Internet: I Have Questions

 ... SO many questions.

Someone needs this shirt

• 
  Can a YouTuber make a video without begging viewers to "Like and Subscribe"? 

I find this to be so annoying. It's not like YouTube is new. I'm sure that 99.99% of viewers know how to Like a video if they like it and Subscribe if they want to. Personally, depending on how annoyingly placed the begs are, I will downvote a video or just stop watching it and go to the next one in my queue.

• What is up with the weird narration voices on some of the YouTube channels?

I don't know if this is supposed to be trendy or if the narrator is just trying to make their channel stand out from the pack. 

There was one channel I used to listen to (but stopped) that had a narrator who sounded as if he was a robot trying to sound like a human trying to sound like a robot who was asking a question in every sentence. The speaking cadence was an up and down monotone of irritation that grated on my last good nerve. Too bad because the content was always very interesting.

Another channel was annoying because the narration was - big surprise to me - apparently digital. Yeah. When I complained about the weird pronunciations and odd speech patterns, another commenter told me that I was listening to a computer. Tech is getting good. I really thought I was listening to a person - but a person with an annoying speaking voice.

• Can we talk about the volume on videos while we're at it?

I don't know why the heck someone would put the time and energy into creating a channel - some of them with a ton of videos - but not get the sound together. I've actually had to get an extension to boost the sound of videos. I sometimes can only hear some of the videos with earphones on. There there are the videos that splice in content without regulating the volume so you're straining to hear one moment and scrambling to Mute the next. 

• Can we just get to the recipe already???

Okay - I am guilty of this one, but I am getting better. It's so frustrating to Google a recipe, go to a page, then have to hear the life story of someone before they post the actual recipe. And, even worse is when they make it tricky to print the recipe without a ton of photos or their own weird formatting. By the way, I have started making it easy to spot where recipes or reviews start in my posts. See? Getting better.

• What is with those It the Clown type pop-ups on every page of the internet?

This has long been a pet peeve but it's getting worse day by day. Every time I go to a site to check an article or find that hidden recipe (see above), I'm slapped with one of those stalker pop-up things before I get a glimpse of the page. They pester readers to sign up for newsletters, joining a mailing list, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. I just feel like yelling at the screen "Can you give me a freaking minute????" 

How do I even know if I want to join your mailing list if I can't see what the heck you are all about first? And why on earth can't the offers be a little less jolting? 

By the way, for all those sites that won't let you price anything or see what they offer without giving an email address? Well, I have a throwaway email just for that. So there.

• Instagram shops: please be honest and upfront about the products you are selling. Please.

I have found a lot of products to peruse after seeing ads that pop up in my Instagram feed. Not that I always buy the product (I rarely do), but it's cool to see something interesting that I might not have heard of otherwise. My problem is when the ads either straight up lie and misrepresent their product. Don't show me a beautiful wig or whatever only to be selling something that looks like it came from a joke shop. And please start being more upfront with the pricing. I have found at least 10 products or services that sound amazing until I find out that not only can't I afford them but neither can half the upper-middle-class population. Very recently (okay, it was this morning), I saw an ad for a product to replace traditional, stripping shampoos. Man, it sounded so good when the ad echoed my thoughts about the detergents and other insane shampoo ingredients. I almost broke a thumb clicking for more info. Actually, I went to Amazon because I dislike clicking on Instagram ads - in case I hate the product. This amazing hair product should only be advertised to the rich. I don't want to lie on this product but I believe the price I saw was around $50 for 8 ounces. Hah! Begone with you. Get out of here and never come back!

• Does everyone on Reddit just have to be so snarky?

Okay - first of all, I love Reddit. I just hate some of the users. A lot of them make it their mission in life to out-snark each other. Some of them just can't comment without trying to be cute - or one-up the last comment. Sometimes, they all just get overly playful and go from being fun and cute to annoying.

I really hate when I find a good post that is interesting and useful only to be ruined by stupid comments. I haven't figured out yet how to get past all the long strings of input from attention-seeking people. 

What's wild is that Redditors tend to be really smart and witty and interesting. I don't know how the mean folks managed to take over.

• Why did Google get rid of Google Plus & why hasn't someone started a similar forum?

I will never and not ever stop being mad about Google Plus going away. I tried some of the other places that Plussers wandered off to. None are good enough. I honestly can't remember off hand the 2 that I tried hard at.

• Why are there no popular forums for the "mature" among us?

Look, there are plenty of tech people who were born in the '60s and '70s. So why has none of these tech-smart folk come up with a "G Plus" or "Reddit" for people who are mature and act mature? Not all of us are "old at heart". Some of us are very interested in connecting and communicating and sharing - without trying to look and act like we are fit & fab yummy mummies and dishy daddies. Some of us, ahem, are north of 40 and 50+ who love our internet as much as the rest of the users.

