Yeah, I’ve had to hide FB posts from an internet friend who posts every single thing she’s doing (she’s in her 40s, not a teenager), and my new sweeting who posts lots of other stuff he finds online or at FB. When I want to see what he’s looking at, I go to his page. I only joined because my DIL’s mother is on it; she takes care of our mutual GD and posts what she’s up to or pictures of her.
[B]I had FB. I dumped FB.[/B]
[B]Reason?[/B] Toooo much information! My people have no discretion. This momma was reading (and seeing) stuff that curled her hair. I don’t need to hear about all my kids personal stuff, if you (ahem) follow me…or their fights.
My people used FB for good, and bad. Besides TMI, the bad included using FB as a boxing ring. A place to take a stab at a relative, then the dog fight. The ultimate punishment? [B]Un-Friending.[/B]
Oh yes, I’ve been UN-friended by one of my own sons (very hurtful), and I have a cousin who is hot and cold with me on FB, but she won’t call me to talk! I wish she’d never ‘found’ me on FB.
After several years, I quietly tiptoed back to FB, created another account. I use it mainly to follow businesses, and a few TV favorites, and Chris Rene’s career. I check into my FB about twice a month. Period.
I have very few FB “friends” and like it that way.
I don’t fault anyone for participating in FB, whether low-key or full-throttle. But for me, I think it’s a [B]huge time suck.[/B] And not good for much of anything.
I’d rather invest my online energy into KH and Ravelry. Both of these sites are actually good for something constructive, and for learning, and resources. Yes, there are social aspects, too!
And lest we forget…[B]you can’t knit when you’re online cuz you can’t knit one-handed even if you can SWYPE on your smartphone one-handed![/B]
I’ve got my girls as friends, but they don’t post often. Of the three one works for the federal government (NSF) and another will soon have her teaching credentials. They are very aware of the dangers of social sites. I just checked what’s on my newsfeed today…NatGeo, Time Magazine, National Zoo, a couple book authors, free kindle book site, a funny actor, a cat site, my vet, a couple knitting sites… I have several friends that will show up if they post, but the breakfast posters have been hidden. Sooooo… I completely agree it can be a time suck and that FB oversteps their boundaries, but there’s a lot of us who use it for other stuff and don’t live there. Those people need to wake up! 
Yeah, I use it for news, too. Also, Twitter and Flipboard.
I have a few news apps, but only the ones I mentioned are on FB. The stuff they put on there is just special stuff. Saw a newly discovered lizard on NatGeo today.
I only use one other sorta social site…Pinterest, but it’s a stand alone app. It’s not really social though in the same way FB and twitter are. I “pin” recipes and look at the San Diego Zoo baby panda pics, or knit or craft stuff I like. Some people go nuts on there as well and I only follow select boards.
Oh yeah, my daughter twisted my arm to install Pinterest on my Smartphone. Not sure if it’s going to be worth my time. She spends hours on it.
I check these sites once or twice a day, but I don’t live on them. I knit, read a lot, email my daughters, house stuff…
First thing I suggest with Pinterest… Unfollow everyone!! Then be selective. If you like cooking, search for specific topics or people. (Like Martha Stewart, dairy free, knitting, etc.) the select only the boards you are interested in. For instance you might be interested in Martha Stewart desserts, but not crafts. I have a board for holiday decorating, things I love, great ideas I’ve seen, healthy food… If you personalize it it makes it useful. I’ve looked up recipes I’ve saved for and printed them to use. I usually pin stuff I’ve seen on there only. Only a few were things I found on the Internet.
Thanks Jan!!! 
Very true. And KPC was always a collection of links to patterns – and tutorials and so forth. But the big difference is that – at least for the free patterns – you don’t have to set up an identity on Knitty or Red Heart or Plymouth Yarn or most of the others to see what the thing looks like. But before LB will even let you see a photo – never mind a pattern – you have to give them information. And I’m disinclined to give that information out without a good reason. Especially in these times.
My girlfriend has an account on LB – specifically for their pattern collection – but yesterday I was looking for a pattern for something I wanted to make for her… and that would kinda spoil the surprise, wouldn’t it? (BTW, when/if I get around to actually making the thing, be prepared for a bazillion questions… because I won’t have my Yoda available to ask…)
I don’t mind using my real email address to sign up for sites; I also signed up for Lion’s weekly newsletters that have patterns in them. Often they’re some I’m interested in.
I am not on FB and never intend to be on it.
I got pulled into the Google Plus trap last year, not realizing what I was getting into. It’s too easy to find yourself constantly checking to see if somebody posted something new, or if somebody commented on your post. It hit me that I was spending WAAAY too much time on something so stupid. Why waste the energy knowing very little detail (and commenting on?!) of people’s lives, when you could be knitting or doing something else worthwhile? I don’t have the emotional energy to follow everybody else’s problems, when I’ve got my own.
I love Pinterest, and the only people I follow are my sisters, who always pin cute, crafty stuff. I’ll occasionally pin a knitting pattern or a recipe, but I prefer to look at their stuff.
My sister pinned this hilarious meme…
“Pinterest makes me like people I’ve never met. Facebook makes me hate people I know in real life.”
Isn’t it the truth?!?
I think the thing that annoys me is that they’re not even willing to show you the FO so you can TELL if you’re interested in it unless you say the magic words. But it’s more of a loss for LB. You can’t sell me what I don’t like in the window… and they don’t even HAVE a window.
I do 99.9% of my pattern shopping on Ravelry. If the pattern goes to an outside link I have a junk mail address that I use for pattern sites. I also often use an Internet name I’ve used off and on. If they ask for my street address or phone I just pass it up. There are plenty of other similar patterns that aren’t asking for personal info. The only time I will give them info is if I’m purchasing a pattern, but since I usually use Ravelry/PayPal I don’t need to add any more since they are usually PDF.
Once upon a time I actually placed an order with LB so they got my info then. What I dislike most is you can’t cant look at a specific type of pattern, say just knit hats, and to find anything you have to scroll through a lot of stuff that’s not pertinent. A lot of their patterns show up on ravelry and that’s how I first become aware of them. I wrote something about using one of their patterns once and got a code for I think $5 off on my order from them. Overall I think the site is poorly set up and finding what I want there is more likely to come from a ravelry link or a google hit.