Can I boycott Facebook for 24 hours?

With Social Networking sites such as Bebo, Myspace, Twitter and Facebook becoming such a large part of everybody's everyday life, being online and being connected is becoming a new type of addiction.

If anyone was to ask me if I am addicted to anything, I would probably have to say my main addiction is being online, using social networking site Facebook...

I am sure that I am not the only one who uses Facebook and other social networking sites many times through the day.
(I don't even know how much a person has to use a site such as Facebook before it becomes excessive! Although whatever that figure is, I am quite possibly in that percentage...)

Which is why I decided that for 24 hours, I would completely boycott the use of Facebook. I wouldn't log on, update my status, upload any photos or check other "friends" online content. I would make a note of how I coped through the day.


I call this experiment: ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORKING.


8:27 AM
Normally when I get up, the first thing I do is grab my iPod, head into the toilet and have a quick blast of Facebook whilst I do my morning business...
This morning however, apart from switching the alarm clock off (several times I must add - drat that "snooze" option!) I have only used my iPod to record my thoughts for transcribing later. For once my iPod hasn't been anywhere NEAR Facebook!

I must admit, I have thought about logging on since I have got up though... I have a feeling the next point that I will want to log on will be after the school run... We shall see!

Luckily this morning, I have quite a few "distractions" that will keep me offline and away from Facebook... (It's called LIFE!)

My Facebook app had to go!

8:38 AM
I was scrolling through all the apps installed on my iPod, and I came across the Facebook app icon. The icon had changed to inform me that I had 2 notifications. I had an overwhelming urge to click to see what they were! In order to kerb my urgeto click on the app, I have had to delete the app to prevent me from accessing Facebook from my iPod!

Is this cheating? Possibly. I don't know!

It will certainly be easier to refrain myself if I don't have access to Facebook. However, I do know that any time I am in a wi-fi area I could always download the app again!

It's amazing how much of an urge you get when you know you have notifications...

However, the notifications could be anything - even something as pointless as somebody clicking "Like" on a photo I have uploaded or a status I have written; or somebody "poking" me... In which case, the notifications don't really mean anything.
On the flip side the notifications could be comment, in which case by refraining from checking I am not receiving the comments... (I must admit I am starting to ponder what they are, now that I'm thinking about it!)

However, they can wait until tomorrow!

8:50 AM
On the way to school, and Dom has just made a comment that my camo trousers matches my jacket... At that moment, I thought it was funny, and my immediate reaction was to take a photo on my mobile phone and upload it to Facebook!

Nope! Not today!! :)

9:10 AM
By now I would have normally logged into Facebook at least once. However, because today I am NOT logging on, I have decided to try and focus my thoughts, energy and mind into doing other stuff... So far I have managed to clean up the dog mess in the garden and put the bins out. I think I will get started on gutting the kitchen after I get Makayla up and fed!

10:01 AM
Well, so far so good. I've managed to get through about 2 hours of my day without logging onto Facebook! It's starting to get trickier now, because I am getting a feeling that I should have logged on by now, checked in, updated my status, etc.

Already, I have had a few thoughts that I would have shared as a status on Facebook (for example, as I was hanging up the washing, I noticed that it was all inside out. I thought about posting a silly status about trolls that live inside the washing machine and turn clothes inside out...) However I couldn't do as I am not ON Facebook today!

10:09 AM

Pushchair for sale: £40!

As I have been pottering away this morning, I have ben thinking about this blog. I have thought about what it means to be ANTI-social networking for 24 to some people. It occurred to me how ironic it is going to be when I post a link to this blog ON Facebook about AVOIDING Facebook!

I have also wondered about how people use Facebook nowadays... As an example, we are trying to sell a push chair, (£40 if you are interested, btw!) and my girlfriend Jan has been using Facebook to try and advertise it. She received a message last week from one person who wanted to buy it. Since then, for about 10 days it doesn't appear as if they have been on Facebook...

I wonder if the avoidence has been through choice or lack of availability; I also wonder how people react when they find they can't access their social networking sites.

If you have any thoughts on this subject, please leave your comments below!

11:09 AM
I have just sat and went through my internet history to document my job search... Obviously on my history there are records of various different pages on Facebook I have clicked on. As my rule states that I am not allowed to go on Facebook at ALL, I had to skip over them and avoid them!

My girlfriend Jan and I were talking about a bus crash we had heard about this morning. She had a Facebook page loaded up - it was a news report about the bus crash posted on the Council's own Facebook wall - which she asked me to read... I admit I read it over her shoulder, sure! BUT I don't count that as USING Facebook!

My reasoning is that I could have read the news report from any source - any newspaper website, council website, news websites etc... I didn't actually INTERACT with Facebook directly, and this is why I dismiss this as a breach of my own rules!

