Joke aside, 100% agree with your decision and good on you.
Threads and IG is going to be an easy one for me to drop, hardly do anything on IG and Threads is losing its luster and will get worse once ads start flooding in.
FB is a hard one for me to drop, to many friends I have known my whole life on there and not on any other platform sadly. But my activity on there has dropped a ton and just there to see what my friends are doing and a couple of local photographers groups.
I have been tossing around the idea of going back to Flickr to share images, just not sure I’m ready for the cost of the pro account right now. Bluesky has been ok and think it will get better, just need to find a good phot community there. I have an app called Foto that is just for sharing images, but have not used it in months and still a beta app. Maybe it’s time to start a vlog or maybe a full on website just to share my stuff.
Still hope to see your amazing images here and in the MegaPixel Road newsletter, always look forward to what you share. Don’t be a total stranger.
Posted this comment on your YT video, but it’s the best I have right now, 50 year old brain is fried right now.
Dude, my brain is fried too! Lol! And yeah, all this is hard. I won’t see anything from some of my friends… but maybe that’s for the best. I’m planning on going through all of my contacts and calling/texting as many people as I can through the week to ask if they’d like to get together just to talk. I haven’t done that in years… it’s time.
And Flickr is kinda cool. I pay for it, but I don’t really post. I’m not sure what to think - I mostly use it for GPS locations and to see how some sensors/lens combinations perform. If they could ever modernize the experience, it’d do wonders!
Thanks for always supporting me, dude. We WILL get together someday. I think 2025 is going to be a big travel year for me, so when I’m out your way, we’ll make it happen! (And of course if you’re ever near me, let me know.)
If not a meetup here, might be in your neck of the woods. If you do a workshop could be that, or I am seriously itching for a long road trip to someplace new.
What a cool content, dude! Thanks for putting this together! I’ve been fighting a lot with Meta Ration and Meta Brainrot recently. This post is music to my ears.
I can’t think how many times I wanted to deep 6 FB, especially in 2019-2020. Eventually I modified my usage by blocking those that constantly posted false info and used the service to harass other users. Then I quit responding to almost all posts. Instead I joined groups that interested me ie; photography, sailing, travel. Now I look at FB maybe once a day for 15 min to check for notices. Eventually I think the desperation that drives corporations, businesses, people to do odd and outlandish behavior (no fact checking!) will end up destroying or reducing the effectiveness of that entity.
Congrats. I UN-ZUCK'd and DE-Google'd a couple years ago and haven't looked back. Including WhatsApp and a gmail account I had forever.
I've read more than a couple articles about folks moving back to (or revisiting) their Flickr accounts. 2025 could be a good year for them. The Pro tier has useful analytics for tracking account stats, while still avoiding the "likes" trap. ;)
As well, 2025 will be the year of the 'Zine. The creative funnel leading to a tactile, paper print. Whether one starts digital or analog, a printed product at the end will be the most satisfying outcome. (Plus, selecting, pairing, and sequencing images is a wonderful practice unto itself).
Again, thanks for sharing your journey. AND your wonderful photos.
PS: I live in a small town and the businesses all use FaceBook to share their events and news. Some have websites, but they are terribly out of date. So I **may** need to make what the kids call a "spam" account, that is not connected to me or my real life.
Oh, Steve - I get all of that. We're going to have to navigate carefully in a world that still is mostly in Meta's grasp. I get it. Even Google - man... YouTube has it's own problems... but for me, youTube has never gotten me addicted. I almost never watch it, but I do post videos, and those videos have gotten me some fantastic, actual, real-life friends. It's been amazing. I ALSO agree that print is the future! Wild, right? That most photographers who are serious, and who want to live in a more "real" world will be going back to printing like you said. I think this path, talking about it and all of that is what at least part of my future is going to look like! Thanks for pitching in and all of the support. You are amazing.
I agree with you in many ways, but I think it's wrong to impose democracy on everyone. Society needs to grow up to it in a natural way. Otherwise, the society may explode and perish completely. The world today is full of such examples. And although many leaders claim that they have democracy in their country, this is a lie. But enough about politics. I, like you, enthusiastically accepted the advent of the Internet and had the same feelings as you and your students. It was a wonderful time, full of hope. But, as always, corporations messed up everything. Money, money, money...
It is a pity that this platform is also susceptible to the same disease. There are fewer and fewer places where you can chat with good people from the other side of the planet. After all, ordinary people are similar to each other in many ways. The same worries, the same joys... I'm sentimental. I'm going to hug the cat ;)
I'm looking forward to the new video!
Have a nice day!
*****
I hope that at least here there will be an opportunity to communicate with pleasant people and express my opinion with all due respect to the interlocutors.
It did?? That's crazy!! And yes, this platform could suffer the same fate, but at the very least I have my email list and we can all move somewhere else, right? And THANK YOU for the comment -you made my day!
Michelle!!!!! totally get it - nothing extreme at all. I think we are living in some of the most "cult-like" times in history.... and being trapped in an algorithm is a certain type of hell. Interesting times - but I'm so happy to hear your story!!!
Next you are going to tell me TikTok is bad.
Joke aside, 100% agree with your decision and good on you.
Threads and IG is going to be an easy one for me to drop, hardly do anything on IG and Threads is losing its luster and will get worse once ads start flooding in.
