Requiem pour mon compte Facebook

In which I use a faux-French, Google-translated title and dubious logic to extoll the virtues of Twitter and mourn the passing of my Facebook account.

I've been asked a few times in the last couple of weeks why I deactiviated my Facebook account.

My answers have ranged from "I was overwhelmed" to "I've outgrown it" to "It was taking too much of my time" to "I'm not a thirteen year old girl."

All true reasons, to one extent or another.

Facebook, justifiably or not, carries a lot of baggage. It has its uses, sure, and came in handy more than once.

But looking at the big picture, it was the correct decision to let it go and move on.

Yet, I've remained on Twitter. And only partly because many of the people I enjoyed most on Facebook also hang out there.

Twitter is different than Facebook in the same way Burger King is different that McDonald's. They're both social media platforms (fast food burger joints) that cater to a quasi-specific crowd. Granted, Facebook (McDonald's) has a more ubiquitous appeal, and is certainly more used, if not better known.

I guess the bottom line is this, for me at least: Twitter is still cool, and Facebook ain't.

But do I miss Facebook? No, not really.

Facebook is really, primarily, a one-way street for most users. You post pictures, status, GIFs and memes then move on. There is a certain amount of engagement, but for the most part, it is a showcase for how fun/cool/funny/sad/pathetic/interesting a person's life is. Or rather, how fun/cool/funny/sad/pathetic/interesting they want you to think it is.

Twitter has much the same merits/limitations, but it is primarily conversation-driven. That is to say, engagement is the lifeblood of Twitter. And twitter forces you to be succinct, to say what you have to say in 140 characters or less (much less if you want to accompany your musing with pictures).

Just this week, I've engaged in conversations regarding privacy, gossip, gummy bears, Maslow's heirarchy, running, the weather, and a dozen other topics. I've spoken to local newspeople in the course of doing their jobs. I've interacted with people that I would have never had the chance to meet on Facebook.

And my life is richer for it.