FACEBOOK CAN COST YOU A JOB

Be careful what you post on social media. We’ve been hearing that for years—ever since Facebook began. And yet, some people still haven’t got the message. I have a friend who hires young people for jobs that don’t require a college degree. So how does he check them out? First, he’ll do a routine background check. But he doesn’t stop there. Before he’s even received that first report, he’s already googled the job seeker’s Facebook. There’s hardly a twenty something alive who doesn’t have an account. And he always turns down candidates with what he considers offensive posts.

What’s offensive? First and foremost, young women who post provocative pictures of themselves. It’s amazing how many do. “Hot” pictures of a woman in underwear with her tongue hanging out may attract a person hiring pole dancers. But for an ordinary position like a restaurant server or office clerk, it’s usually a deal breaker. You have to wonder what these girls are thinking. Are they hoping to attract a man? If they do, it’s going to be the wrong type. Like maybe an abuser or sex addict or even a serial killer.

The second worst turnoff is vulgar, four letter words or posters—especially if they’re accompanied by hostility. Who wants a potty mouthed, outspoken angry person working in their organization?

Political rants and raves may offend an employer who doesn’t share your views. Best wait until you’re safely retired to express your opinion about elected officials.

Sometimes, a job candidate won’t have a Facebook page. Or if they do, they don’t show their picture, and don’t post.. That’s not a good thing either. The person may or may not have something to hide. Actually, they could simply be a private person who isn’t comfortable posting on Facebook. But that doesn’t help a prospective employer at all. If he can’t find out a little bit more about you, he may hire the person who has a “good” Facebook page.

What attracts employers? Family pictures are always appealing. You love your mom and dad and brothers and sisters. You enjoy holiday gatherings. All of which means you’re a normal, caring human being. Next are sports and school pictures. Anyone who plays volleyball or tennis is probably in good health, and well disciplined. Vacation pictures show that you are well rounded and like to relax. Just don’t show yourself at a nude beach.

Be careful what you post on social media apps like Instagram, too.

Remember: Facebook can cost you a Job.

January 29, 2021January 29, 2021

FACEBOOK ISN’T FOR POLITICS

I see Facebook has said they’re going to quit recommending political groups, and try to tamp down users’ political rhetoric. This is certainly a step in the right direction. There’s nothing more irritating than someone ranting and raving about their political views on Facebook. Do they really believe they are going to win someone over to their side who doesn’t agree with them to begin with? Facebook isn’t for politics, in my opinion.

No politics on facebook. Most of us don't want to hear someone's political rants and raves — Facebook isn’t for politics. . They’re finally trying to get the political rants off Facebook.

Facebook , for me, is simply a way to share a few family pictures and events with a small group of people. A nice way to keep in touch across the miles. How anyone could have over 1,000 so called “friends” boggles the mind. Unless maybe you’re an entertainer or politician, or your Facebook page is actually a marketing tool.

The good thing about Facebook is that you can block posts from certain people if you really don’t agree with the way they’re using it. I, for one, have no interest in seeing pictures of half nude people in provocative poses. And if someone posts several times a day, for weeks on end, it gets a little tiresome. If all of your “friends” did that, you would be spending way too much time moving through the day’s posts.

You’re always told not to discuss politics or religion at social events. Isn’t Facebook a social gathering? Kind of like a cyberspace cocktail party? A place where you’re exchanging light conversation and sharing photographs? Nothing too deep (unless there’s been a death in the family). That’s how it is in my mind. I really love hearing from people whom I seldom see. I want to know about their grandchild’s latest achievement, if somebody got married, or had a family reunion. Vacation pictures are especially welcome. I don’t have to comment, or hit the like button, unless I want to. But I usually want to.

Facebook is for fun. It’s not for politics. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned in this divided nation , it’s that politics isn’t fun.

June 3, 2020June 3, 2020

POLLSTERS: DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL ME

Do you believe in polls? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. Like most people, I believe what I want to. If I see a poll favoring my candidate of choice, I’ll hope it’s right. On the other hand, if a poll favors a disliked candidate, I’ll doubt its accuracy. When I am asked to take part in surveys and polls, I always decline. Pollsters: don’t ask my opinion, don’t tell me your skewed results.