FB is a hard one for me to drop, to many friends I have known my whole life on there and not on any other platform sadly. But my activity on there has dropped a ton and just there to see what my friends are doing and a couple of local photographers groups.
I have been tossing around the idea of going back to Flickr to share images, just not sure I’m ready for the cost of the pro account right now. Bluesky has been ok and think it will get better, just need to find a good phot community there. I have an app called Foto that is just for sharing images, but have not used it in months and still a beta app. Maybe it’s time to start a vlog or maybe a full on website just to share my stuff.
Still hope to see your amazing images here and in the MegaPixel Road newsletter, always look forward to what you share. Don’t be a total stranger.
Posted this comment on your YT video, but it’s the best I have right now, 50 year old brain is fried right now.
Dude, my brain is fried too! Lol! And yeah, all this is hard. I won’t see anything from some of my friends… but maybe that’s for the best. I’m planning on going through all of my contacts and calling/texting as many people as I can through the week to ask if they’d like to get together just to talk. I haven’t done that in years… it’s time.
And Flickr is kinda cool. I pay for it, but I don’t really post. I’m not sure what to think - I mostly use it for GPS locations and to see how some sensors/lens combinations perform. If they could ever modernize the experience, it’d do wonders!
Thanks for always supporting me, dude. We WILL get together someday. I think 2025 is going to be a big travel year for me, so when I’m out your way, we’ll make it happen! (And of course if you’re ever near me, let me know.)
You rock!!!!!
If not a meetup here, might be in your neck of the woods. If you do a workshop could be that, or I am seriously itching for a long road trip to someplace new.
Hell yeah man. We'll do it and talk transformers and all kinds of crazy stuff. :) Looking forward to it!
What a cool content, dude! Thanks for putting this together! I’ve been fighting a lot with Meta Ration and Meta Brainrot recently. This post is music to my ears.
hey, thanks! I hope you find some serenity, friend!
I can’t think how many times I wanted to deep 6 FB, especially in 2019-2020. Eventually I modified my usage by blocking those that constantly posted false info and used the service to harass other users. Then I quit responding to almost all posts. Instead I joined groups that interested me ie; photography, sailing, travel. Now I look at FB maybe once a day for 15 min to check for notices. Eventually I think the desperation that drives corporations, businesses, people to do odd and outlandish behavior (no fact checking!) will end up destroying or reducing the effectiveness of that entity.
That's awesome! Manageable use of social media is great. For me... the pull was just too much, so I needed to "deep 6" it like you said. Thanks!
Congrats. I UN-ZUCK'd and DE-Google'd a couple years ago and haven't looked back. Including WhatsApp and a gmail account I had forever.
I've read more than a couple articles about folks moving back to (or revisiting) their Flickr accounts. 2025 could be a good year for them. The Pro tier has useful analytics for tracking account stats, while still avoiding the "likes" trap. ;)
As well, 2025 will be the year of the 'Zine. The creative funnel leading to a tactile, paper print. Whether one starts digital or analog, a printed product at the end will be the most satisfying outcome. (Plus, selecting, pairing, and sequencing images is a wonderful practice unto itself).
Again, thanks for sharing your journey. AND your wonderful photos.
PS: I live in a small town and the businesses all use FaceBook to share their events and news. Some have websites, but they are terribly out of date. So I **may** need to make what the kids call a "spam" account, that is not connected to me or my real life.
-Steve
Oh, Steve - I get all of that. We're going to have to navigate carefully in a world that still is mostly in Meta's grasp. I get it. Even Google - man... YouTube has it's own problems... but for me, youTube has never gotten me addicted. I almost never watch it, but I do post videos, and those videos have gotten me some fantastic, actual, real-life friends. It's been amazing. I ALSO agree that print is the future! Wild, right? That most photographers who are serious, and who want to live in a more "real" world will be going back to printing like you said. I think this path, talking about it and all of that is what at least part of my future is going to look like! Thanks for pitching in and all of the support. You are amazing.
Wow! YouTube blocked my post :)
Democracy in all its glory :)
Nevertheless, I repeat here
*****
Hello, Jerred!
I'm 49 too. I haven't used Meta for two years.
I agree with you in many ways, but I think it's wrong to impose democracy on everyone. Society needs to grow up to it in a natural way. Otherwise, the society may explode and perish completely. The world today is full of such examples. And although many leaders claim that they have democracy in their country, this is a lie. But enough about politics. I, like you, enthusiastically accepted the advent of the Internet and had the same feelings as you and your students. It was a wonderful time, full of hope. But, as always, corporations messed up everything. Money, money, money...
It is a pity that this platform is also susceptible to the same disease. There are fewer and fewer places where you can chat with good people from the other side of the planet. After all, ordinary people are similar to each other in many ways. The same worries, the same joys... I'm sentimental. I'm going to hug the cat ;)
I'm looking forward to the new video!
Have a nice day!
*****
I hope that at least here there will be an opportunity to communicate with pleasant people and express my opinion with all due respect to the interlocutors.
It did?? That's crazy!! And yes, this platform could suffer the same fate, but at the very least I have my email list and we can all move somewhere else, right? And THANK YOU for the comment -you made my day!
Michelle!!!!! totally get it - nothing extreme at all. I think we are living in some of the most "cult-like" times in history.... and being trapped in an algorithm is a certain type of hell. Interesting times - but I'm so happy to hear your story!!!