12:08 PM
I have managed to reach lunch time without logging on to or checking Facebook! I can't say it's been that difficult to be honest, however I have been quite busy this morning.
Nobody yet knows of my experiment yet, but they will do. The interesting thing will be tomorrow - when I'm back on Facebook - to see how many people realise that I haven't logged in for a full 24 hours... Should be interesting!

13:42 PM
Just finished my meeting with my job coach and I am heading home now. So far I haven't felt much of an urge to log onto Facebook, however I have a funny feeling that now is going to be the point I find it most difficult - in the hour or so between getting home and getting the kids from school!

I automatically typed in facebook.com...

14:30 PM
When I got home, I had to email my CV over to my job coach. I logged onto my computer to do so, and the first thing I did when I launched my internet browser is start automatically typing "Facebook.com"...

It is kind of worrying that your internet history and sites you visit becomes automatic...

After I corrected myself and loged into my email and there is a large advert to connect your services to Facebook, Myspace and LinkedIn... It just goes to show that even huge corporations such as Microsoft actively encourage social networking - encourage the addiction! But so far, I've refrained! :D

Encouraging online addiction seems good for business!

15:09 PM
I've still managed to stay clear of social networking sites! I have, however, found that today I've been a lot more active doing other things rather than sitting about on a computer all day, so I don't know if it's a fair test or not.

I was quite interested to see that there was an article on MSN about modern addictions! I will read through it and offer my views!

15:56 PM
I've been reading the article on MSN about modern addictions. The first part of the article is about "Internet Addiction Disorder" which is now a recognised disorder. The symptoms include "forgetting to eat or sleep, withdrawal, fatigue, irritability and a feeling of isolation from society".
From what I have read previously on various dirorders, these symptoms sound similar to depression...?

Clearly, if people are spending far too much time online, surfing the internet and being connected to social networking sites, then I think there could easily be a link between internet addiction and depression - which is quite worrying really!
:s

16:03 PM
I was reading the article I discovered on MSN about modern addictions when Jan asked me if I was on Facebook so she could send me a link to something posted on Facebook... When I said I wasn't, she called me over to read a post...
(The post was an urban legend warning style message, the type that is shared because although it is probably a hoax, if anybody is in the situation described they know what to do to survive).

It occured to me that Facebook is obviously a perfect platform to spread this type of information. People can read it and then share the information very quickly with others.

I don't think sites such as Facebook are particularly bad, unless they are abused and used for malicious purposes.

19:25 PM
I have filled up my day today with activities that have taken me away from the computer. We went out for a drive, and I wouldn't have had much of an opportunity to log into Facebook anyway.
Saying that, I know that now I face the ultimate test - the evening - as I tend to sit for hours online once the kids are in bed.

I tend to sit on my computer during the evenings.

I have decided that instead of going on my computer, I am going to do something different! I feel quite positive already, and I feel that my day without Facebook has went quite well!

19:52 PM
We have just got the kids down to bed. My usual routine from this point tends to involve sitting down and logging on to Facebook... Which is not what I am going to do tonight - I am going to have to find other things to occupy myself!

(I will probably end up playing computer games or something). I am starting to wonder if substituting social networking for similar activities - browsing the internet or playing computer games - if there is any real difference?

What are your views on this? Leave your comments below!

20:17 PM
My girlfriend Jan has just found a photograph of her 13 year old neice on Facebook. The photo features her neice and has been tagged, along with her new boyfriend.
Jan's neice hasn't mentioned anything about having a boyfriend - the only reason we know about it is due to the tagged photo on Facebook.
It is slightly worrying that simply by tagging somebody - who may not even realise they have been tagged - in a photograph, it can allow that person's contacts to see the photo and potentially open a big can of worms!

I am aware that Facebook has recently reviewed their tagging policy, offering better privacy options and security. However it is possible that many users of Facebook are not offay enough with the technology (or perhaps too young to understand what the privacy options are), and they don't realise that anybody can "tag" a photograph featuring them (be it good, bad or indifferent).

As far as ME looking on Facebook is concerned, I still have not used it at all... Yes, I have had passing glances at content that Jan has shown me, however I have not used Facebook (and don't intend to use it) until my 24 hours are up!

21:09 PM
After waking up for a bottle and a clean nappy, Makayla woke up and walked into the bathroom, banged on the bath and started saying "Dirty! Dirty!".
It was a really cute and funny moment, the sort of event that would normally trigger me to pick up my iPod and either take a photo, record a video or post a comment on Facebook...

But I didn't! :D

22:38 PM
I've been distracting myself for pretty much the entire evening. I've kept clear of my computer and watched TV instead. I've had a few urges to update my status in response to some of the programmes I've seen (such as An Idiot Abroad).


