Monday, February 6, 2012

About face


Last year I was surprised at how much resistance and outright resentment I received for my annual “Facebook Free in February” campaign. Traditionally, these little stunts of mine had been were met with some good-natured ribbing and questions of doubt from my friends and family. But last year, some people seemed actually mad.


I couldn’t figure it out at first. I thought they’d be happy to be free of my constant self-promotions and sarcastic comments for a month. And they probably were. But there was also an almost angry undercurrent to some of their responses. I wasn’t sure what to make of it and wound up (wrongly) deciding that they must have been feeling defensive, as if I were claiming to be somehow superior to them for not “needing” facebook. 


But once March rolled around, and I had a chance to “talk” to several of them again, I realized that my silly posts and comments were serving as sort of a hub for others. I don’t know how so say this without sounding like an arrogant jerk, but apparently some people had come to rely on me to act as their ice-breaker. It seems my ridiculous status updates (commonly jokes at my own expense) and snarky comments were just enough to get the party started, and then others would pick up and take it from there.  I’m not saying there was anything so amazing or amusing about what I was saying, only that for whatever reason, it got the ball rolling, much in the same way a yawn is contagious.


And while we're only one week in, so far, this year has been a little different. For one thing, I’m no longer the only jester in the king’s court, so my absence is not leaving as much of a void. Plus, I’ve not been as active on facebook this year as in years past, so most people probably don’t even notice I’m gone.  Then there’s the whole “Timeline” thing, which has apparently pushed some people right over the edge.  But whatever the reason, I’m not picking up as much flak as last year. Except for the accusations of cheating!


This year, an unprecedented number of people have been calling me and confronting me about catching me on facebook, using this very blog as their “proof.” You see, whenever I post a new topic, I hit the share to facebook button, and a box pops up allowing me to type a message and post the link on my wall. Which I do. But I do so without ever going on facebook! Go ahead, try it for yourself if you don’t believe me. Scroll down and click on the little “f” (though you might want to pick a more interesting entry than this one!) and see what happens. 



See? You never left the page, right? So stop harassing me and just accept the fact that I am NOT on facebook.  But if I were, here's what I would have posted the past few days:



1. It's 50 degrees on February 2nd, does the groundhog even need to bother?

2. Is it wrong that I'm more entertained by the men on "New Girl" rather than my one-time crush, Zoey Deschanel?


3. Isn't it sadly ironic that people died during a protest over the people that died during the soccer riot in Egypt? 

4. I drive a Ford F-150, but that Chevy commercial was hilarious. Between the Barry Manilow song, the dog in the backseat, and the Twinkie reference, it was spot on and deserves a Clio


5. Deja Blue! Congrats to the Giants! All's Welker that ends Welker!




See you in March. Or, you know, here!

15 comments:

  1. You know I only call you a cheater to make you feel important, right?
    erica

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    1. Wait, YOU were calling me a cheater too? That really hurts...

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  2. Okay, I hit the little Facebook share thing and technically you're cheating. The little box that pops up is Facebook.

    Try going to dlvr.it and signing up for an account. You can set it to post to Facebook for you automatically whenever a new blog entry is posted and you won't have to dirty yourself. :) I will even work the other months of the year.

    (It will also tweet for you. Both are great for me because I can several posts in advance and don't have to worry about timing of any of that after.)

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    1. Thanks for the tip (and the share) - but is it really technically cheating if I'm technically challenged?

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  3. Mike, I'm dead! I banked on the notion that you would cheat and come and rescue me, but you never showed, so now I'm gone....write a blog about that!

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  4. So here's the thing! Last year we were all buried under what seemed like 10 feet of snow! We were stuck in our homes for seemed like weeks on end & suffering from cabin fever! We needed entertainment and you decide to go on FB vacation!!! What kind of person does that!!! This February has much more to offer. We aren't trapped in our homes & in other words, we don't need you right now...so nobody cares if your here or not (with the utmost affection of course) <:o) !!! So byte me!!!!!

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  5. http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/pVgm8Iv3m2iXwVdJ
    So glad you're keeping busy!!!!

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    1. Thanks for that link. I'll be unable to sleep at night for the next decade or so now.

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  6. :) i KNOW you're not on facebook...just wanted to pat myself on the back for sharing your unPatriotic piece for you following the large sporting event that transpired recently ;)

    btw...am also going to run some mike wood "deep cuts" on your facebook page in your absence...like the vintage piece "i don't know about you, but sometimes when i'm looking at magazine and i turn the page to see (BLANK) it really ruins my day"

    word up!

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    1. Is that you, Sassy?!?! :) I say we set up chats on Mike's Blog for FB February!!!! You in, woo hoo, high five!!! :)

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  7. You're not on Facebook? I hadn't noticed. I just thought my meds had finally kicked in.

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    1. just like Tom Brady's hopes and dreams got kicked in?

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  8. I did receive a text at 6:30 ish yesterday morning from someone who wanted to rat you out. They said "Hey, Mike went on Facebook this morning. You should post something too." I immediatly knew it was a hoax of some sort and accused this person of trying to jeapardize MYOWN Facebook Free February. They admitted their trickster ways but also assumed you had caved. I knew this could not be true (or doubted it for a mere second). I also figured it was a BLOG type thing and you had done exactly what you said...BLOG transport to Facebook. Strangely enough I had a wee freak out moment yesterday where I thought I had ghostly traces of myself on Facebook. While Googling printable coupons for JoAnne Fabrics I clicked on one coupon that tried to lead me to Facebook. I panicked and quickly hit the back button. I did not enter that world but worried that my mere presence on their site would somehow leak into Facebook world. So, with that said, I am still Facebook Free and feeling Fancy! *aside from this lovely stomache bug that kept me home from work today. There's nothing worse than driving down your driveway to work and back up again.... ***Sooooo, what to do on this fun day off when I'm not visiting the only bathroom in the house (*i had to apologize to my family this morning....several times....)? Visit Mikey's Blog of course. As a gift to myself! No rambling on Facebook = loads of rambling here. *Some things I noticed about this particular Blog. Just a few syncronocities with my thoughts the last couple days.
    1. I too loved the commercial with the Twinkey's.I had to explain to my kiddos why the Twinkey's survived or the relevance (they still look like Twinkey's after 100 yrs in a landfill).
    2. I also have a fascination with Zooey D. but wish they would bring Justin Long back a bit longer....ahhhh...silly pun.

    (on a Facebook note) That weird noise people are hearing all over the world? Or claim to be hearing and sharing a video someone made of said noise? It is a studeo recording hoax! I know us humans kind of screwed up our planet but do we have to perpetuate such ridiculous nonsense?

    I feel much better now. I think Facebook Free February is going to bring me closer to Wood.

    **CRAP! If I send this am I going to be on Facebook**** I am blaming you Woody for this.....here...I...GO!

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  9. P.S. Were your ears ringing on Groundhog's Day? All day long I spoke of our fun journey to visit Phil. I left the hitchhiking and bar/groundhog cookie part out though. High school students don't need that much info about me.

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