dee_burris: (Default)
Dee Burris Blakley ([personal profile] dee_burris) wrote2010-12-14 05:34 pm

Do not like Facebook...

I used to be on Facebook. One of my sisters ragged me about it for so long, I caved.

I almost instantly regretted it.

I am a writer. I do not write in sound bites that fit on the wall.

So I always ran out of characters before I ran out of something to say.

Then, the little wet-behind-the-ears Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, declared that privacy was no longer a "social norm," and that was all I needed to deep-six Facebook.

And yet, many of the bloggers I follow are on Facebook. Even when they post that they don't really like it.

So I want to know...is there an advantage from a genealogical perspective to being on Facebook?

I frankly do not have any desire to re-connect with people with whom I attended grade school. I don't play games, or send cyber-gifts to people.

But, for those who have done it, is there a benefit to creating a surname or family page on Facebook? Have you made connections that helped with your research?

(Anonymous) 2010-12-15 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
I have used Facebook as a directory of sorts. I found a distant cousin in Belgium via Facebook.

I also use it to connect with other genealogists. Many of my real-life friends I originally met through Facebook.

The privacy thing bugs me, too. I don't share much. I also don't play games and all the other time wasters there. I've learned to block a lot / hide a lot and make Facebook work for me.

On that note, contact me some time about our Pope County connections through the Bowdens and Williamsons.

Best,

Amy
We Tree Genealogy blog