I don't feel like these urges have been "addiction level", where I must log on to Facebook to satisfy them. I can only describe the feeling like years after you quit smoking and occasionally you have a mild craving... If you wait ten minutes then the craving usually goes away, or you can find other things to occupy your mind...

Is Facebook as addictive as smoking?

I think I am about an hour or so away from going to bed, and that staying away from Facebook for 24 hours is going to be possible!

01:00 AM
I've just watched a film, and now I am on my way to bed. I know that I won't be logging on to Facebook until the morning now, after my 24 hours are up!

SUMMARY:

Despite my initial thoughts about how difficult it would be, this experiment wasn't particularly difficult to accomplish - I have managed to last a full 24 hours without logging into Facebook despite feeling the occasional desire to update my status a few times throughout the day.

One thing this experiment has made me realise is how much I actually think about Facebook and other social networking sites, even if I don't actively use them.

I have also discovered that funny or humourous moments tend to be my trigger for online connectivity - if I think something is funny, witty or interesting I feel the need to share it with others.

Perhaps I need to learn to just enjoy the moment within myself, and that just because I find a moment, a thought or a visual element stimulating, others will feel the same way.

As I commented earlier in the blog, I wondered how much of an impact I make to others with regards to social networking.

I mentioned the fact that I hadn't used Facebook for 24 hours to Jan and her first reaction was to call me a liar! The woman I live with didn't even realise that I hadn't logged on all day!

I also decided to ask who realised I hadn't logged on... The response almost speaks for itself!

This is the reaction I got after boycotting Facebook for 24 hours...

The following day, even after my self imposed ban was lifted, I have not been as active on Facebook as I would normally have been. I haven't really felt the urge I did before I spent 24 hours without it.

One question I asked myself after returning was "What did I miss by avoiding Facebook for 24 hours?"

The real answer: Hmm... So, I didn't play on a couple of games that require Facebook, or respond to random and fairly irrelevant comments... So what?! Life goes on!

I didn't even miss playing BackYard Monsters!

I don't actually feel that I have missed out by being ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORKING rather than SOCIAL NETWORKING.

I do feel that I should call my parents this weekend though! :D

- TheLittlerich

How can you improve your chances of getting a job?

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I am currently unemployed, have been for a while, and am trying to get back into work...
I know that I am not alone in my quest for a new job - there are ever increasing unemployment figures provided by the government shows more and more people are out of work.

I thought that I would share some of my job-search techniques and suggestions with you. 
Please share your suggestions in the comment box below of anything else you are doing or suggest doing to try and get a job!

Asking in shops

Most of the time a shop will display any vacancies on their window or door, and you can ask inside for an application form. 
Even if they are not displaying a vacancy, it is always an idea to ask anyway. They may be about to start a recruitment drive, and by showing initiative you could be ahead of the game.

If you are asking in shops, it's always a good idea to have copies of your CV with you, which you can leave with them.

Recruitment / temping agencies

Agency work can be a good approach if you are unsure as to where you want to work, as you tend to get various assignments in different companies. 
Although this gives you a chance to work for different companies, get lots of various experience and help to improve your CV, it can be a very hit or miss approach to gaining solid employment.
You may end up working long term contracts or short term, and occasionally the agency can't find work for you.
I have also found that some recruitment agencies are all too happy to enroll you and add your details to their list but fail to provide you with any work at all.

Job centre

If you are claiming benefits whilst unemployed, the chances are you will need to visit the job centre every fortnight to sign on. Whilst there, it's always worth taking some time and looking through the job points for any suitable jobs. You can print the details out and apply for them when you have the chance.

Asking friends and family

If you have friends or family who have a job, ask them to listen out and inform you of any vacancies in their work place. 
Not only does it show to them you are really trying to find a job, you will probably earn their respect and support more than by not asking them.

I would advise that if they recommend you to their employer, make sure you present yourself well at any interviews and work hard if you get the job. Remember: your performance will reflect on the friend or family member who recommended you.

I would also suggest that even if the job is completely unsuitable, remember to show appreciation for their help.

Online job search

There are literally millions of online job search websites available nowadays that allow you to look for vacancies by whatever criteria you wish to use.
You can usually search by location, job category, distance, salary or other options to find jobs that are suitable and relevant to you.
Many job sites now offer the option to register with them and upload your CV, and they will match your skills and requirements with jobs advertised.

Some social networking sites are also being used to post local area job vacancies. As an example, Darlington jobs are posted on the Darlington area Job vacancies page on Facebook. (You will need to have a facebook account to use this page).

Personally I find this can be a bit hit or miss, as some of the jobs sent to you are only slightly related to ones you have shown an interest in. You also tend to receive a lot of emails from each job search site you may not be interested in.

