EchoD

Sure, the title is misleading… but I bet it got a few more of you to click on it.

It’s no secret that I dislike Social Networking websites. I’ve watched as the fad moved from Live Journal to MySpace and then Facebook. I’ve registered with each to keep track of the few friends for whom I give a damn.

It was with intrigue that I registered with Facebook. Restricted to persons with .edu email accounts, it seemed geared towards true social networking rather than a place for the dumb masses to make the trivial events of their meaningless lives a soap opera for the public. It was simple to navigate, wasn’t overwhelmed with meaningless information, and lacked the feature of both Live Journal and MySpace that I loathe: Customization.
Face it, you’re not a web designer. Chances are you lack any visual artistic ability. Your profile is heinous.

The change was slow, but it happened. Facebook has slipped down the slope slick from shit and will never climb out. Instead, it will suffocate in methane and die a horrible death snorting fart. It all started when Facebook opened to the public. While this upset many people, it was a step forward… but in the wrong direction. The Facebook population exploded, as did the demand for senseless features. Then… they started to appear.

It started with a few invitations to add this application or that every week. But, it wasn’t long before that became five or more a day… I’m a Pirate! I’m a Vampire! I’m a Werewolf! I’m a Zombie… all at once! Are you one of my top friends? Wanna get Leid? Answer my question! Are we so goddamn the same we’re like twins?

This rant has been turning in my mind for months, but tonight is when I lost it. I found an IM from Facebook notifying me of my friend’s status update. I figured I might have mis-clicked this morning and opted in to that feature… but I was wrong. Instead, my friend had imported his buddy list — this was out of my control. I found no way to opt out of messages from the Facebook website.
My solution? Facebook has been added to my long list of blocked AIM accounts.

Spam is one of the most annoying side-effects of the Internet. However, nothing annoys me more than IM spam. Sure, the Textile Import spams I get on Yahoo! are entertaining, since you can actually end up talking to a human… they’re great to fuck with. That’s the end of the entertainment value IM spam holds.

Yeah, I’m pissed. Just one more of the holy-fuck-stupid features to be added lately. Just one more step closer to my account ceasing to exist.
Strange that the only social networking site I don’t mind is the one that doesn’t bug the shit out of me. Perhaps the rest of them could take lessons from Deviant Art… it has purpose, true entertainment value, and is beneficial to both those who submit and browse.