Are YOU suffering from Facebook Fatigue?

2012-03-15 08:40 by Koos Kombuis ...Because I certainly am!

I never dreamt I'd come to this point. I have always been one of Facebook's staunchest supporters. Every time when they changed their layout or added new features, I was one of the first to embrace the innovations. Just the other day I added the "Timeline" feature to my Friends page. And boy, was I proud! It made a helluva difference.

I even managed to slip in a small, almost unreadable reference to my sponsors (Beyerskloof wine) into the banner, even though the advertisement of commercial products was supposed to be against the rules. So far, no-one has complained. After all, the out-of-focus reference to my favourite red wine was certainly not intrusive.

A few weeks later, I found myself at the receiving end of a co-author who started pasting promotional material for his new books all over my Wall. He did this in annoying capital letters and with little regards to subtlety. After the twelfth self-promoting epistle, I blocked him as a friend. Problem solved.

They make my page look shitty

Now, I'm starting to feel as if Facebook themselves are targeting me.

When I open my Friends page, there is an annoying little pop-up ad right below my beautiful banner. It changes shape, but it's there all the time. Sometimes it wiggles around. It is impossible to remove. Even if you manage to press on the "X" button, after the fifth attempt (it's hard to take digital aim at something that jumps around all the time!), pressing the "X" button has the opposite effect of the effect intended. It actually connects you to some other site.

I don't know what the other site is, or what they advertise, I haven't hung around long enough to check it out. Point is, even if I ignore these pop-up thingeys, which I'm trying very hard to do, they make my page look shitty. They don't match the banner I designed myself. They take up space. They are meaningless and just plain silly.

Whether Facebook themselves are responsible for these pop-ups, which are all over the entire website by now, I'm not sure. I have read news reports about Facebook allowing more commercial material but I assumed that these would be done tastefully.

Little black notebook
 
I did not expect this garish display of bland wiggliness. And no, I DON'T want to win a free iPad, not from you at least, and I DON'T want an American Green Card, and I DON'T believe you when you tell me I have just one a million dollars. I’ve had to deal with this crap in my email inbox for years, and now these guys are squatting in the entrance hall to my private lounge? Who let them in? Certainly not me!

I've done a bit of research, and it appears as if lots of folks are pretty angry at Facebook these days. Some websites are even making money on the side by selling "ad removing" applications. My point is, why should I spend even more money on an application to remove something that shouldn't be there in the first place? Are all these moguls in on the same fast buck? It's enough to turn one into a raving Occupying drooling anti-capitalist protestor, complete with tie-dye T-shirt and wild new Age stare!

So, are YOU getting tired of Facebook? I certainly am. And, to use a Twitter term, this new disease - Facebook Fatigue - seems to be a trending topic in the hearts and minds of people all over the world. I've enjoyed being a part of Facebook, thank you guys, but may I remind you that I also have all the important birthdays written down in my little black notebook...