web sites. When I first hooked my 9600bps modem up in the '90s, there was this concept of being part of communities online. I don't think community really comes into it anymore. I was a part of the AOL community in the mid-nineties and a member of Facebook for several years. Both were "social networking" based concepts.


In 2008, I reached a number of conclusions about who was worth making an effort for. That continued until 2009. In May 2009 I de-activated my Facebook account on the grounds I wasn't really using it to keep in touch with any of the people that were worth making an effort for and it was just another pointless, time-wasting, privacy-invading Web site. If I want people to know what's going on in my life, I'll tell them. I don't feel the need to broadcast it. This is probably why I find Twitter totally pointless too.

I didn't lose contact or communicate less with those that matter as a result of not being part of that community. If anything, I probably communicated more.

In May 2010 I re-activated my account for a few weeks as I discovered a group of people I used to work with had formed on there who I wanted to get back in touch with. The results surprised me. People I didn't think would make much of an effort, did. People I thought might make an effort, didn't. It's a funny old world.

I also got back in touch with a few more people I knew at school. But it wasn't anything ground-breaking and I avoided being over-whelmed by nostalgia unlike the first time. I've got far too many mixed feelings about both my school years and the few years after I left. Those days are best left in history.     

I've de-activated my Facebook account again and have no plans to return.