Today, I deleted my facebook account. I suppose what had begun as an experiment to look at why it had become such a global phenomena has finally outlived its usefulness.
I have seen though that it is a powerful platform for online interaction but other than that I am more prepared to leave my social interactions on a more personal note – the value of human interaction cannot be underestimated.
I had been initially registered on facebook simply to learn about how it works and the features that make it such a tremendous platform for online interaction. I also registered to use its extensive network to publicly announce Lifhaus, my own attempt at creating a Solomon Islands-centric social networking website. I cannot say that I have given up nor do I concede that Lifhaus is anything like facebook. However, the experience of spending time on facebook has allowed me to perhaps decide on what niche in the entire social networking sphere Lifhaus can take. I am excited about the way forward for Lifhaus but because I have not taken any definitive steps forward on going down that path, I may as well lay off the discussion.
Nobody has influenced my decision to delete my account. I have come to accept that each person is entitled to their own hobbies and past time and mode of social interaction – mine is simply not facebook. I suppose the email, blogging, Twitter and LinkedIn are perhaps enough for my online interactions.
Privacy has also been a very touchy issue for me, facebook has not given me the confidence that I can enjoy the level of privacy I desire. The Internet is littered with blogs, websites which carry technical appraisals on facebook’s latest privacy settings and their implications on the average Internet user and I can confidently say that none of the assurances nor the counter debates have assured me that my privacy can be maintained. My experience left me thinking it had been more of an intrusion in my life than it was a fun, social network it purports to be. Than again that had been my personal experience. I suppose the more geeky you become, the more concious you are about what goes on and what stays off the Internet. The choice becomes blurred and difficult on facebook.
Finally, I have not used it much – although this was largely due to my own inability to jump on the bandwagon, I also felt, as someone correctly said, “something that is not used often is USE – LESS”. So I asked myself what point is there in maintaining an account on facebook when I do not use it that much?
Having said that, 14 days from today, facebook should hopefully delete the user account Lynnold Misifea Wini. Some of my friends and siblings on facebook may ask and this explanation is my only real reason. Perhaps I should say, find me on Twitter or Ning or LinkedIn – at least I see some real potential in keeping those accounts active for my professional career. which is perhaps the only real reason I may find social networking rewarding.