1 Minute Wingman

I’ve been working hard on the 1 Minute Wingman site. Although I love Tumblr, I decided to try WordPress under the belief that it has some more features and templates than Tumblr. I’m not sure that’s true, but that was my impression and I decided to give it a try. I like to roll up my sleeves and try things out so that I can make an informed decision for myself, rather than relying on other people’s opinions. 

I doubt there’s a wrong choice to host the 1 Minute Wingman between Tumblr and WordPress, so I don’t view the decision as monumental or something that I can’t change if things don’t work out. 

So far I’ve tried two different themes in WordPress and I like it, but I’m struggling with the customization. In particular I’ve had this vexing problem trying to get a post on to a specific page. It’s very strange and I’ve tried just about everything I can think of. In the past week I think I’ve clicked on every link in the config pages trying to find a solution. I’m sure it’s right there in front of my face, but for whatever reason I can’t see it. Likely a classic case of tunnel vision where the obvious answer is something I just can’t see. 

I’ve also been working late into the night. With a young family and two jobs, time is at a premium at this point in my life. Unfortunately I only get to work on my sites after everything else is done and sometimes I fear I am so worn out by the time I sit down that I’m not really doing my best work. Sometimes I write something late in the night and when I go back to read it the next day, it’s almost like someone else wrote it. It’s a really weird experience because I know I wrote it, but it’s as if it’s not my voice or my words. Clearly the effect of exhaustion, but a troubling trend. 

Hopefully I  can start writing more on the weekends during the day and then post during the week, and thus avoid writing lower-quality posts. 

I’m not afraid of hard work or exhaustion, but I need to keep an eye on it to make sure the quality of my work doesn’t suffer.

Facebook is Starting to Scare Me

I’m not a heavy user of Facebook. I am mostly a voyeur who rarely posts anything and I have yet to play any games like Farmville or to use any Facebook applications. My interest is mostly in keeping up with what friends and family are up to, and even that is barely enough to keep me interested.

That being said, while listening to my favorite tech podcast the other day, the smartest tech guy in the world, Leo Laporte, said he has suspended his account on Facebook because he can’t understand where and with whom his information is being shared. He also talked about not understanding the privacy settings and other features within Facebook. Frankly, that was enough to make me sit up and take notice simply because if Leo doesn’t understand it, no one does. To make matters worse, it seems plausible that Facebook intends for it to be this way. 

I am not a paranoid kind of person but Facebook is starting to scare me with its utter disregard for privacy. I am aware that we all give up considerable privacy when we are on the internet, but with Facebook it feels like a whole different ballgame. I spent some time tonight looking more closely at all the privacy setting and I must admit, I didn’t really understand them to the point of feeling completely comfortable. I assume Facebook is taking whatever information it can from me and using it for something. Because of my voyeuristic habits, I likely don’t have much information worth selling, but my concerns about Facebook’s lack of transparency make me reluctant to become anything more than a voyeur.

I believe I know enough to make an informed decision about my own privacy, so I think for now I will remain a voyeur on Facebook until I learn more about what they are doing with  my information. It’s very troubling for me personally when companies are not transparent as it makes me question their motives. I’m sure many companies are simply ignorant or indifferent. The ones that are actually hiding something are likely to be a small majority, but they are the ones that worry me the most. 

Facebook is Destroying Marriages

Tonight on the local news there was a brief segment describing how Facebook is destroying marriages by making it too easy for people to reconnect with old flames. Reconnecting with lost friends is obviously very easy and I can see how it would be attractive for someone in an unhappy relationship might long for the good old days.

While I can see how Facebook can provide a means for people to communicate more easily with old friends, I cannot see how Facebook (or any such media) can be blamed for people’s inability to control their behavior. While someone can certainly find and old friend on Facebook, it is a long way from friending them to actually making physical contact. If someone is inclined to leave their spouse, does it really matter if Facebook, Craigslist, or the local bar is the mechanism the cheater chooses to fulfill their needs?  

What bothers me most is that as a society we seem to be constantly finding new ways to absolve people of personal responsibility for their behavior. If you are in an unhappy situation in your current relationship and you track down an old flame on Facebook and then continue that relationship, you are responsible for cheating on your partner. Facebook is not responsible. 

Maybe media like Facebook and Twitter and the like are still so new that people don’t know how to behave responsibly with them. I am inclined to believe that a cheating spouse will cheat, Facebook or not. 

I’m guessing the station that broadcast this segment were just looking for a story that will draw more eyes, so there’s no way to know if lots of people are using Facebook to cheat on their partners or if this is just something someone in the newsroom heard or thought of.  I’m sure it must be happening and it makes perfect sense, but Facebook is no more responsible for cheating spouses than a gun is for killing a person. It all boils down to people and their behavior. 

It seems foolish to condemn the tools that morally bankrupt people use to conduct their business.