Social media | Piss and Moan

Communication busted

Posted on May 15, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Gratisography on Pexels.com

Things around here are just not working.

Have you ever had a hard time talking with someone because you just don’t have anything to talk about? Or, had a hard time just because every time a conversation starts it ends up in a disagreement?

Not only do we live in a society that seems to have a hard time having a conversation, but often we find the same thing happening in our personal relationships too. There is just no way to break down the walls and just no way to carry on without conflict. So, everyone does their own thing and then nothing gets any better. Really, it just gets worse. The next time you try to engage someone the meltdown just comes that much more quickly.

What’s left is perpetual egg shell walking and no real relationships, just shallow surface existence.

The death of conversation is upon us.

People are ugly

Posted on May 7, 2019 by backuphill

I have debated and debated with myself about sharing this comment from one of my blogs because, really, should something like this really see the light of day? But, after much contemplation, I have decided that exposure is better.

Simply put, people are ugly. Discrimination is ugly. Hate is ugly. Discrimination and hate goes both ways. It isn’t just an issue for certain backgrounds, heritages, or colors.

Behind the scenes, I have been trying to get Google/Gmail to do something with the email account this comment came from. So far, crickets. Haven’t gotten a response in user forums and can’t find a place to be able to report abuse from such an account. Interestingly, the tech giants are eager to silence some opinions, voices, points of view, but not others.

Anyway, it’s pretty clear to see from the user info that the intent of the email account is to harass a certain demographic of the population, but also to hide behind the anonymity of the internet. Oh, but there is an IP address, so not really all that “secret” if someone has the means track them via that method.

Oh, and the comment will probably shock you. Actually, it probably won’t. If you have an opinion on anything and have a blog, you’ve probably run into some of these ugly people in your comments section, provided you allow comments. I have noticed some blogs don’t allow for comments. I can only assume it is for the reasons seen below:

Kind of makes your stomach turn, doesn’t it? Even if it isn’t shocking. Do you take it as harassment? A threat? Both? Or do you pass it off as some ugly, unhappy person sitting in their elderly mom’s basement leaching off her social security and spending time trolling people all day?

At the end of the day, I know not all people are ugly. But, unfortunately, there are more ugly people than pleasant people. Well, maybe that isn’t even true. I guess what I am trying to say is that the small minority of ugly people make a lot more noise than pleasant people, thus we end up hearing more about ugly people than pleasant people.

So, pleasant people, go out there and make one person’s day by doing something for them that make a bright spot in their day. Heck, even smiling at someone can make their day better. Try it.

Have you had a comment like the one above? What do you do it if you have? Do you delete and ignore, engage and respond with kindness, or something else?

WordPress scheduled post delay

Posted on May 1, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

A schedule is a good thing and it helps to plan ahead when you know you are busy. So, writing a blog entry ahead of time and then scheduling it to post on the appropriate day and time is great, except…

Anyone notice that your scheduled entries aren’t posting at the designated time? Like you said you wanted it to post at 8:00am but notice the time comes around and you still haven’t gotten notification that it has posted. 30 minutes later you’re thinking to yourself, Did I set the wrong time? Did I choose the wrong day?

When you go to check then you get a notification that it has posted. Sometimes that notification, at least for me, doesn’t even come until I get to the actual blog entry to see what was wrong with it.

Here’s the thing, WordPress can’t tell me it was posted and I just didn’t get the notification because there are times I will look at my Reader and my post doesn’t show up there. I scroll and scroll to make sure I didn’t miss it – it’s not there! I got to my blog page and it isn’t there either. That’s when I go straight to the blog entry to actually force it to post.

I have to say it is rather irritating.

Why do I have to do this if I have set a time? Is anyone else experiencing this?

What the heck, WordPress?

Posted on April 25, 2019 by backuphill

Are you like me and logged in this morning to find something different with your WordPress account? Maybe the layout is different? The Sidebar on the left is missing stuff?

Looks like WordPress has made change to the organization of the sidebar and I DON’T LIKE IT!

In the “cleaning up” process, they actually created more clicks for users to start a post. It went from one to three because an “Add Post” button is now buried in the menu.

This sucks. Stop changing stuff and put it back!

Thanks, but no thanks on this one.