Maybe I'm just full of sour grapes, but I can't believe I am the only one who could love a more mature and life-focused version of Facebook. Right now, I have 80-year old relatives trying to keep up with the vain and narcissistic people on these other platforms. Maybe I should be asking for a platform based not on age but on mindset? After all, there are celebrities in their 50s and up who only get attention for looking half their age. That's just sad.

So, yeah, I have so many questions when it comes to the internet. Got any answers? Go ahead, I'll wait. In the meantime, I will be adding to this list...

Peace

--Free

Spammer's Delight

I don't know if spammers just think that if they submit enough comments that a blogger will think "You know what? This one is so persistent, he deserves to be noticed?"

Back in the day, I used to get a TON of comments on my blog posts, then G+ died and went away. Now I have to rely on the dreaded ~ugh~ Facebook to get any reader feedback and interaction. Once people started to get Insta-famous and Tube-fabulous, I think bloggers who didn't join the money-train lost traction. And I am okay with that. I never started blogging to monetize. I blog for my emotional health and because it's fun. I have some loyal readers and I love that part. I am not in a place in my life or abilities to deal with "monetizing" what I do for stress-relief.

Anyway.

This all is on my mind because I am SO tired of dealing with Spammy comments. It was a long time back (when a couple of those comments slipped through my net) that I started moderating all comments. It doesn't take long to glance through and see the ones that mention a product or include a link. Blogger makes it pretty easy to just run down the line and delete-delete-delete.

This latest is just one of the silly things I see via Blogger mail:

How obvious and smarmy, right? 

The thing is, I might actually be interested in some of the stuff the spammers have for sale - I mean, I do shop Amazon like someone with money... How crazy that spammers self-defeat by using this approach.

Anyway, this is to those annoying people who do this type of thing:

Back when G+ was a thing, I would have blocked and reported you. Right now, I am thinking of making a list of you all, searching you ought via Private browsing and then filling up your inbox with copies of your own comments. For now, just know that you might have something I would be interested in hearing about. It's just like stores who flood my snail-mail box with unwanted ads - I make a vow to never purchase anything from those places. 

The way I see it, if you are using spam, you must not have any product or service worth promoting in any other way.

I have gotten this kind of thing from people pitching vape products, cosmetics, household goodsm etc. I use all of those things and will consider taking a look them - but not from someone slimy enough to use spam.

So there. I just had to vent a little after rejecting about 12 spam comments and cleaning out my In-box of emails like that one.

Peace

--Free

**RESOURCES** Chronic Disease Support Groups

Sorry, all. Haven't been posting because my sarc has been raging and keeping me too wiped out to get up and about much. Still pretty exhausted and feeling super cruddy, but wanted to share a couple of helpful resources for those living with chronic diseases. Since I am wiped out and writing this from the bed, I will keep it short.

• Inspire is a site of groups and communities for people dealing with all kinds of illnesses. Sarcoidosis brought me there, and the people are very supportive.
• Facebook group, Sarcoidosis UK is awesome. Nice to communicate with people who understand. We share wellness info and commiserate about the lack of awareness in society and the medical profession. Felt weird to join a UK based group, but I'm glad I did. The next 2 groups are also on Facebook:
• Sarcoidosis Support Group This is the smallest of the 3 groups and it might be a good starting place for newbies.
• Sarcoidosis Support This one is the largest of the 3 groups. There is a lot of sharing of stories about when and how people found out they had sarc. Helpful on days when you are wondering if you're the only one with certain symptoms.

You all know that I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. The groups are one thing that keep me using it. These groups are helpful mostly because they help me realize I'm not along. That's so important. Now that I have moved to another state and lost my original care team, I feel more alone with this disease. I'm often terrified at the lack of knowledge about sarcoidosis and it's sometimes hard for me to communicate with other people about symptoms. No one wants to feel like a "big baby" or to seem like they are whining. Even with your doctors, you feel like you might be leaning on them too much. At least when I am communicating with other sufferers, I know that they really "get it".

Anyway, I hope that some of you will find these resources helpful. Remember, there are support groups for almost any kind of disease or struggle. Reach out, don't give up, and don't give in. 

Peace

--Free

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Spring Cleaning My Life

I have so much useless crap floating around in my life (heh heh). This morning, I was trying to clean out my email folders. I have something like 3 million notices from Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus...

Here is the sad truth: I hardly ever even use Twitter anymore. That's because I'm kind of a social network floozy. I'm all over the new guy until the next one comes along. I use to rape Twitter at least 5 times a day, then I got into Facebook - which violated me before I could really fall in love with it. Pinterest... meh. I only got into Pinterest for its looks. It was so hot and sultry. Made me sweat a little just to look at all the cool stuff it had to offer. That wore off when I realized I couldn't find any one special thing about it to keep the magic going.