Contacting former work colleagues

If you still have a good connection to people you have previously worked for, it might be worth asking them to keep you informed of any vacancies available. 
This option always has certain considerations to take into mind: Why are you not working for that company any more?
If you quit and left on good terms or were made redundant for example, you may be able to get another job at your previous company.
The benefits are you already know the people who work there, you know what the job involves and what the company does.
(Obviously, if you have been fired from a previous job for negative reasons, it might be unwise to try and apply for another job there).

Prospective emailing companies in your industry

Even if no jobs have been advertised, it can be worthwhile writing a covering letter and emailing it with a CV to companies that are in the industry you are trying to get a job in.

Although you are likely to receive a fair amount of replies telling you there are no vacancies, some companies will keep your details on their records and contact you should a vacancy become available.

Sometimes however, this approach really pays off. I have recently tried this approach, and sent my CV to somebody who wasn't thinking about taking on anybody until they received my CV and covering letter. This led on to a discussion with him about a vacancy he hadn't thought about until he received my email! As soon as he is ready to take me on, I have the job!

Write a blog about yourself and email it to companies.

If you feel you have an interesting story about your career path, you might be inclined to write about it. By writing it as an article or blog, you can be more personal about it, and have the chance to explain what you did in a way that exposes more of your personality to potential employers than a simple covering letter and CV can.
You can then include the link to your article / blog if it seems appropriate in a covering letter to any potential employers.
Although I suggest making the article / blog more personal to yourself, remember to keep it professional too. If your article includes bad spelling, grammar and punctuation you are more likely to put off any potential employers.

As an example of this, read my blog: A brief history of Richard M Stewart.

Approaching people in the street.

If you walk about during a busy time of day (such as during rush hour or lunch time), you might be able to spot people who you can approach and ask if the company they work for has any vacancies. 
Depending on who you approach, they may be able to either give you a business card to contact the company they work for, or possibly even take your CV into their work and put it forward for you.

The good thing about this approach is if you are looking for a job in a certain location you have a high chance of meeting people who work for businesses in that area.

The downside of course is that by giving your CV to a complete stranger. They may not put it forward for you, and in worst cases may use your personal details for fraud. I will admit I have never tried this approach.

Post an advert in local publications or notice boards.

If you are looking for a job within a certain area, you could always post an advert on a notice board or local publications.
Most news agents and supermarkets have an area in which they place customer adverts. It might be worth posting a looking for work advert in these places.

Set up a website about yourself.

Even if you are not particularly technical, you can easily create a website about yourself for the purposes of searching for a job.
Many web hosting companies offer a free package that will allow you to have a fairly simple but interesting website created using templates they provide.
If you create a website, however, make sure you do not post any personal details such as address or bank details. A telephone / mobile number is a possibility, but take into account people may look at your website 24 hours a day and contact you at all hours. I would recommend supplying an email address for people to contacting you and ask for further information.

Create a video about yourself and post it online.

With sites such as Youtube becoming far more popular, you could use video to sell yourself.
If you are looking for performance related jobs; video production work, dance related jobs or perhaps unusual artistic jobs (a circus performer perhaps?!) perhaps a video of you showing your skills would be relevant to send to potential employers.

This list is by no means everything you can do when searching for a job. If you have any other ideas you feel I have missed, please leave your comments below!

- TheLittlerich

Why do large companies forget customer service?

Ring Ring... Ring Ring!

I could already guess who to expect, but I picked up the receiver anyway. "Hello?"

"This is a pre-recorded message. Do NOT hang up!"

(The telephone receiver is already back in the cradle).

Even though the call was probably quite important, if the company calling me up (10 times throughout the day, I should add!) can't even be bothered to get a REAL person to call me then I am not going to listen to some pre-recorded message!

- This is an example of one way I think a company shows a complete lack of customer service!

Image: Graur Razvan Ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have read a good deal of blogs and articles about starting up and running a small business. Most of the share the same conclusion: Customer service is very important to keeping your business running.

Sadly though, it appears that bad customer service is becoming far more regular. It also appears to me that the larger a company becomes, the less effort is spent on providing good customer service for their customers.

With a huge emphasis on sales and marketing to attract new customers, businesses tend to forget how to keep their existing ones happy.

So my question is how can large businesses afford to upset so many of their customers and yet stay in business?

The simple answer is larger businesses have enough new customers constantly coming through their door to keep them ticking over. Once customers have paid their upfront installments, the business can treat the customer how it likes.

As soon as you have signed a deal with them, they have the opportunity to let you down, and somehow make sure that their failings are your fault!

If you speak to anybody about companies they have dealt with, chances are they will have a story about at least one business that has really let them down... (I certainly have!)
If a business really lets you down, the chances are you would highly recommend that everyone else avoids them!

Do you have any companies you would avoid at all costs? I know you do! Leave your comments below.

- TheLittlerich