Most polls are conducted via cell phone or landline. Those are possibly the most irritating calls one could receive. Anyone with common sense refuses to answer calls from an unfamiliar phone number. Consequently, A poll based on the opinions of those who do answer doesn’t really tell me anything.

Many polls are taken over the internet. Poll takers and politicians invade my Facebook, Twitter, and Email accounts. If I log onto various online news reports, I’m often interrupted by a question about Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

The bad part about answering a survey or poll is that you’re now on someone’s sucker list. First, you will be inundated with requests for contributions. Next, you’ll receive numerous newsletters and e mails meant to alarm and enlighten you .

How do these people get access to my social media? I’m tired of spending so much time deleting them. I click on unsubscribe, and beg them to leave me alone, to no avail.. No, I don’t want to hear from their relatives, either.

Back to the accuracy of polls. A poll is just a picture of what people are saying or thinking on a particular day. Voters are fickle. They can easily change their minds the next week or month, depending on current events. For example, the coronavirus pandemic. Or the protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis..

Every day, the polls tell us which candidate is favored, disliked, or disapproved of . But you know what? I’d just as soon believe the odds coming out of Vegas.

Pollsters: Stop calling me during dinner, or any time at all. Discontinue invading my social media online. Don’t ask what I think or tell me how I feel..

August 5, 2019August 5, 2019

Mourning A National Tragedy

We’re in shock this morning. Our hearts go out to the victims of the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, and the lives that have been changed forever. We’re mourning a national tragedy.

This is a national day of mourning — GRIEVING FOR THE VICTIMS OF THIS WEEKEND OF TRAGEDY

Why do these things happen? I don’t remember any mass shootings while raising my children. Some presidential candidates are now politicizing the shootings. But forty years ago we had Democrats and Republicans and Jim Crow Laws and the Vietnam War. Mental illness was widely prevalent, but poorly understood or treated. And there was very little gun control.

This is what we didn’t have: the internet. There were no violent video games so readily available, desensitizing young men to violence. No one had a Facebook account, where people could brag and make other people envious. There was no Instagram or Twitter where you could publicly shame or bully someone to the point of suicide. Now, Instead of face to face relationships and real conversations, everyone just texts. We’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to talk to a real live person.

Technology has changed our world and done wondrous things for our society. But it’s also dehumanized us to the point where violence has become the norm.

July 26, 2019July 29, 2019

WHY DID RUSSIA DO IT, & HOW?

Now that we’ve endured endless hours of Mueller’s testimony before Congress, we know for sure that Russia interfered in our election. The question is: Why did Russia back Trump, and how ? You have to dig pretty deep to find out.

why putin hated clinton — Putin hated Clinton for interfering in his 2011 election

Back in 2011 , when Prime Minister Putin was running for President, then Secretary of State Clinton interfered with his election bid against a guy named Medvedev. It seems she bet on the wrong horse. Putin won, and he’s held a grudge against Hillary ever since. I think it’s important for Americans to understand why Putin didn’t want her to win. . https://time.com/4422723/putin-russia-hillary-clinton/

Speaking from personal experience, I can remember many Facebook advertisements slamming Clinton and supporting Trump. I saw them as spam. I was annoyed when Facebook allowed all of these unwanted posts on my page. Why aren’t they now sharing some of the blame for what happened? It was quite obvious that someone had it in for Clinton. Are we supposed to believe Facebook executives didn’t know the origin of these posts?

The media has led us to believe that Trump was doing something illegal by trying to establish a hotel in Moscow. If that is true, what about the other 3,000 American companies that currently do business in Russia? My former brother in law was with a big accounting firm that had an office in Moscow over 30 years ago. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/08/03/headline-halah-t/#6db933635f99

After listening to hours of tedious testimony by Mueller in the hearings this week, It seems to me that it was all much ado about nothing. As FBI agent Peter Storzok said in his famous e mail, “ I’m afraid there’s no there , there.”

Let’s stop wasting money on this investigation that means very little to the average American. Why doesn’t Congress focus their efforts on lowering prescription drug prices, cleaning up the mess at the border, improving our crumbling infrastructure, and changing the way we grant student loans?

Get to work, guys.

May 25, 2019May 26, 2019

WHO WANTS TO BE NORMAL?

According to Kate Snow on NBC news, the average person spends 9 hours per day on their iPhone. That’s more than half of your waking hours, and it is the new normal. How could anyone find so many interesting things on their phone? My phone tells me I spend about half an hour a day checking e mail, Facebook, a few news reports, and messaging. Apparently, I’m a total oddball in today’s culture, but that’s fine with me. Who wants to be normal?

