PSA – Facebook AI Doesn’t Have A Thesaurus

Facebook uses artificial intelligence to flag certain words and phrases that it deems “inappropriate,” and if you use those words or phrases, you’ll be sent a nastygram and your comment or post will be made invisible to the public. This is common knowledge. People get their comments removed quite frequently and they even find themselves in FB jail for posting certain content. (So much for freedom of speech, but whatever.) But, here’s what you don’t know: Facebook AI does NOT use a thesaurus. And that’s where the fun comes in.

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When God Uses the Post Office

The time has arrived! And that’s a very good thing. We’ve reached a point here at the Baer House where it has once again become necessary to hire help. That’s a good problem to have because that means we’re busy. When the Covid unpleasantness hit last year and there was so much confusion and fear and everything was forced to shut down, I had to let my housekeeper go, for obvious reasons. No use having someone come to clean guest rooms when there aren’t any guests, just lonely dark rooms.

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Welcome To The Baer House

On occasion in the past I have asked you guys for suggestions about what to blog about. Sometimes my creative well runs a little low and I find myself in need of some fresh ideas. A couple of times you nice folks have requested more information about the historic house I live in.

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Should You Really Be Complaining About That?

I don’t like perpetual complainers. I don’t understand people who always find something to complain about. I don’t get it. Why go through life looking for the negative stuff? How depressing. How much nicer it is to see the silver lining even in the darkest places. It’s not always easy to see the positive side of things, I get that, but there is always something to be thankful for. The truth is, most of us have some challenges in our lives to deal with. But, we don’t have to harp on them. We all have good things in our lives as well.

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In With the New

So I’ve been spending a LOT of time lately learning how to market my book. For those of you who are not writers, let me just say that when you write “the end,” you’re only about a third of the way done with that story. Next comes rounds of editing and proofreading to get it exactly right and then comes the selling part. This is the hardest, yet most important part. After all, what good is a really good book with an amazing cover if nobody knows how to get their hands on it?

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Don’t Joke About the Bible

I know I live down here in the Bible Belt, where you can’t swing a cat without hitting a church, but I had no idea until recently just how seriously these Southern folks are about their Bibles, Jesus and going to church. (They’re also very serious about their mamas, sweet tea, Coca-Cola, and dessert, but that’s a whole different post.)

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I Scratch Your Back – You Scratch M . . . Your Back.

 

I need a lesson in Facebook etiquette.

I mean, think about it, anybody can join Facebook but when you sign up you aren’t handed a list of rules or an instruction manual or anything. So how does one know, besides the obvious common sense stuff like pornography, copyright infringement, bullying, etc., what is appropriate FB behavior and what is not?  People post whatever the hell they want whether others wish to see it or not; freedom of speech and press and whatnot. I know you can unfriend and unlike and hide posts and all, but once you’ve seen the post, you can’t unsee it. But that’s not what I’m talking about.

Let me explain.

Recently I decided that I haven’t been giving my FB author page enough love, so I decided to spend a little more time over there. I try to be upbeat and positive and not offend anyone when I post on that particular page. Nothing religious, political, offensive, snarky – well maybe snarky – but you get it. Anyway, I decided to reach out to some of my FB “friends” who haven’t yet “liked” my author page. So, I sent out invitations to “like” my page. That’s appropriate right? There were a lot of names on my “friends” list to invite; some of them, honestly, I didn’t even recognize. I guess at some point those folks requested to be my friend and I accepted.

Anyhoo, most people either ignored the invite, didn’t see the invite, or “liked” my page. Good right? Well, apparently not for everyone. Here’s one of the responses I got back: “Please don’t invite me to like your page when you haven’t been to mine.”

Excuse me?

First of all, I’ve never even heard of this person, other than their name appearing on my “friends” list. I’ve never seen any posts on any social media platform from this person. I guess at some point, SHE must have come across me and requested that I be her friend, because I never send “friend” requests to people I haven’t seen somewhere else before. NEVER. Assuming she sent the “friend” request (and she did), I must have done some snooping around and deemed her an appropriate “friend”, because she is on my current list of “friends.” I usually only “friend” people I’ve “seen around” in cyber world, met in person, was recommended to find by someone I trust, or owns a reputable business. That’s pretty much it.

Second, why did she make the assumption I “haven’t been to” her page? Maybe I did visit and I chose NOT to “like” it. See, this is where that rule book would come in handy. Am I obligated to “like” a page just because I visited it? What if I truly don’t like her page? What if I don’t like what she posts or what she stands for? Why in God’s name would I “like” that?

Which brings up another point where I must defer to the rule book. Is it a requirement that people reciprocate in kind? I mean, just because someone “likes” my page, does that mean I HAVE to like their page?

