Friends or Fans

The distinction between a "friend" and a "fan" has become some blurred since the inception of Facebook. Almost immediately after launch, the phenomenon of racing to get more and more and more friends began. I admit, it confused me for quite a long time as to how or why anyone would have 500, 750, or even 1000 "friends" on a social site. The whole point of using such a site was to communicate in one location to all friends and family, but who seriously has that many people to keep connected too? Then it dawned on me. Bing! Light bulb moment. These people are not their friends, but fans. If you look closely, the ones with these crazy numbers of friends tend to be the ones with the most drama. The ones who are constantly complaining, throwing fits, or posting racy photos of themselves. These people are simply in it like watching a daytime talk show, or soap opera. They are simply in it for the drama. And the ones with these high numbers of Facebook friends, tend to be quite anti-social and so negative to be around, that in real life, they have no true friends, so they thrive on the attention of these spectators that are attracted to their bullshit like moths to a flame.So the next time you scratch your head wondering why the craziest people tend to have such high numbers, remember, it is merely the Jerry Springer effect. I can at least say, I know they people on my lists, I socialize regularly with them. And just like here, I love them all.

Burly Bear Chris

Beg Your Pardon, Your Ignorance Is Showing.

I get so tired of seeing blatant lies and misleading information being passed around on social media as shocking information or news. However, as tired as I am of those, I get even more tired of the lazy ignorant souls that keep forwarding these items. Wake up folks. People will lie just to get a reaction. They are called trolls. There is no excuse whatsoever to not know this. In just as much time as it takes you to click share, you can check the validity of these articles yourself. With websites like Snopes, about urban legends, and vmyths there is no excuse for not checking the validity of a story or article before you pass it on. If you share these stories and they turn out to be false, then not only are you showing your ignorance, but doing a part in the dumbing down those around you. It takes just a few seconds and I will show you how.

Step 1. You find a friend has posted a story and it seems important so you read it and decide it may be worth sharing. For this example we will use the "Facebook Guidelines Hoax"

 Step 2. Highlight the first sentence of the story, copy it, and paste it in Google.

Step 3. The first several options will be to sites that test the validity of a post. Pick one.

Step 4. You have successfully found a hoax. The next step is to inform the person you got the story from and to STOP THE SPREAD OF CRAP!

I hope this post has enlightened, educated, or at the very least, humored. If you know someone who is continually posting crap like these, feel free to send a link to this post and educate them. This one is passable. Love to all.

Burly Bear Chris