THE AVERAGE PERSON SPENDS MORE THAN HALF THEIR WAKING HOURS ON THEIR PHONE

Facebook is usually full of spam from people who’ve somehow gotten into my account. I enjoy updates from family and friends about what they’ve been doing, but it doesn’t take more than a few minutes to scroll through these new posts.

The fact is, I don’t always know exactly where my phone is. I carry it in my car, and when I’ walking in the park or shopping. But I’m liable to leave it in my car, or somewhere in the house, so far away that I don’t even hear when it rings. Often, I have to call from my landline to find out where my cell is buried under a pile of papers.

How do I spend those extra 8 ½ hours “off” my phone. For starters, I read two morning newspapers: The local paper for gossip, obits, road closings, and city politics. The Indy paper for better coverage of all national news, and what’s going on in the big city where my daughter lives with her family. Both papers have thinned down in the past few years, but it’s still fun to read the funnies, the bridge column, the editorials, recipes and local sales ads. There is nothing more enjoyable than morning coffee while spending an hour poring over the newspapers.

More importantly, I get to read some wonderful books. Have you read the biography of the first woman Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor? I can assure you it’s vastly more interesting than scrolling through Twitter, Snap Chat, Facebook and Instagram. Another fascinating biography is about Alexander Hamilton’s wife, Eliza.

Reading a good book is more interesting than scrolling your iPhone — READING SANDRA DAY O’CONNER’S BIOGRAPHY IS VASTLY MORE INTERESTING THAT SCROLLING YOUR PHONE

Then, there’s the old fashioned habit of “visiting” with family and friends. Yesterday, our daughter and her husband stopped by to help us plant geraniums and have lunch. After their daughter arrived, we sat around the table talking and laughing, only using our phones to share a few pictures. No one seemed more interested in their iPhone than sharing stories and talking politics.

I know, reading books, and visiting around the dining room table are outdated pastimes from another era. But they’re much more fun than scrolling through twitter. Who wants to be normal?

December 19, 2018December 19, 2018

THE DEMISE OF THE CHRISTMAS LETTER

Remember when everyone sent Christmas letters? That probably peaked about 20 or 25 years ago, when we all got desktop computers and printers. Drive to Staples, get a box of Christmas stationery, sit down, compose a letter, and print out a huge batch of your very own, original, newsletter. But now, we are seeing the demise of the Christmas letter.

Some of those letters were irritatingly boastful. Each child’s achievements, trophies, marriages. (Divorces not to be mentioned) . Our own triumphs, job promotions, successful children and grandchildren. . Then, or course, a complete itinerary of every trip we took to the Smokies, Europe, Costa Rica. This was our chance to tell the world that we were doing great. Sometimes the letters went on for two pages.

Then, along came Facebook in 2004. Now, we could share family pictures, births, deaths, and achievements every single day. The sending of the annual Christmas letter was no longer necessary. That is, assuming everyone was into technology and had a Facebook account. Believe it or not, many seniors, don’t use email, & don’t post on Facebook. And Facebook has taken a beating lately, with many people afraid of being hacked and losing their privacy.

Our grandchildren won't send Christmas Letters — REMEMBER WHEN EVERYONE SENT CHRISTMAS LETTERS?

I was still in the workforce during the explosion of computer technology, and became comfortable with the internet. Each year, I tried to discourage my husband from composing the annual Christmas letter. But yet, he plowed on. How else could he touch base with all the friends and family from his home state of Nebraska, Air Force buddies, and the students he had known when he was a campus minister at Indiana State University?

And so, he would write the letter for me to edit, and I would dutifully churn out a batch of Christmas letters. We went through this process again this year.

At first I decided not to send one to the people on my list. But as I sat down to write my cards, I looked at that letter again and decided it was a good idea, after all. No bragging, just a casual way of telling people that we weren’t going South this year, and a few things we had been doing.

I realize that Christmas letters are an anachronism., and can’t imagine any of our grandchildren sending out a Christmas letter. Not with Instagram, texting, Facebook, and perhaps some other apps I’ve never even heard about.

But if we’re still around and in good health next year, we will probably write one again.

Viva the Christmas Letter!