The Five Types of Friends I Have on Facebook, Part One

    Late last year, Facebook made of number of changes that I didn't like, mostly to make the website version more similar to the app. Since I prefer and generally the site, I hate the majority of these changes. Sure, I ultimately downloaded the app once I got my iPhone, but I almost never use it. I just prefer the ease of the site, especially since that was the version I started out with and have used for so long. My major peeve is the ending of the easily searched Watch, and its replacement by Reels. While Watch had a search function, as well as category selection, Reels has neither. If I want to search for a particular video, I have to use the main search, which takes much longer.  Furthermore, the viewing ration has switched from the standard rectangle of a full screen laptop/computer to that of a phone, longer and narrower. This aspect carries over even to videos not created by mobiles when viewed in Reels, but not on the Home page. 

    I also hate how I keep getting pestered to change the setting on the page for my store, Booknotes. For some reason, Facebook thinks it would be better if it weren't a business. What's worse? Facebook keeps wanting me to monetize my own posts on my personal page. Why would I want to show people ads on my own posts? Isn't that a little crass? It's not like I get more suggestions from other sources than from anywhere else. I barely get updates from groups that I am a part of. Something is incredibly off with the algorithm.

    Another problem that has popped up is with my posts from Friends. I prefer to keep my numbers a little low, focusing more on quality than quantity. I see others with dozens or even hundreds of Friends. I don't see how they could keep up with everyone. That isn't a problem with me, because Facebook has been repeating posts from weeks, even months ago. I saw them the first time, why keep on showing me them? 

    This got me to thinking. I decided to categorize other my Friends based how much and how often they post. Now, this doesn't mean anything.  I just thought that it would be a fun thing to do. I came up with five categories, but I only have the time and space to go over the first two, saving the other three for next week. I call the five types as Mega-posters, Super-sharers, Averages, the Tagged, and Ghosts.

    The Mega-posters, or Octopuses if you prefer, are those Friends who post daily.  Usually multiple posts.  How they ever find the time to do so much is beyond me. Frequently, these posts are accompanied by photos.  Lots of photos. I'm talking sometimes over fifty.  Now, while I don't react of comment on every post, I do try to read them, but dozens of photos are too much for me. I don't care how cute your pets are or how proud you are about your kids, I usually don't have the time to look at that many pictures. I draw the line about ten.  Anything more, and I usually skip everything past the first ones highlighted. I'm sorry, but that is just the way I am.

    Next, we have the Super-sharers. They also post frequently, usually daily. Unlike the first group, much of what they post are things they have found elsewhere and want to share with their Friends.  Sometimes it is a direct share, but at other times they share their version of what they found instead. I'm talking about a very wide range of topics: jokes, recipes, affirmations, and politics. That last one has become a very frequent type of shared post. So much so, that I actually had to unfriend someone last year because of it. While are views weren't that far apart, they would belittle me on the fine differences I made on comments. Some got hateful, all but attacking me directly. I worried a bit for a few days after I unfriended them, but it had to be done. I'm still a little sorry for it though.

    Come back next week as I go into the remaining three types of Friends I have on Facebook.