Facebook Faux Pas

I saw Social Network (which I highly recommend) last weekend at Alamo Drafthouse. For all of you non-Texans out there, Alamo is a great little theatre that serves dinner and drinks. They are also known for their fun videos they show before the previews before the movie. Sometimes it's vintage stuff, sometimes it's video shorts. Before the the showing of the Social Network, they showed a little video talking about the top ten most annoying facebook habits. Since it's facebook's world, and we're just living in it, I thought it was time for me to share some habits that annoy the bejeezus out of me.

• Constantly asking me to "Like" something... whether it's your business or just something you think is really cool. I'm very picky with what I "Like". I try to stick to the businesses of family and close friends. And I try to limit my likes. If you have 250,000 likes, then what's the point? So if you ask me to like your business and I don't. Don't ask again. And again. And again. Just like you shouldn't be asking me to like something different every five days. Are you really that passionate about that many things?

• Baby pictures. Don't get me wrong, I love a good baby picture. And wedding pictures. And basically any kind of pictures there are out there (minus the dirty ones). It's easily my favorite feature on facebook. However, I do not enjoy looking at 50 pictures taken within a 10 minute timespan of your non-mobile 3 month old. Pick out your favorites and store the rest somewhere private! Most facebook users have very short attention spans. Know your audience.

• Constant status updates. I think you should limit your status updates to once a day. Twice, maybe three times if something really spectacular or interesting happens. Status updates are not the place to go on religious or political tangents. Especially if you have no idea what you're talking about. Or maybe you do, but 500 of your closest friends do not, and facebook is not the place for a heated political or religious debate. Write a blog. That's where real ideas get shared. Ha!

•  Profile pictures taken by reflection. Especially if said profile picture involves a shot of your abs. I get it, you work out. You're hot, and you're not afraid to make sure everyone knows it. How about next time you just get someone to take the picture FOR you? And keep your shirt on!

• Friending people you don't know. I always feel bad when I get a friend request from someone I have no idea who they are. If we have NO friends in common, it's an automatic ignore. If we have multiple friends in common, with no common link, it's an ignore. If we have multiple friends in common and they all share a link, then I accept... because the second I ignore, I'm going to run into that person EVERYWHERE I go. I like that I can say with almost certainty that I know all of my 1,000+ friends.

Well, there you have it. My top 5 Facebook Faux Pas. I know you were all just dying to read them. Sorry for my absence over the last week, I found myself in Houston for work Wednesday-Friday and then a surprise getaway to San Antonio for the weekend. This week isn't much slower, just all Austin-based... the boss-man will be here, we have a hearing, there's a monument re-dedication that I'm part of on the Capitol grounds and I get to travel out of town to speak to a DAR chapter this weekend. And I thought the fall was supposed to be less busy???