Despite the evil, I’m sticking with Facebook by Elizabeth Licata

This morning’s share

After a brief flurry of “I’m leaving” posts, the talk about Facebook’s crimes has died away from my feed. Everything seems back to normal (whatever that is). It’s not surprising, because for those who have made this network part of their daily routine and would like to continue the interaction, good substitutes are really not there. The closest, I suppose, is Twitter, but I like the long talk. Then there is Instagram (owned by FB), which is great for sharing images. Neither really comes close to offering similar, extended interaction. I suppose Instagram could, but it doesn’t, at least not on my feed.

Though I don’t love it for random gardening questions, where expertise is called for, there are plenty of reasons for gardeners to stay on FB. Here are some of mine:

The Garden Professors
A brief scroll this am turns up interesting discussions on raised beds, vermicomposting, bulb soaking and more. And it’s fun (though not for the hosts, I suppose) to see people get in an uproar about the unproven, anecdotal garden remedies that get debunked here.

Garden Bloggers Fling
FB is command central for this, with various groups for the admins, organizers, and attendees of this yearly event. A lot of important information is exchanged.

Buffalo Garden Talk
This is a recent start-up, but so far is has produced a couple houseplant exchanges and a good clearing house for local events.

The Business of Garden Writing
This group is great for professional stuff,  general gripe-sharing and advice, and, sometimes, interesting arguments, although that seems to have died down. It’s also the group that has had the most discussion about the problems with FB. “Proceed with caution” seems to be the conclusion for most.

Of course, there have always been issues with Facebook, particularly with groups. The Garden Walk Buffalo group had to be abandoned; it became choked with spam and uselessness. Now there is just the official page.

I’m with those who have always assumed whatever there was to be known about me has long been out there. And anyone searching for it is welcome to it! I worry much more about regular old financial theft.

In any case, FB is still an essential part of my professional life, both for my day job and my independent projects. How about you? Proceeding with caution or bailing out?

Despite the evil, I’m sticking with Facebook originally appeared on Garden Rant on April 3, 2018.

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