Exiled by the Nefarious FB Police
But Facebook “Vacation” Gives Me a Gift!
I’ve been reluctant Facebooker since 2007. I’ve always felt it to be half-stupid and half-worthwhile. Since I share lots of otherwise rare posts on family/youth homelessness I’ve stuck it out. And since I live in a van, otherwise isolated from friends/family, I value being able to connect with my personal/professional network.
But evidently I did something to upset the FB “gods” the other day because I’ve been exiled to wait for their determination that I’m good enough to let back in.
Ironic since they are now undergoing long-overdue scrutiny for their shady practices of data skimming, sharing and what have you. Me, an activist filmmaker for families/youth experiencing homelessness, you close my account, you blighted social media slime buckets?
But wait! Maybe I can find the good from this FB vacation. I have an abundance of time otherwise spent perusing my feed way too often.
If you don’t know me, but you’re curious, I’m an unconventional homelessness activist. Since 2005, under the banner of my nonprofit HEAR US Inc., I’ve been traveling across mostly backroads in the US chronicling stories of homeless families/youth. Here are a few links to give you more info (and this FB hiatus gives me time to update my bio stuff).
As a new Medium blogger trying to build my readership, how do I do that without Facebook, the venue for all that is shared? My typical focus is on the obscure topic of family/youth homelessness.
One great thing about Medium — help is available to get a newbie rolling: guru Quincy Larson offers plenty of suggestions. Tim Deming gives a boatload of ways to boost my fledgling site. Now I have time to read and implement their tactics.
For those reading this blog, let me point out the differences I perceive on this Medium platform:
- Quality posts by a slew of writers on scads of topics.
- A sense of integrity — expectations from writers and readers/commenters.
- Subscription — pay for what you get and get paid if you draw attention (aka readers and claps — the little hand at the end of each post that lets you give the writer an atta-girl, hint hint!).
Vindication is Mine!
Pondering the FB speed bump, I’ve been vindicated —
- knowing that giving my cell number to these data-monsters would have been silly,
- realizing that the potential for abuse for signing off on giving them or other apps unbridled access to my friends’ list was stupid, and
- acknowledging that I spend too much time perusing “news” and blood-pressure-raising posts about our “great” leader and his band of swamp dwellers.
What I miss —
- keeping in touch with friends, new and old,
- catching an occasional relevant news story that I may have missed,
- sharing news stories I’ve read about family/youth homelessness (my Diane Downer job), poverty or other fascinating topics,
- expressing my frustration/joy, and
- posting pics of my travels.
Let me ask you straight out: Consider following me and inviting me to follow you if you’re doing something fascinating on Medium. Share my posts if they’re worth flinging to your circle of friends. Clap to encourage me, because sometimes I feel like I’m spitting into the wind. And if I get returned to the wonderful world of Facebook, you can friend me to follow my travels/adventures.
Now to quit procrastinating and finish my taxes.