Time for a face palm

Posted on March 26, 2019 by backuphill

As if the nation didn’t hear a collective groan from pundits, media personalities, celebrities, and just Democrats in general upon the submission and conclusion of the Mueller Report.

A large segment of the population has waited with bated breath for a conclusion of collusion. What they got instead was their “worst nightmare”? Not sure how the public can openly root and cheer for the demise of a sitting president, but that’s what has been happening.

A whole host of people have waited so impatiently to get dirt on the president so they can kick him out of office. They despise him so much they are willing to perpetuate lies (yes, we know he lies too) and spin information with no reliable source. They have undermined their own democracy for an agenda they can’t justify.

No one deserves a bigger face palm than those who have waited and waited only to find their hopes and dreams dashed with the truth. The problem is, the truth isn’t what they wanted in the first places to the immediately parse, spin, and suggest more conspiracy theories. The hate and vitriol has been astonishing, and quite frankly embarrassing.

I am glad this is over but come on people, it’s time to move on and do the work of the people! The media needs to stop commentating and editorializing everything they “report” and be more transparent about their sources so that information can be vetted and verified.

I am a Trump voter but not necessarily a supporter. I voted the way I did because he was/is better than the alternative, sad but true. I am not happy with all he does and says, but I am happy with some. Did I wonder if the collusion was true? Sure. Did I hope it wasn’t? Yes. Do I want him to be success? Heck yes! I don’t want any president to fail.

So, for those of you out there having to eat a whole flock of crows – get to it and be honest about it!

If you deserve a face palm, I have a palm available if you need it. I would be happy to help you out.

In the meantime, I will continue to do my own face palm as you act like children because you didn’t get what you wanted. You aren’t that three-year old in the cereal aisle at the supermarket, so stop acting like it.

Win a prize!

Posted on March 15, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

OK, guys, here’s your chance to win a prize!

I have a great give away lined up for you. Make sure you read all the way to the end (no cheating!) to see what you get. The rules are easy and there are only 12 steps!

First the rules:

Like this blog post.
Follow this blog, if you haven’t already.
Like three other blogs with the word “Loop” in the title.
Stand up if you are sitting; sit if you are standing.
Pat your head and rub your tummy.
Follow EVERYONE, and I mean everyone, I am following.
Stand in front of the house/building doing “The Crane” pose from Karate Kid for a total of 4 minutes (if you don’t know what that is, watch Karate Kid first. Oh, and wear pants if necessary).
Buy charcoal toothpaste.
Brush vigorously with said toothpaste until you foam at the mouth – take a selfie and post in the comments.
Find a dine-in pizza place, walk by a table with a pizza one it, and take THREE pieces of pepperoni off the pizza. Tell table occupants those were tainted and eat them.
Thank a police officer and a member of the armed services.
Leave a pic of the shocked pizza restaurant faces after you ate their pepperoni in the comments.

*If you completed steps 1, 2, 3, 6, & 11, I thank you and so do other random bloggers.

*If you completed steps 4, 5, 8, & 9 then you are a moderately rational person.

* If you completed 7, 10, & 12 – well, you need help.

*If you completed all the steps above, thank you. You’re also an idiot.

The Prize

You probably didn’t do any of these things (OK, hopefully at least #1 & #2), so the prize is the satisfaction of knowing you don’t fall for these stupid “follow loops” to win prizes like other social media people. Good job! Pat yourself on the back.

Anyone else annoyed by these things? It seems to be the trend on Instagram right now.

Super Bowl of extortion

Posted on February 5, 2019 by backuphill

nfl stadium field full with crowd watching the game during daytime

Photo by Robert Villalta on Pexels.com

I am not sure if anyone noticed. Well, maybe some of you did, but you weren’t sure what you witnessed with this last Super Bowl and the halftime performance. Yes, it wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t lackluster either. They invited some extra performers that weren’t really necessary and that always perplexes me. But, let’s get down to the real topic at hand.

To Maroon 5’s credit (and the other performers too), they stuck with their performance and didn’t bow out due to the pressure that was mounted against them. I am glad they didn’t bow down and performed on, arguably, the largest stage known to man. I mean, 1 billion (that is a ballpark guess) viewers is a lot of people. However, I am irritated that they satiated the protests by basically being extorted into giving donations to charitable causes. It’s great for the charities, but sets a bad precedent.

