Fuck Facebook

So I finally deleted my Facebook. I will be the first to admit that it has been an extremely useful tool in keeping contact with friends, finding old friends, and sharing stories with new friends. Even just last weekend I had a 16 hour layover in Dubai so I just logged on to FB and dropped a message to a few mates and they came through not only with a place for me to stay but an awesome night out as well. I was just in London where I connected with a really old friend who I went to boarding school with and had not seen in 15 years, I met him again through Facebook. I also love to see pictures of what my mates are up to all around the world, so then why disconnect?

Well essentially what started out as a platform for people to connect and share information has turned into a series of applications that collect data about users that is sold to large marketing companies for consumer research. So every time you download a Nike application or fill out some movie quiz to get some fun personality horoscope, you are actually feeding the media machine with intimate data about yourself. Now some people may find this absolutely acceptable but to be honest, the idea makes me paranoid. And I know how crazy that sounds considering I have plastered intimate details about my life on this blog. But that is my twisted logic that I could discuss with you over a long drink if you like.

So as of right now I have officially deleted my Facebook account. Even so my information will still be available online for another year. All I have to do is log in to reactivate the account. I know that if anyone really wants to find me they know where to look. I have more than enough of an online presence. I am going to modify my home page a bit to accommodate for more of my pictures and other projects that I usually featured on FB. But now that I am blocked in China I will have to wait till I am on vacation to make those changes. And yes, last week in London, now back in a stinky hotel somewhere north of Shanghai. Ce la vie.