My name is Robin and I’m a Facebook Addict

I haven’t had so much fun on the internet in years before I found Facebook. I love this site! I love my new and old friends! I love hearing about their lives, what interests them, what irritates them, what they’re doing. I love seeing their photos. I love reading their blogs.

I have met so many new friends on Facebook. I call them my “Facebook friends”. I can’t wait to log on in the morning and see what has happened overnight. If I don’t’ like someone, I can “hide” them for a while until I want to see what they’re up to, then I “unhide” them.

I can have private conversations with people or public ones. I decide. People are very funny on Facebook and I love reading their replies.

I am currently following 2 friends’ trip through Spain and Morocco through Facebook. Another friend is in England and I’m reading her daily posts. When I recently had health issues, I posted updates on Facebook from the hospital (ICU even! Love my Blackberry!)

I use the Facebook game Scramble as my writing warm-up. It gets my mind flowing and searching for words.

Oddly enough, although I hate advertising but I don’t hate advertising on Facebook. First of all, I can choose to ignore it if I wish. Second, it is “smart” advertising. Advertisers see what my interests are and only advertise to those interests. They don’t spam me and irritate me.

I’m going to try to go a week without looking at Facebook. No, I better take baby steps, I’m going to try to go 2 days without looking at Facebook. I’ll let you know how it goes. The only thing is I don’t’ know when I’m going to start.

Robin Dohrn-Simpson
Freelance Writer
www.robindohrnsimpson.com

Digital media and Advertising in my Daily Life

I truly had advertising. What a mindless waste of time. If it is on the television, I will either mute the tv or I will DVR my shows, and watch them 20 minutes into the show so I can fast forward through the commercials.

I don’t read the San Diego UnionTribune. Besides the political reasons (it is a Right wing conservative paper whose approach to the world I disagree with), they have so much advertising. You can’t read an article without having to move from page to page and sift through tons of ads to find your article.

But what is really irritating me these days are internet ads. I hate when I’m on a website and a car drives across my screen, or a horse jogs across my screen. I will immediately stop what I am reading and exit the site, never to return.

I also hate when I am looking at a video and there is an advertisement before I can see the video. This I understand more, from a business perspective, but from a watcher’s perspective it is annoying.

I know that flash programming is the newest thing with the whole Adobe product line. I hate it. Advertisers have taken what could be a good thing and made it detestable.

Wouldn’t it be great if I knew how to have a car drive across your screen right now as you’re reading this! But I don’t.


Robin Dohrn-Simpson
Freelance Writer
www.robindohrnsimpson.com