A Face-book lift

Next to learning how to e-mail (with attachment) and text, getting into Facebook (FB) was one of the most serious challenges I faced as an adult. My sister Mae, who is technology savvy, opened my account for me, added a crummy picture of mine and a list of people I could “friend.” Today, a few years after I made that “bold” move, I check FB even before I brush my teeth in the morning.

Facebook began in my life as a site to connect with friends, current and long-lost. Then it became a site to learn the latest buzz, then it graduated to becoming a source of genuine information. Always, it has been a  forum to carry on conversations with friends and acquaintances within the same FB circle.

In the past, to be caught surfing FB during office hours was like being caught chatting during class. Not anymore (in my line of work, at least). I’ve kept abreast with the latest on this planet on FB (am still not as savvy with Twitter), and any member of my team could say the same thing.

With over a billion users (there are a few still resisting its allure, like my husband Ed), some active, some “stalkers,” FB is here to stay despite security risks inherent in social media.

With smart phones, Wi-Fi and LTE, you could do FB anytime, anywhere. If there’s anything that can keep this planet from being lonely, it’s FB.

So here are some things I’ve learned from FB:

1. Lucky are you if you have FB friends who share more than just what they had for lunch in their posts.

Being one who is constantly motivated by truths that seem more inspiring when I see them on a post in FB, I like reading “pep talk” posts. Sometimes, the posts seem to be talking directly to you, and am sure a lot of you feel the same way. To uplift the mood of someone, encourage him, lift him from the dumps or humor him is better than gossiping about him. Hooray for those who use their posts to do this. Samples:

(Reposted from Ria Carrion-Domingo)

(Reposted from Paz Weigand)

(Reposted from Dennis Garcia)

(Reposted from Dennis Garcia)

“I learned something new today and it’s about decision-making: Never make decisions when you’re hungry, angry, lonely or tired. When you’re experiencing those things, think of the first letters of those words and combine them into a word — HALT. Yes, the best thing to do is to halt — stop — and think things over. You will avoid making emotional decisions that you will only regret later on.”

(Reposted from Junep Ocampo)

2. In life, there will be some people who will mislead you, deliberately or not, or try to trip you. So beware the banana peels thrown your way. How many times has the revered Nelson Mandela been “killed” on FB, with so many actually posting their condolences because they believed the news was genuine, coming from a source that was reliable. After posts that he died after a failed stunt spread like wildfire, actor Jackie Chan issued this statement: “Rest assured that when I die, I will announce it.”

And how many rejoiced after FB netizens posted that Pinoys no longer needed visas to travel to Japan if they were staying for less than 15 days? So always, always, a newspaper is your best bet for news in print because there are checks and balances before the information is passed on to you.

I’ve also strongly reacted to posts about controversial issues, only to be left red-faced when the one who posted them would comment (after my comment) that the article was “fake” or a “parody.” Like, say, a piece, well-written at that, announcing that the hit series My Husband’s Lover will be changed to “My Father’s Lover,” “father” referring to a man of the cloth. Beware the electricians on FB, you can get singed (“kuryente”)!

3. Know which time is prime time on FB if you want to get your word across to reach a wide audience. PeopleAsia associate editor Jose Paolo dela Cruz tells me the best time to post is at 10 a.m., because people by then have settled down in their offices, have finished their basic chores at home and are ready to tune in to FB.

4. People love weekends, as evidenced by their posts and their pictures. Paolo also observes that everyone turns philosophical on a Saturday. Those who want to preach should use this day to step into their pulpit, but be warned that many do get turned off by too many religious quotes, especially those that say, “like” if you believe in Jesus and “ignore” if you believe in the devil.

5. People vent their anger and frustration during weekdays, and if they do it on FB, they usually do through a sentence that ends in a question mark. “Why can’t some people mind their own business?” Fighting on FB is distasteful — it’s more than just airing your dirty linen in public. More like displaying your soiled bed sheets.

6. People on FB have the happiest birthdays, because the world greets you. With FB, greetings have become priceless and price-less. They say that on holidays like Christmas and New Year, there is a dip in text greetings because felicitations through FB and Twitter are free of charge. And FB has made millions of dads and moms feel more special because, hey, when in the past has there been such a medium where children can pay touching tribute to their parents without buying an ad or renting a billboard?

7. When you have insomnia, you won’t feel miserable because someone, somewhere in the globe is going to be wide awake, too, to keep you company. Misery loves company, remember (except the other person may be sipping his Java at 4 p.m. in his part of the world while you’re already hearing the cocks crow in yours)?

And when you’ve had enough of the noise on FB, you can always log off. A lesson in life — when you can’t take the ruckus around you, just log off. We all need breathers. You can always sign in again anyway.

8. Don’t show passageways, doors and windows of your dwelling when you post photos taken in your home. Someone unwelcome might find a way to your home, and he need not be Ethan Hunt.

9. Just like in FB, have privacy settings in your life. Choose your audiences. Choose your friends, but be very careful when you unfriend. A thread that has been severed is hard to put together again without a knot to show where it was once cut.

10. And finally, this one universal truth: Everyone wants to be liked.

Click “like” if you agree. (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)