Third, why do I have to “like” her page FIRST? I mean, can’t she “like” me and then I “like” her back? I guess if the world really does revolve around her, that logic would make sense, but seriously? Someone has to be the first to “like” right? And, let me restate that SHE originally sought me out, not the other way around. Shouldn’t she, in theory, “like” me first?

Fourth, did she ever invite me to “like” her page? I’m pretty sure if she had, I would have hit the “like” button, after all, I did choose to “friend” her. Why would I “friend” her but not “like” her? Seriously, who “friends” someone they don’t like?

Fifth, which ties in to number four above, perhaps I didn’t even know she had a page. Why not “like” me FIRST then encourage me to “like” her page in return. I’m pretty certain, I’d have hit that “like” button. See how simple that would have been? Now, after her in-your-face, egotistic, narcissistic (is that the same thing?) comment, I’m not so inclined to “like” anything about her or her page. Just saying.

It’s all so terribly confusing sometimes. What’s your opinion of the whole “friending,” “liking” business on Facebook? Has it ever confused you? How do you decide when to hit the button and become friends with a complete stranger? Do you accept invitations to “like” pages? Do you have “friends” but choose not to “like” their pages?

Word of the Day: Chiropodist

Fun Fact about Me: I gained a whole bunch of new “likes” on my FB author page in the past couple of days. Yay! (That’s good right?)

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, September 2016. Images courtesy Google Images.

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What Facebook Personality Type Are You?

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I try to pop in every day or so to see what’s going on with my “friends.” Sometimes I post stuff, sometimes I like stuff, sometimes I use those cute newfangled emoticons. Usually, what I do is snort, scoff or laugh at other peoples’ posts.

Ever notice that there are some people you can bet money on what their post is about? I have. I’ve comprised a list of the FB personality types I come across most often on my feed. Because – and I think I’ve said this before – I’m a giver, I’ll share my analysis with you. Please keep in mind that some people fall into more than one category and I am in no way asking you to unfriend me. This is simply my observations about the most commonly posted stuff. I, undoubtedly, have fallen into one or two of these categories on occasion myself.

Here goes:

Bragging soccer mom – These posts are ALWAYS pictures of their kids with some clever or cute sentiment about how amazing the littles are. I’m not opposed to these posts, I just get tired or seeing them. “Here’s number 412 of Johnny at X event.” “Here’s little Susie all dolled up in her ____ (fill in the blank).” “followed 2 seconds later by another of Susie in one of her other 800 cute outfits.” Are you living your life vicariously through your kids? Can we see just one picture of you doing something interesting?

Overjoyous grandmother – Yup, this one’s like the one above only it skips a generation. Again, I love seeing the cuteness, so don’t stop, but you might want to throw in an occasional instructional video about how to cook something sinfully delicious that no one’s ever going to cook up. Your grandkid didn’t get cuter in 15 seconds.

Perpetual sick-o – Do you, like me, have that the one (or a dozen) “friend(s),” who always has something ailing them? Sometimes their ailment is accompanied by a disgusting picture or description of their illness. Or, if they’re not sick, someone in their family is. Let’s find something positive and post that tomorrow shall we? I’m tired of hearing about everything that’s wrong with you and/or your loved ones.

Excessively needy –  These are the people who subtly boast about how awesome they are by posting negative stuff. Like how much pain they’re in because they’ve just climbed Half Dome at Yosemite in 15 minutes. Or they have injured themselves – again – for the umpteenth time in karate class earning their tenth black belt. Do these people just need sympathy or do they think they’re bad ass? I have no sympathy. I’d rather you just post the accomplishment and leave it at that. If it’s the pain you get off on, then just say that, don’t use the poor, poor me post to brag about yourself.

Humorous meme sharer – I think these are the people who appreciate good humor but are themselves not funny so they post cartoons or pictures with captions that make people laugh. I love a good laugh, and I have often shared some of these clever witticisms, but once in a while I’d love to see an actual post that you’ve typed up yourself.

YouTube abuser – This one’s pretty easy to figure out. Have you noticed how many videos are being posted on FB these days? Seems like I get dozens of them a day. They slow my computer down. Let’s use the video clips sparingly people.

Political activist – This one is self-explanatory. Just stop people. Stop right now. I know where you stand from the first hundred dozen posts. And – here’s a shocker – your posts are not going to get me to change my mind or my opinion. Stop already.

Nature lover – Only posts pictures of nature too beautiful to be real. (See photo above for example.)

Save the world prayer seekers – Again, stop with the pictures of grossly disfigured children. I don’t need to see them. I know where to donate charitable funds. I’ll pray for everyone not just these poor unfortunate souls.