Right now, I am in a serious relationship with Google Plus. I mean, we are talking, I don't know - marriage, maybe? It's pretty intense. Like with all hot-burning romances, I keep waiting for things to smolder down and just burn out. But, so far...

But back to my spring cleaning.

Are you one of those organized people who decides immediately whether you are going to save, store or delete an email? If so, I hate you.

I have three email addresses for myself  (I might have forgotten a couple) and one or two for my blogs. I'm such a neurotic pack-rat that when I have an especially important email, I forward a copy to all my addresses. That might sound really crazy, but when I fell ill, I could only remember the password to one email... And, let me tell you, even though I can't remember which email I needed to see at 3:20 in the morning, at the time, it was vital.

Yeah, so. About every two, two and a half years, I have to do an email enema. It's time.

This is Monday. I have dedicated this week to getting the important things in my life uncluttered: my closet, my kitchen jumble drawer, my YouTube playlists and my email. Never mind that this is a 3- or 4-day job and I usually get distracted after 45 minutes. The important thing is, I am going to give it a try. (My bill drawer and the storage closet are going to have to wait their turn!)

Peace
--Free

The Breakup

Dear Facebook,

We need to talk. I know, I know, no one in a relationship wants to hear those 4 words, but... Well, I'm just not feeling the way I did when we first started out. Let me try to explain.

At first, you fulfilled all my needs. You were so easy to get along with and you let me hang out with my friends... It was nice. You didn't mind when I got hooked on the games - matter of fact, you encouraged it. You made the games better and better and- Well, you know what I mean. You let me try different things. You let me have a farm with all kinds of cool equipment and buildings. I might not have had the biggest farm around, but it was a pretty one! (I didn't even tell you about the secret farm I had on the side... No matter. I never used it much. When I found out that was cheating, I was too ashamed to do anything with it.)

Not only did you let me have a farm, but when I got bored with that, you let me have my own cafe. Now that is what really made me love you even more. I tell you, I was never happier than during the hours I spent decorating that place, finding just the right name and choosing the dishes... It was pure joy. You did get a little annoyed when I started slacking a little. First with the farm - the crops were just went to weed! Then I just couldn't keep up with the cafe anymore. It just got too complicated, what with all the new and improved equipment and recipes... I almost had no life outside the cafe! And all those other chefs wanting my help. It was  a constant chatter of "Can you send me this? Can you send me that? Will you taste my salad? Will you come season my dish..."  That was bad enough, but I also had the other farmers always pleading for help with planting, sowing and trading. Sheesh! I felt like going into the witness protection program!

But still, that's not your fault. I should have stuck to the simpler pursuits you introduced me to later, like Bejeweled or Collapse. I could handle those without losing hours of my life like an alcoholic having a blackout. Plus, this also gave me more time to spend with my friends. Well, if you can call most of them that.

I was always surprised that you let me have so many friends. Maybe that's because though I ended up with over 200, only about 5 ever came around on a regular basis. The rest of them were never even in the area - not even for a drive-by post - or they only came on to have their say and disappear. Some of them were around on a regular basis - if you wanted to hear about what time they took a deep breath or what song they listened to while stuck in traffic... Then there were those who only ever commented on their own posts. You'd rarely see them visiting anyone else. They were interesting at times, but not that interesting... Yeah, I should have been a little more discriminating. I should have stuck to the friends who had something interesting to say and actually noticed what others had to say. That's what I get for going in for quantity over quality. I could have saved myself the trouble of people who stick their noses in comments made on someone else's post and then get huffy. *shrug* Live and learn.

Now, I'm not here to blame you for the time I wasted in useless farming or restauranteering (and, yes, that is a real word - or at least I think so). Anyway, the real concerns have to do with trust. I feel like I don't know what you are doing from one minute to the next. I feel so vulnerable and never know if you really are protecting me. I mean, I don't want just everybody knowing my business. It's not like sharing such personal things with you has been easy. I mean, I tend to be kind of a private person. Basically, I trust you, but I don't know who all you are associating with. I mean, really! In this day and age you have to be so careful.

Also (and I really didn't want to have to bring this up because it sounds a bit petty, but...) you tend to be a tad moody. I'm sorry, very sorry, but I just had to say it. I mean, I never know what you are going to do from one day to the next. Just when I get used to you being one way, you go and change. If you could ever just give me some kind of warning.  Because I don't mind change, really I don't. You know what we've already been through. And I've stuck with you, right?  It's just that, well, when you want to change something, do something different, maybe spice things up, it would be nice if you'd let me know.

