Facebook is for desperate lonely people who need to be part of a group to feel important. Most of the losers I know spend countless hours on Mob Wars and Vampire Wars or guessing countries by shape.

Facebook is the new MySpace, it is a breeding ground for unimportant human trash.

Yet it's surprisingly good to organise parties/gatherings.

In moderation it can be useful. As with most of the Internet, use it all the time and you turn in to a twat.

you sound remarkably like someone who's been jilted by someone on facebook ...

you're describing a subsection of facebook ... not the whole. kind of like me saying: "betanews, is for stuck-up, verbose, know-it-alls who've never talked to a girl."

And it's been fantastic for a friend of mine currently dealing with a medical crisis -- she can keep in touch with her very large circle of friends and well-wishers (and all of us can coordinate visits and food deliveries and such) with much less stress than would otherwise be possible under the circumstances.

I think what we're saying here is that it is, like most online spaces, precisely what you make of it.

That is one of the best reasons I have ever heard of for using Facebook. For most people, it's simply a time vampire to waste their entire work day on.

"you sound remarkably like someone who's been jilted by someone on facebook ..."

You might think so but no....

I don't belong to any social networking sites or Classmates. I prefer to stay off the grid so to speak.

Employers and government agencies can find out all they need to know about you from sites like these. The next time you are passed over for a job, you may want to delete your Obama or George Bush rant or reconsider posting all of the details of your life for everyone to see.

You people are crazy to put all that personal info out there.

Both of my business websites only have an XML contact page and don't contain my name or a contact phone number. I had to meet with two agents about security clearance on a project I was subcontracted for, they were astounded at how much they couldn't find out about me ahead of time.

Grade School, high school, and some old medical records, that's it. They didn't even find the websites I own as they are under a DBA name of a ghost company that is a subsidiary of my LLC.

"They didn't even find the websites I own as they are under a DBA name of a ghost company that is a subsidiary of my LLC"

Did they make you take off the tinfoil hat first?

You see, before telling everyone how stupid they are for using these sites, why don't we first take a look at how negatively it's affected their lives, hmmm?

Oh, wait...it hasn't, but for a small minority of complete morons, of course.

As with anything, people can be stupid. The majority of users (and there's a lot of them) are doing well. They are able to get good jobs, go out in public, and socialize places other than anonymous Internet Forums.

Or, you could be a member of all the social networking sites and provide misinformation. It seems a large leap to assume that everyone who uses facebook is 1) who they say they are and using real info, and 2) putting "everything" out there for people to read. Many of the people I know have a profile that contains only basic information, which often times is only a nickname and not their 'real' name. Similar to what others have said, it is used only for events and planning with little to no blogging or wall writing.

I know kids that have been suspended from school and people that have lost their jobs because of MySpace and Facebook. I also know someone who has lost a million dollar plus project because the client discovered his Facebook page and his anti liberal Obama rants.

A million dollars lost because of his Facebook page, yes, people are retarded. The client even told him that's why he lost the project. I know because I was subcontracted for this job.

It's not about tin foil hats PC, it's about leaving no trail for people to discover your stupidity. My idiot friend has been denied three jobs because a simple search for his first and last name on Google brings up his Classmates page that clearly shows he was held back two years in grade school and never graduated high school although his embellished resume reads different.

I love how all of you think "No one would ever think of looking up my personal profiles". If you truly knew what the Patriot Act was all about, you would think twice. Every move you make, every search query you submit and every website you have visited is stored somewhere. Did you know your Tivo records every single button press you make on your remote and reports back to thier central server? Look it up.

Or you could go blindly through life like the dumb asses you are.

I hate conspiracy theorists but people who think nobody is watching are even worse.

"know kids that have been suspended from school and people that have lost their jobs because of MySpace and Facebook. I also know someone who has lost a million dollar plus project because the client discovered his Facebook page and his anti liberal Obama rants."

"My idiot friend... denied .. jobs because a simple search ... clearly shows he was held back two years in grade school and never graduated high school ... resume reads different."

*laughing*

Wow.

Do you purposefully surround yourself with the criminally stupid, or is it just amazing coincidence?

A few horror stories from idiots (and I am being kind here) means *anyone* who uses the service is an incompetent moron?

You don't think the majority of folks could actually *not* be quite that astonishing level of "stupid"?

Do you honestly think, that in the great scheme of things, the "government" or "tivo", or the folks behind the "Patriot Act" give two s***s about *you*? ...or nearly anyone else on Facebook?

I hate to break it to you, but it is possible to take part in "Life" and socialize while *not* being a complete and total ****ing retards like your friends. :)

PC,

I love how you try to sound educated.

As usual. you pissed the point entirely. Even something as stupid as Tivo keeps track of everything you watch, every commercial you skip, every hour of the day. They then sell your habits to the highest bidder.

There is something wrong with people who need to broadcast all of their tastes in music, religious beliefs, political views and let the world see their family photos. You are obviously one of many nameless sheep who does their boring 9-5 job, spewing your hostility at the world.

Just face the fact you are nothing and live with it. Go on about your day and think nobody cares about what you post on your Twitter page, until they do.

OK, genius...let me spell it out for ya...since you've obviously no clue what you are talking about:

1.) I don't own a Tivo and couldn't care less.

2.) Facebook allows you to set your pages to private (friends only), local network only, or public. The only people who see your "tastes in music, religious beliefs, political views and let the world see their family photos." are the people you *want* to see them.

"You are obviously one of many nameless sheep who does their boring 9-5 job, spewing your hostility at the world."

My hostility? I am defending a service being badmouthed by someone who's never even used it, much less knows a damned thing about it. I'm spewing facts...you're spewing ignorant BS. Which is better?

"Just face the fact you are nothing and live with it. Go on about your day and think nobody cares about what you post on your Twitter page, until they do."

Wow....you think you know I have a twitter page? Well, not a shock...you think you "know" how services you've never seen work.

It always amazes me how little it takes for you people to "know" things around here.

*laughing*

Whether I "sound intelligent" or not doesn't matter. At least I speak from experience, having *used* the products I speak about. What's your excuse?

Maybe someone should explain the term "squatter" to Facebook.

Precisely. Even the $2 bar the TechCrunch commenter suggested would be better than nothing, sheesh.