I may have mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that I have shied away from many of the social networking sites for years because of my admittedly compulsive desire for privacy. (This, no doubt, is a psychosis developed during my brief and stomach-churning career as a political candidate, when perfect strangers felt entitled to confront me at the grocery store, show up at my door on Sunday morning to complain about potholes, and write nasty letters deriding my "sappy Irish face" when I'm not even Irish except by marriage.)
In the interest of providing better client service, I've managed to overcome my privacy psychosis, at least to some extent. I've joined LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Slideshare and a few other social networks, and I try to participate actively. For most of these sites, registration requires nothing more than your name and an e-mail address. But Facebook is an aggravating exception.
Facebook has a million little side operations that are designed, I suppose, to keep people engaged and active on the site. You can take quizzes, pick your favorite book-movie-beer-candy-whatever, and engage in IQ duels with your friends. Two of my Facebook friends--people I like and admire very much--have challenged me to an IQ face-off. I'm confident that I would beat their pitiful butts with room to spare, of course, but that's not the point.
The problem is that in order to participate, I have to give up my cell phone number. And THAT, my friends, is just not going to happen. Facebook wants my cell number for one reason, and one reason only--to try to sell me stuff I don't want or need. Under no circumstances would I be interested in receiving phone calls, texts or e-mails from Facebook or any of its affiliated sites and services. I've unchecked every box it's possible to uncheck to ensure that I get no correspondence from these sites except that which is required in order to participate. Otherwise, my message to them has been, "Pretend you never heard of me and we'll get along just fine."
So, for my friends and family on Facebook, please don't be offended if I fail to respond to your invitations for extra Facebook gimmicks, especially if participating requires me to disclose my cell phone number or any other information beyond my e-mail address. As Popeye would say, "That's all I can stands and I can't stands no more."
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Really? I had no idea they demanded a cell phone number to do that sort of thing. I just figured you had the option of putting it on there so your friends could contact you. I always thought that it was a totally optional thing, never knew it prevented you from doing things. I do have mine on there, and I personally haven't gotten any telemarketing type calls. The only calls I get on my cell are from the DNC, and that's my own fault for listing my cell phone number when I've given in the past or signed up online.
ReplyDeleteI too have listed my cell phone number and have received no unwanted calls. However, I choose not to participate in any other goofy add-ons simply because I don't want to. And I'm sure you could beat my silly butt as well in an IQ test...unless the test was on the New York Yankees.
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