G+ (2013) vs Facebook (2011)

I'm a big promoter of Google Plus. I'm as big on revealing my hatred for Facebook.

Google Plus is just a better fit for me. I like to talk to a variety of people about a variety of ideas. I don't want to simply sign in and check up on who has the coolest sayings or the day, the best motivational (or de-motivational) posters, or deepest proclamations of faith or love or- whatever.

While I love my interactions on G+, I've gotten a little bored with it lately. I'm starting to see a Facebook mentality creep in. A couple of years ago, I could be guaranteed to see serious discussions of news and culture. Lately, I see a lot of people just spouting off about meaningless crap. No offense to my circles (because you guys are awesome), but I'm not finding a whole lot more of your kind.

I've been offline a lot since I've had such chaos in my personal (offline) life. Hah! When I logged on earlier this morning, I scrolled through the list of people who've been adding me to their circles. I ended up spending about 20 minutes just "dismissing" all the folks with no image or tagline. I spent another chunk of time getting rid of the self-promoters, businesses, motivational speakers and avid self-photographers who want everyone to know just how hot & photogenic they are. (I won't even mention all the folks using G+ to hook up with someone - anyone.)

Guess what? I still haven't found but a handful of folks to circle back.

Where are all the people who are fun and interesting and conversational and knowledgeable about something they're not selling or talking-up?

One of the first people I ever added on The Plus was +Fraser Cain (publisher of Universe Today). I'm certainly no rocket scientist (or scientist of any kind), but I get turned on to some of the most interesting things from checking Cain's stream.

I've connected to people who I stay in touch with via email and their blogs. I have established online friendships with people who share interests with me (as bloggers, writers, fellow immune disease sufferers) and would be fun to hang out with if we ever met in "real" life.

There are some folks on G+ who have no clue who I am, but are generous enough to share their art and music with the rest of us.

Maybe I'm selfish (okay, that's been established), but I don't want to just "sit" on a network and watch it stream by. I like learning and connecting and getting something out of the experience.

So... I'm going back over to my "People" list again to see if there aren't at least a few I'll be excited about adding back. Else, I might as well have stayed on Facebook. I couldn't even type that without a shudder of repulsion going through my body. Speaking of being repulsed, did you know that there is still a MySpace. It wasn't bad before, if it was your kind of thing, but now... I don't even see what the point is. (Just my opinion, people. Please don't hate me for it.)

Peace
--Free