I hate social networks. Social networks are like a nest of bored old ladies. They are welcoming you in, only to suck your energy and leave the feeling of their dead-mackerel-cold-fingers on your face. Because, you are food. You are just another gossip provider.
Nowadays, people are really expecting you to track their life development via Facebook. Whether you are planning a liposuction or sex change, or you are single or in desperate need of a partner – it is ALL there.
I wonder if there is also a “Deceased” status available, for those of you, who suddenly went to a better place. It can be manually scheduled to turn on if you are not logging into your account for a certain period. I’ve heard people saying “If I don’t respond in Facebook, I should be dead than” — this is a serious statement, and service developers should consider it carefully.
And to make the thing even more exciting, the service provider could offer the functionality “Voices from beyond” simply a pre-recorded/prepared messages, which would be released in public only in case of that specific change of your status. Those messages, could be something that would warm the souls of your Facebook fellows, something in lines of “I have always suspected there was a tradition of incest in your family” or so. That way, the late person will continue to move (s)his dedicated group at last for a couple of weeks, ensuring the profile outlives the physical person.
I still receive invitations to join yet another newly established International Club of Idiots, but I managed to resist somehow. Actually, I am not entirely correct here – I do have accounts in LinkedIn and in Dopplr – the first one I got under the explicit influence of my boss, and the second one (which by the way sux as a service, I am planning to close it) was another story.
And than – for my big surprise, I see something, which even an eminent sociopath like me considers joining – GoodReads. Despite of my natural disgust toward most of mass communication and networking opportunities, this one sounds very appealing – maybe, because it’s facilitating your faster and better choice of a long, solitaire and offline activity.
The good news about GoodReads came via NervousShark