Monday, December 5, 2011

The Freaky and Weird Part about Facebook

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Today’s Blog Post


The Freaky and Weird Part about Facebook

You know as well as I know that you must keep your passwords to yourself. It is not good to give it out to just anyone. And as far as the Hackers are concerned, you really need to protect yourself. Don’t answer weird emails and give personal information to people or companies that you don’t know.

One of our daughters innocently filled out some information on a Request Email to confirm the account that she used and Bingo – it was compromised. The Hacker had disguised himself as an official of the Account. He or she hacked into their account and the Email Program as well as the Facebook program were gonzo. The idiot that took over the used her account to get to her friends to spread more Junk… and maybe get more people’s information.

So you really need to protect your passwords.

But what happens when you are the only one that knows what your password is? You don’t share it with anyone… including your parents… or your children… or your spouse? Or what happens if your spouse doesn’t have any computer smarts and is frightened of what this horrific Internet is all about?

This morning I came across a problem that is kind of difficult to solve. I don’t think there is an answer to this problem. Because of Privacy Rules and Laws nothing can be done about this.

One year ago plus a few days from now… Lisa died. Her battle with cancer was finished.

Lisa is someone that my wife and I tried to help over the years wherever we could. We had given her rides around town when she needed it. We had taken her to church with us for many months. I had listened to her many stories of pain. We had first come in contact with each other when her boyfriend, who I had known long ago, introduced her to me. When that relationship went bad, she called me for help in dealing with the former boyfriend’s attitude.

Lisa was married and doing fairly well from what we had witnessed. Her kids were getting along as well. But our contact with Lisa was diminished as she moved on to get help from another minister and church.

Lisa had sent me a Facebook friend request and we again renewed a slim friendship with her.

That is a little of the background to what I tell you next…

On Facebook your friends can be notified when your birthday comes up. And on your birthday a note is sent to all your friends if you have shared that info. Lisa being the open kind of girl she was, shared her birthday. And on her birthday all her friends get a note to wish Lisa a Happy Birthday.

Today I received that kind of notice. But Lisa is dead.

I clicked on to her Facebook Page and sure enough it was still there. She was alive in the Facebook people’s mind’s eye… and still responding to messages.

I noticed that a friend of hers had sent a birthday card today as well. That is a whole lot weird!

As I sat looking at Lisa’s page again I realized that nothing can be done.

48 of the people listed as her friends will all get her Happy Birthday notice. Even her former boyfriend is listed on her friend’s list. He is married to someone else now. Sheesh! How tacky can some things get?

I can “unfriend” Lisa… for the non-Facebookie People that I know… I can block any posts from Lisa or about Lisa. But that seems a little weird too, How do you Block dead people?

I have thought about this a lot now that I am approaching that wonderful exit time in the next few days, months or years (years preferably). I am an active user of Facebook as well with over 1000 friends. I post lots of photos and have many albums up for all my friends to see.

If and when I die my passwords are going with me. And every year that my birthday comes up… or the celebration of some aspect of my life appears on my albums… my friends can all look in on me. That can be funny – now… but later maybe not so funny for my wife, my kids and grandkids…

Now I ask you… how many of your facebook friends are dead? Maybe that is why they don’t respond to your requests for Farmville Help and all the other fun stuff on this Program? HMMM?

Facebook can be weird… really, really weird!

BTW - this is the Lisa that I knew...
the above photo was selected from her Facebook page...


~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/

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