5 Worst Facebook status Crimes of 2010

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Back in 2008, Shiny ed Susi Weaser wrote the controversial reference work: The ten worst Facebook status crimes. Two years and countless web innovations later we look at the new Facebook status crimes.

We realise there are ups and downs to even the most irritating statuses which is why we’re offering (sort of) balanced pro and cons to each status crime.

1. Posting your FB statuses through Twitter
Pro: linking your Facebook status to your Twitter stream/Posterous blog often results in you updating your status more often – more links, more stuff.
Con: No. These sites are different sites. “OMG no cornflakes!” is bad enough on Twitter, worse on Facebook, which doesn’t have the structure to digest a fast flow of banalities or links to blog posts.

2. Giving lots of specifics
This really is a perennial.
Pro: You don’t need to dig to get the juicy gossip here, it’s all laid out for your by your oversharing friend. Who was in their bed the next morning, what s/he said, how many drinks they had.
Con: Yup, well – the downside is exactly the same. You know what your “friend” was up to in all its gory details and a lot of you really wishes you didn’t.

3. Going onto Facebook to say how you hardly ever go on Facebook
Pro: If this irritating person really has left Facebook as they claim you should be hearing less from them = good.
Con: We know lots of trendy new social networking sites have sprung up. Great -you’re on Tumblr, great you’re on Twitter, or even better, you’ve got a great boyfriend/girlfriend/fulfilling social life and you don’t want virtual friends anymore.
But for god’s sake just go hang with you “real” friends in a “real” place then and don’t go on Facebook and say how you hardly ever go on Facebook.

4. Announcing serious or tragic news: “My friend just died”
Pro: I’d like to think that all human emotions could be shared and expressed on Facebook, and that it could be a way of sharing grief or showing support.
Con: has facebook got the emotional range to take serious stuff yet? I don’t know. When something awful happens and someone writes about it on Facebook, it can come across as really mawkish, and everyone making sad smileys seems a bit wrong.

5. Boasting about your professional accomplishments
Maybe it’s a sign of aging that more of my friends are starting to brag about their work on facebook . Well the ones that are employed anyway.
Pro: You are kept up to date with alterations in your friends’ careers.
Con: Do you want to boast about your professional accomplishments? Go to Linked-In. Just hit log-out on the Facebook page and log-in on the Linked-In page. Maybe there’s someone in an HR department who cares.

Got your own pet peeves? Post in the comments

Anna Leach

15 comments

  • Thanks for some other fantastic article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect manner of writing? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I am at the look for such information.

  • I hate when people put they are tired of the fb drama and post as a status they are leaving and say goodbye. Then you get to read eleventy-billion comments under it sad and saying don’t leave. If you need that in your life because not enough people are paying enough attention to you. So you have to be that dramatic to say you’re leaving then get a life and one that doesn’t involve facebook.

  • I hate when people put they are tired of the fb drama and post as a status they are leaving and say goodbye. Then you get to read eleventy-billion comments under it sad and saying don’t leave. If you need that in your life because not enough people are paying enough attention to you. So you have to be that dramatic to say you’re leaving then get a life and one that doesn’t involve facebook.

  • People who put pictures of their kids as profile pics. I’m not friends with your kids, stop hiding behind them and get your own identity.

  • OMG….mary that was so funny and so so true.
    I hate that too. I also hate people to email each other on face book when they live in the same house. get off your ass and walk the 10 feet into the other room you lazy facebook addicted asswipes.

  • What REALLY drives me nuts are the few friends that feel they need to post every flippin’ thing that they’re doing… “Time to do the dishes”… “Gonna do some laundry”… “Just lettin’ you know I’m taking a shit”. Seriously? Every one on the flippin’ planet has to do dishes, laundry and take a shit. Do you have to post it as a status update?!

  • What drives me crackers is the farmville and it’s ilk appearing in my feed. I now know how to banish them from my news feed but my friends are pretty clueless about the fact that these things can be viruses

  • What drives me crackers is the farmville and it’s ilk appearing in my feed. I now know how to banish them from my news feed but my friends are pretty clueless about the fact that these things can be viruses

  • I have way too many promoters as friends, I am not looking for a new cell phone plan and I don’t want to go to your lame party you’re getting paid to promote. I don’t want to try the soda you’re selling, and I don’t care about your roofing sales. Any one of those and your posts will be put on my ignore list, which basically means unless you talk to me regularly you may as well not be my friend.

  • I don’t like the passive agressive comments that are about people but not directed to them. Sometimes I wonder if we’d be better off without facebook.

  • I changed my relationship status to “in a relationship”, and next thing I know people started congratulating me, writing things like “bravo” and “way to go!”. It was really annoying and made me consider removing the info. (Call me naive or Facebook-ignorant, but I had no idea it would appear in everyone’s feed). But then the reactions would’ve been even worse if those same people had seen that I was “no longer listed in a relationship”.

  • I hate people that take Facebook too seriously. I once deleted an old account I had, next thing I know friends began ringing and texting me asking me if I was OK. They probably thought I was going end it all or something. Although I am glad they showed concern.
    I enjoy lamebook.com and failbooking.com for comedy purposes :)

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