CurrentMom

Love you mom - but stay off Facebook

Tech Tuesday

Several times this year, my mom has made the comment that maybe she should get a Facebook page, too. She gets a kick out of seeing our feeds when we leave them up on her computer and was surprised at the number of relatives and past aquaintances she might have access to. 

"I don't know what I'd say", she says. 

Well, mom, you figure that out pretty quickly. I almost took the decision out of her hands entirely and made it for her. After the third or fourth time I heard her clicking away on her computer in our old office, obviously reading the main Yahoo! page before checking her email, and heard her voice float out - 'so-and-so died'. Yeah mom. I read that this morning already. 

You guessed it. On Facebook.

So what's stopped me? Well, let's face it. I'm on Facebook... and I'd have to 'friend' her. 

Warning: Some Aspect of Life, Somewhere, Will Be Offensive.

Tech Tuesday

I haven't been a very happy online camper this week, as you can probably tell. When I first took over Tech Tuesdays here, I posted reasons why I love the internet - and those still hold true. 

Just like real life, though, it only takes a few asshats to ruin things.

This is not a new phenomenon by any stretch, but in all my years on the World Wide Web thus far, I still can't figure out the logic. Why do people complain about content that doesn't hurt anyone directly and can be easily ignored by hitting the 'back' button?

I want kids parties to be on Facebook!

Family Friday

I know in my reality at least, if you're having an event you invite folks on Facebook. Depending on the event, you might not put out paper invitations at all. The sellers of all things party might not appreciate it much but just look at the newspaper industry - your days are numbered, too.

Of course, most of these events still happen in the real world. You're expected to attend and interract with other people. Mostly, I'm ok with that. I run a sci-fi meetup that brings me into physical contact with other humans, in addition to other related events. 

When it comes to kids' birthday parties though, my shoes fill with lead. 

Let's face it - unless you're perhaps one of those moms living vicariously through your child, just about everyone I've ever ran into at a kids birthday party would rather be anywhere else. The running, the screaming, the expense. Even Christmas doesn't compare for most people unless they have a giant gift-giving swap with all the relatives on Christmas morning. 

The kids have fun, it's true. They see their friends, they play, sugar is consumed in mass quantities and they (hopefully) run around and play some more. For them, it's a giant holiday. With presents. And cake.

For us, it's a bottle of excedrin and/or a few alcoholic drinks of choice. 

But fear not! I have a solution. Social Media.

'But the kids won't be able to play together!' You say. If they are old enough, they are probably on Facebook, too. If not, they might all play the same online game - let them play it together. If your kids are of a toddler age, well, there's Clara Beane to help you feel just a little bit better about yourself. 

If you belong to the tech elite, you probaby have a Google+ account. Great! Just start a hangout with those you want to invite and get the party started. Everyone can be involved and no one has to complain about not having their preferred flavor of cake.

Of course, I realize this will probably never happen. Unless global warming and climate disaster force us to live entirely indoors, humans will still have the desire to venture out into the world and connect with each other in person. Struggling as they might be, we still have malls. Parks are visited quite frequently. And though I try very hard to avoid the place, our Chuck E Cheese here usually has a pretty full parking lot. 

So, invite me. I know you will. I'll even accept, if only because my daughter is always in the mood to run around and ingest as much sugar as her diabetic body can handle on special occasions. 

Just don't be surprised if I have my iPhone in one hand and a wine glass in the other.

Things I Love About the Internet - Part 1

Tech Tuesday

Everyone is always talking about all the bad stuff online. I know that’s the job of the news agencies - they get paid to scare us - but millions of people still travel to cyberspace every day.

There's got to be a good reason, right?

The reason in some cases is hard to figure out - cyberbullying, online hate crimes and destructive websites come to mind. I suppose it's all a part of the human experience and at least we can actively choose not to visit those portions of the web we find disturbing. I find some peoples obsession with TMZ.com disturbing so that proves it's all a matter of relevance.

For all the current and potential pitfalls and dangerous information to be found, there are several reasons I am a huge fan of the internet and in some cases, don't wish to remember all that well what life was like without it. In the next series of posts I will be discussing those reasons starting now with:
Like-Minded People.

Putting the 'Fun' Back in 'Funemployment'

Work Wednesday

In the days following the untimely death of Steve Jobs, the genius behind Apple’s world-changing i-devices, several variations of this meme made the rounds of social media: “Ten years ago, we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope, and Steve Jobs. Today, we have no Cash, no Hope, and no Jobs.”

Well, I thought, sadly flipping through a thousand irritating emails on my iPod Touch, I am one of the lucky ones. I’ve got a job. A full-time job that provides a fair wage, subsidized health insurance, pre-tax spending accounts for medical copays and day care costs, paid vacation days and holidays, and a bunch of nice people to work with in a nice office building.  I shouldn’t take this for granted.

But, even though I paused to give thanks for full-time employment, I realize now that I didn’t really take my own advice to heart. I didn’t think it all the way through: What if I suddenly don’t have that job anymore? What would my plan be? Eh, I’ll think about that later, I told myself.

Well, wouldn’t you know it – now I suddenly don’t have that job anymore.