Sales people – This one is tough because as an author, you want to make people aware of your books and where to buy them, but some authors seem to only put “buy me” posts up. I’d like to know a little bit more about you. Let’s see some clever posts by the author so I know whether or not your book might be enjoyable.

World travelers – Ever notice how some people always seem to be going somewhere or doing something? I am sure they have regular lives like normal people, but every day there’s a new post from somewhere other than their home. Yay for them and I love the super cool photos or super cool places, but sheesh, when do you do your laundry or pay your bills?

So there you have it, my analysis. Keep in mind, this is just my own personal FB feed and yours will look different. However, I’m sure if you take the time to look and keep track, you’ll find one of two of the types listed above on your feed too. And again, don’t hate me people; this post is mostly tongue-in-cheek.

If you fall into one of these categories and you think I’m making fun of you, well, I probably am, but that’s how I roll. If you really know me, you know that I laugh at myself as well and if I’m laughing at you, it’s because I really like you. If I ignore you, watch out; that means something else entirely. I scoff because I care.

How about you dear readers? What kinds of trends do you see on Facebook? Do you get tired of some of these offenders? I’d love to add to my list, so let me hear your thoughts.

Word of the day: Hautbois (alternate: Hautboy)

Fun fact about me: I think I’m one of these FB post offenders.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, April 2016. Photos courtesy Google Images.

 

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I Don’t Get It

I have a love / hate relationship with Facebook. As a fledgling author, I understand the importance of building a brand and expanding my presence on social media sites. I’m trying to do this and to be as active as possible without giving away too much personal information for hackers or offending too many people.

I try to take notice of what my cyber friends are into and to be part of discussions where I feel I can make a difference or add some witty thought. I’ve learned who to avoid at all costs; you know, those “special friends,” who seem to only post negative stuff or comments about how sick they are or what’s wrong with their kids, cars, lives, etc. That’s just boring and nobody wants to hear about it.

I have some friends who only post inspirational quotes and some who are always posting questions or taking surveys. Others only beg people to buy their books. Some only offer one lopsided political commentary. And I have some friends who are all over the board with comments; good, bad, funny, sad, etc.

What I don’t “get,” are people who post something along the lines of, “I ran 47 miles today. I am so sore I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk again because of the horrible shin splints, blisters on my feet, and aching calf muscles.” How are people supposed to comment on these types of posts? They did something really remarkable and impressive, but then they complain about it. Are they seeking recognition for the accomplishment or sympathy for the pain?

Facebook has quickly become a forum for people to be narcissistic, especially since the introduction of “selfies.” But if you truly enjoy doing something, should you be complaining about how bad it makes you feel? I mean, if it hurts when you bang yourself in the head, I’m thinking you should probably stop banging yourself in the head. Problem solved. Don’t keep doing it and then complaining about it because I for one, have no sympathy. If you do something awesome, be proud of it and graciously accept the commendation you receive. If you’re hurting and need virtual hugs, then just admit that you’re having a bad day and need some cyber sunshine. I’ll be the first to give it to you. But, it doesn’t work both ways. That only makes you look . . . I don’t know . . . confused. Or not very bright.

For the narcissists, if you want people to think you’re a badass, then don’t follow up the Herculean feat by admitting that you suffered injury. I mean accomplishing something one time and suffering pain because of it is understandable and you’re a badass for doing it. But every day? If you keep doing the same activity every day and you keep getting hurt, I’m thinking you’re not badass at all. You’re a ding-a-ling. If you keep coming home bloodied, bruised and broken, you must not be very good at whatever you’re doing and thus not badass at all. Right?

I’ve seen people post pictures of big horrible bruises, blackened eyes, and bloodied lips that they’ve suffered from wrestling, or judo, or running marathons, or some other such activity, yet they continue to participate in the same activity. If you’re looking for sympathy people, you’re not getting it from me. Keep doing it if you love it, but suck it up and don’t whine about the pain. I mean, should we praise the bruise? Is the broken arm or bloodied limb cool? Should everyone aspire to accomplish the same thing?

I’m just not sure how to comment on these posts. Should I say, “Gee, I’m so glad you’re in pain?” “I’m rejoicing in your agony.” “I wish I could hurt so bad like you?” “I want to run marathons too so I can have those awesome blisters.”

The same thing with people who always post about their dogs or kids puking. Does the world really need to know about these events? Kids and pets get sick. It’s not a news flash. Should we all slide down this slippery slope of negative narcissism? I’m thinking this is some kind of a sickness.

Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox now. But, I do wonder, what are your thoughts about Facebook posts? Do you engage in “discussions” where the original post is both good and bad?

Word of the Day:  Limbus

Fun Fact About Me:  I enjoy wearing high heels.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, May 2015. Photos courtesy Google Images.

Jansen Schmidt.

 

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