This isn't what this website is designed for, but it's as good a place to put it as any...
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Here are some random thoughts as I delve into this new experience:
They serve me an Obama ad? Really? Even after I told them my political preference? A thousand minimally PHP-trained monkeys banging on a thousand (likely feces-covered) keyboards could randomly program a targeted ad module before I would even consider clicking through an ad like that. First it was for bumper stickers, then buttons... I don't know... Maybe I could use the buttons to poke people I don't like...
A simple search for "Florence, AL" turns up 154 results? Okay, I've got some time... I'll click through and see if I know anyone... Hmm... Nobody on page 1... Let's see if I recognize any names on page 2! Amazingly enough, I do -- but not from the carefree days of my youth. Instead, about half the results are the same ones from page 1! Oh, and the total number of results has changed, I see... Seems like there are only 147 Florence people now. Facebook is a fascinating network that is constantly evolving, apparently... Or, if page 3 is any indication, churning...
Okay, so that last criticism might be considered by some to be "unfair". I mean, just because I can program a search interface in PHP doesn't mean EVERYBODY can do it, so if any Facebook programmers ever happen to notice this little page, here's a clue: SELECT DISTINCT. You might want to toss in an "ORDER BY" clause for good measure... I realize that you programmers probably aren't very highly paid, what with the site being free and all and what must be a pretty small click-through rate on the ads, but this is pretty basic stuff...
I'm sure this post will grow as I continue to use Facebook. I'm already slightly put out over the inability to casually look over an old friend's profile just to see if I actually have anything worthwhile to say. I mean, I haven't spoken to some of these people in 20 years, but maybe that was just an oversight -- maybe it turns out we actually still have lots in common and ... what? I can't click on their profile 'cause they're in a different "network"? I don't really want to add someone to my friends list only to find out that, after all this time, they're still a jerk. (To be completely fair, it's far more likely that I'm still a jerk -- after all, I'm the guy with my face pressed against the glass trying hard to pretend that he isn't actually there...)
