Tag Archives: facebook

Facebook: The public and personal

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After the recent public offering by the popular social networking site, Facebook, seeing follow-up stories about the continued decline in the stock’s value has been rather interesting.

While I’m not one of those who rushed out and purchased Facebook stock, I have had a Facebook account since Sept. 2, 2008 (I had to look that up on my Facebook timeline).

Investment gurus have shared their thoughts on the plummeting Facebook stock, and a couple of things I’ve heard have stuck with me – first, that Facebook is a passing fad; and second, that Facebook isn’t tangible. How do you put a value on a free program that millions of people around the world enjoy?

The stock market can decide Facebook’s worth. I’m more interested in the thought that the social networking site is a passing fad. I certainly don’t spend as much time on Facebook as I used to, but I credit that to deleting some of those time-wasting games and deciding my time was better spent working on my stash of needlework projects.

Aside from linking an occasional story I’ve written for the Daily Globe or posting a link to my blog, I’ve refrained from posting much on Facebook these days. Really, who cares that I walked a couple of miles down by the lake or went out to the farm to decompress by spinning four-wheeler tires through the mud? They probably find it as fascinating as I do when I read that so-and-so has finally potty-trained the youngest child.

Then again, I guess I can thank Facebook for learning about cousins celebrating pregnancies, friends celebrating birthdays and a nephew announcing his recent engagement. Facebook has become a virtual journal of the moments – big and small – in our every day lives.

That leads me to a question for you readers. In a recent chat with our online content coordinator at the Daily Globe, we discussed whether or not reporters should have individual Facebook pages designated as their “work Facebook” page.

The more I think about the potential, the more I like it. For starters, there are a lot of people I connect with through work who aren’t Facebook friends of mine simply because I don’t want to cross that professional-personal line. I’ve even deleted Facebook friends – some longtime friends – because they are newsmakers or frequent sources. Oh, I still consider them friends, just not “Facebook Friends.”

Now, if I had a Facebook page tied to my job, I could be “friends” with my boss, my co-workers, the mayor, city council members, county commissioners, county employees, community leaders and anyone and everyone who wanted to connect with me professionally online. My page could be a source for news tips, “the rest of the story” stories, breaking news assignments and, well, the opportunities are endless, I suppose.

Best of all, you won’t have to read on my work Facebook page that I shed a few tears at niece Jessie’s graduation Friday night, spent nearly my entire weekend cross-stitching in my recliner at home, and capped off the four-day weekend with a Memorial Day bonfire with the neighbor kids in my backyard. I’ll save those tidbits for the people on my personal Facebook page who may or may not care.

A white-out on my Black Monday

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I knew I was in for some razzing when I woke up this morning and heard my two favorite radio guys talking about a monumental birthday being celebrated on this, the 10th day of January.

From the moment I heard the words, “Lordy, Lordy,” I knew this was probably going to be a day to remember.

Yes, turning 40 … hitting the Big 4-0 … making it Over the Hill – however you want to phrase it – is a milestone that brings mixed reaction for me. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been referring to this day as my Black Monday.

Thanks to the Highway Patrol (aka Chad and Matt of the morning show), my day started out with a laugh. And no � they did not (nor will they ever) convince me to take the Deep Freeze Dip in Lake Okabena on Saturday.

I must admit, I wondered what on earth prompted them to bring up the goat-raising days of my youth. The answer appeared before my eyes when I paged through the Daily Globe over breakfast. Gee, thanks Mom and Dad for putting in those “lovely” pictures for the whole world to see!

For the first time in a few years, I actually worked on my birthday. Thanks to my newsroom co-workers, black balloons and a special one labeled “Over the Hill,” graced my desk this morning, but perhaps most embarrassing was when a cohort walked through the newsroom and said (quite loudly) “Happy Birthday Old Lady!”

I think I look nothing like an old lady. My grey hair doesn’t dominate my brown hair (at least I don’t think so), I don’t have wrinkles (yet), and I don’t need a cane to get around (although I could use some of that Icy-Hot on my aching elbow and shoulder).

Thanks to Facebook, I had many birthday wishes today – all of which made me smile or LOL (Laugh Out Loud). Perhaps the most notable came from my 16-year-old niece, Jessie. She wrote: “Happy birthday. You are now officially OLD! Just kidding…. (you have been old for a while now) !!! :) hahaha Love You.”

I thought about replying, “Just wait until you’re 40 and I’ll call you old,” but then I did the math and realized I’d be 64 and knocking on the door of retirement. Yeah, it doesn’t sound any better writing it out than it did saying it in my head!

At least she loves me – I think!

Getting all of the little messages from Facebook has been wonderful, especially since we are in the middle of another annoying southwest Minnesota snowstorm. I’d planned to drive out to the farm tonight, but just getting around town in my 2-wheel-drive was challenging enough.

Plan B was for the folks to drive in and get me with the 4-wheel-drive truck. They made it less than a mile before turning around and going back home.

So, here I sit – at the office with a few co-workers and some leftover pizza (Dad’s treat for not being able to get me to spend my birthday evening at the farm.)

I’m craving my made-from-scratch birthday cake that Mom made – it’s chocolate with real whipped cream. She said she’ll put it in the fridge and save it for tomorrow.

It will taste just as good tomorrow night (provided they don�t succumb to temptation and eat it). Then again, Mom said tomorrow’s forecast is for wind.

That can only mean one thing – a ground blizzard.

Maybe I should just tell Mom to put that cake in the freezer.

I must commit to quit!