Anyway, that's what I wanted to tell you. I don't know if it will make a difference. After all, I'm just one person out of millions who adore you. You won't miss me if I leave, probably won't even notice. Maybe someday you and I will make a better team, but for now... Well, this is difficult, but I haven't been completely fair to you either. You see, I've started another relationship elsewhere. At first, I just wanted some comfort I wasn't getting from you. I didn't expect to be swept off my feet. It all happened so fast. I had only planned to introduce myself, you know, break the ice and maybe just have a little harmless fun. Before I knew it, I was meeting new friends and having all sorts of interesting encounters... Oh, it was just glorious! Just everything I could want in a relationship.

I'm sorry that things have turned out this way. Even if you care enough to change, I can't give up this new relationship. It just meets my needs in a way that you haven't been able to. Besides, I feel like I've grown so much and learned to choose my friends more wisely. It's like starting over and getting to keep only the best while leaving the worst behind.

I'm not completely out of your life. I will stop by every now and then, when I have time, just to see how everything is going.

Well, I can't stay. I have to get back to... Well, no matter.

Take care! Smooches!

I can be reached here on G+ if you want.

Peace
--Free

Almost Over Facebook

Why?
Truly, I really am just about over Facebook. There's really only two reasons that I can blame of Facebook itself:

1- Too many changes, no stability.
2 - The whole privacy issue thing

Everything else that bothers me about Facebook is my own fault. For one thing, I have let my "friend" list get way out of control. One of the reasons I participate in social networks is to, well, network. I'm not talking anything fancy, but I like the exchange of ideas and information. I get that from Twitter, but there's that whole 140-character limit thing...

Twitter
The best thing about Twitter is the constant interaction. You can always find someone who shares your interests. There's very little dead weight and if there is, you can easily pare down your list. I currently "follow" 1431 people (or groups) on Twitter and I have 1737 following me. Here's how that breaks down:

Tweeters I interact with on regular basis (such as group meets, Bible study, She Speaks,  Vocal Point, etc) 100-200 (sometimes more, depending on attendance or a Twitter "party").

Interact with 1-on-1 on regular basis (Twitter stream and  DMs) 100 - 150
Interact with via DM and email on constant basis 20-25
Interact with on semi-regular basis (outside Twitter stream) 10-15
No interaction or rarely on Twitter stream 30-45

Another big Twitter plus: I can put out a prayer request and immediately have at least 20 to 30 folks respond.

Facebook
I know I'm not the only one having fits over all the changes on Facebook. The privacy and issues of instability is Facebook's fault. It's my own fault that I don't enjoy the interaction (or lack of). For one thing, I let my "friends" list get out of control. On Twitter, I pick people based on interests and ideas and common intellect. On Facebook, I picked family, friends, acquaintances, fellow gamers... I pretty much approved anyone who sent a request. As of today, I have 202 "friends" and here's how that list breaks down:

People I know personally, am related to 81
People I know, but haven't seen for years (but we interact) 7
Ditto (but we don't interact) 41
People who are rarely or never even ON facebook 72
People I only know online, but communicate with regularly 5
People who actually talk about something other than what they ate or where they checked in at 9
People I have no idea who they are at all 11
People I only have on my list because of the games 12

There's a lot of dead weight. Out of 202 "friends," I get very little or no interaction. Unlike Twitter, I'm networking with people who are not in my life area: I don't party, curse or talk about a lot of the things I dis before I committed to Christ. Most of my posts or "shares" are news stories (because that's a big interest) or of Christian and social interests. Don't get me wrong - I love my friends and family, but most of them are not the most conservative of folks...

The Switchover
 I have been looking around for something more expansive than Twitter and more substantial than Facebook. I've signed up for an invite to Diaspora (which might be a little over my head) and I very recently set up my Google+ profile.  My dream is to somehow have the best of Twitter, Facebook and my blog communities. It's going to be hard to leave Facebook, though. Problems and all, it's still the first place where I was able to have all the family "together."

Google+
The thing I like about Google+ (so far) is that I can set up "circles" of  friends. It seems much easier than the lists on Facebook. One of the first things I've done is designate circles to keep everyone in their own little realm. Now I have to figure out how to add the FB, Twitter and Blog folk I want to keep. Other than family, there are only about 7 people I'm taking from Facebook. Twitter is going to be more complicated.

The one downside I can think of is that I'm not sure how many people use Google services. I've used Google for around 5 or 6 years - for my blogs, mail and the many other services they've had - but I don't know a whole lot of people with even Gmail. Hmm... Gonna have to think on that.

So... I will hopefully be able to shut down my FB account sometime in the very near future. Pretty sure I will go through withdrawals. In that case, I'll just open another FB account and keep the friends' list on the quality-not-quantity side.

Peace
--Free