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I’m not one to set New Year’s resolutions, mostly because I know I’ll never follow through with them.

Typically, setting a resolution is only setting myself up for failure. At my age, I ought to know better!

This year, however, I’ve decided to set just one goal. I’ve decided to officially quit farming … virtual farming, that is.

Earlier this week, I announced to all my FarmTown friends on Facebook that I quit. No longer will I plant beet seeds and harvest them every four hours on my days off. No longer will I plant asparagus at night, only to get up in the morning and harvest the crop before work. No more potato plantings, strawberry seedings or pumpkin picking.

Said one of my Facebook friends, "I’ll believe it when I see it!"

That’s as good as a double-dog-dare, so I must, I must, I must commit to quit!

I’ve told my friends to quit sending me FarmTown gifts so that I’m not tempted to sign in, accept gifts and plant seeds just "one more time!"

Just to show how much they listen, I’ve received three fuel tanks in the last 24 hours. Oh, I know they’re trying to tempt me, but I’m not taking the bait!

After seven months, I’d made it to Level 41 in FarmTown … midway through the rank of Absolute Farmer. I don’t quite know what that means, but it’s a higher rank than virtuoso, which I didn’t think was a very good name for a farmer anyway.

I’ve tried several times to quit farming this year, but then the makers of FarmTown added goats and, well, I just had to have some. I almost quit a while later, but then they added Halloween decorations. The third time, it was the addition of a pretty red combine that I just had to have parked on my farm.

Then it was patches of snow, wrapped gifts, snow-covered pine trees and poinsettia plants. Pretty soon I had so much stuff on my virtual farm that when I tried to do anything, a little window popped up on my computer that said Low Virtual Memory. And then there were the computer crashes.

Enough! Enough, I say. It came to the point that farming wasn’t fun anymore. It was frustrating, it was time-consuming and I never accomplished anything. It’s not like being able to finish a good book or complete a stitching project. I was racking up coins that I couldn’t spend because my farm was already full of stuff, and I was throwing away hours of time that could have been spent more productively.

Now that I’ve shared my New Year’s resolution, I must stick to it. My Facebook friends are watching!

I got a brand new combine harvester…

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First of all, my apologies to anyone who may have clicked on the link in yesterday’s blog and listened to The Wurzels sing, only to have the catchy tune play over … and over … and over in your head all day long. I garnered just a bit of criticism from a few of my fellow Daily Globe cohorts after we viewed it on the central newsroom computer.

"I got a brand new combine harvester
An’ I’ll give you the key
Come on now let’s get together
In perfect harmony
I got twenty acres
An’ you got forty-three
Now I got a brand new combine harvester
An’ I’ll give you the key…"

At one point during the afternoon, a certain co-worker buzzed the intercom at my desk to sing me the top line of the song in his best UK accent. Hey, you have to have a little fun sometimes, right? The newsroom can be a stressful place.

I don’t think the song is annoying at all … it’s not like "Don’t Worry, Be Happy." That one makes me cringe.

I watched The Wurzels music video about half a dozen times last night before deciding to post the link on my blog for all of you to hear. I still can’t watch the video without giggling.

Thanks to a skillful techie, I recieved the audio file via e-mail late this afternoon. Then I had to find the instruction book to figure out how to load it onto my MP3 player at home tonight. Next time I go walking, my MP3 shuffle will surprise me with "Combine Harvester" somewhere along the route … it’s so exciting!

A certain country music radio DJ called me one "Hick Chick" on my Facebook page Wednesday morning after seeing the blog. I would tend to disagree with that … I don’t drive a beat-up pick-up truck, I don’t drink beer on Friday nights and I downright refuse to dance the polka!

You been FarmTown farmin’ long?

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When someone asked me recently if I was still farmin’, I knew that he was keeping tabs on my FarmTown farm through Facebook.

“Yes, unfortunately!” I said with a roll of my eyes. How long ago was it that I admitted my addiction and vowed to quit?

I appreciate the e-mails from fellow FarmTown addicts, hailing from who knows where, who have stumbled upon my blog. Apparently one FarmTown addict found it and forwarded the link onto loads of other FarmTown fanatics. I’m now getting thank-you e-mails and invitations to visit other farms. It’s all just a little too much fun!

So much fun that my FarmTown status is now “Extraordinary Farmer.” Gee, and I didn’t even have to grind corn for the cattle, milk the goats or shear the sheep! Oh, I do remember those days on the farm … the good, the bad and the ugly.

I haven’t posted a photo of my FarmTown Farm, “The Back Forty,” for a while, so here is a new picture showing some of the work I did last Saturday.

A river now runs through my goat yard, providing a water source for my milking herd. (It looks like all the goats have piled up on the bridge.)

I’m still waiting for the makers to come out with tractors though … specifically red tractors.

I’ve been involved in a friendly Facebook banter with a certain Iowa farm boy about green versus red. He posted a few words to “John Deere Green” on his status, to which I promptly found the lyrics to “International Harvester” and sent them right back to him.

I think we are going to have to call a truce though … especially since he recommended I check out this YouTube clip of The Wurzels singing “Combine Harvester.” It’s definitely an entertaining must-see!

I appreciated a good laugh, especially after my water heater debacle Monday night, but what was that green thing in the background Iowa farm boy? Just one more little dig at my preference for red!

What I really want to know is how can I get this great tune uploaded to my MP3 player? I think it would offer a nice change of pace between my Chesney, Paisley and McGraw faves … I might even want to start skipping around the lake!