Let’s be honest. That Change.Org petition with around 100k signers is a drop in the bucket to 1 billion+ and really should have no bearing on what the NFL or the performers did. Shouldn’t have even been a second thought.

People say they care about the whole Kaepernick thing, and maybe some really do, but I tend to think that it is just something to grandstand on. If you really cared you would have boycotted the NFL completely and stopped paying attention to what they are doing. Here’s the thing, the people who are protesting the issue just keep coming back. Wanna make an impact? Stop showing up and stop caring what they are doing.

No instead they raise a ruckus over some halftime performers who can’t win if they don’t, and apparently can’t win if they do. I saw all kinds of media attention around people being mad at them performing. Then mad at them for not performing right, or not being edgy enough. This is their livelihood and I think they should get a little credit for what they did.

I haven’t seen anything from these protesters who feel so strongly about the Kaep thing that they are boycotting the advertisers who bought ads during the show (at least there is none that I have seen – let me know if I am wrong). Wait, what? I need to boycott them too? OK, yeah, now it gets serious. If you are going to stand on principle, you better be prepared to go the whole way. It’s gonna get real serious if you do and you’re gonna need to make some life changes, not just the NFL but the products and advertisers who support them too.

Yeah, I didn’t think you were that serious.

Extortion. It’s the new form of protest.

I have a proposal

Posted on February 1, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by PhotoMIX Ltd. on Pexels.com

No, not that kind of proposal.

I know there will be some blow-back on this, but I would like to propose a new weekly work schedule. And while I understand there will be some resistance to this, I also know I will get a ton of support. If that support turns into millions of dollars in donations, well then I will run for president and make it happen.

Wanna hear it? I thought so.

I propose that we have Fridays every three days. None of this wait till the end of the week thing or working for the weekend. We should just adjust the schedule so that every three days is a Friday. Work one day, then a weekend. Work one day, then a weekend. Work one day, then a weekend. Understand? Yeah, I think you do. I can feel your support for this proposal growing by the second.

So, if you would like this to happen, donate money to me and I’ll kick off my presidential campaign as soon as I hit $10 million. That math is easy…I need 1 million people to donate $10 each or 2 million people to donate $5 each. See how easy that is?

OK, if you are with me, donate now!

people holding assorted coloured balloons

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Enough already, PT 2!

Posted on January 30, 2019 by backuphill

This is an example of too much to read in less than 2 seconds. The photo is lovely, btw.

So, yesterday I had a little something to say about the “stories” feature on social media that seems to be taking the world by storm, but that some people aren’t telling stories but writing stupid novels with the overwhelming number of pics they post.

To follow up on that, can I just say that the other problem with “stories” is that people also want to put words on these photos. Not just a few words, like a caption for the picture, but like paragraphs…in small fonts…

Hey, if you want to write a paragraph on your photo, do it in the regular photo feed! I don’t know about most people, but I have a feeling I am not alone in that it is near darn impossible to READ a freaking small font paragraph in 1.32 seconds, let along all the links and other crap you include on the photo.

Again, for the love of your views and readers, keep the “stories” simple and short.

Enough already!

Posted on January 29, 2019 by backuphill

There is a disturbing trend going around social media these days and it bothers the heck outta me. I just don’t have all the time in the world for you, nor you me, so let’s keep it to one or two, not the whole story.

Social media has gotten this idea that people want to see a “story” about other people’s lives. Like I have none of my own, so I should see every aspect of someone else’s. So, Facebook and Instagram (yes, they are the same company) have instituted this “story” aspect where people can post multiple photos/videos that are chained together to tell a story. I hadn’t really payed much attention to these “stories” until just before the end of the year and then the end of the year came and I wish I hadn’t started in the first place.

You see, the stories have turned into a place for people to dump all their stupid photos. Instead of just spamming their account with endless photos that people wouldn’t normally see, now they post them all in stories and force everyone to look at them (or at the very least, tap through them). One person I follow posted (guess-timating) 70 photos to sum up their year. I don’t need that kind of crap. I don’t have that kind of time. I don’t have that much interest.

What’s worse, is businesses are using to sell their freaking products and I am just as stuck watching the commercial on this platform as I am on tv, only here I can at least “fast-forward” to some degree. Ugh, I don’t like it.

Social media was supposed to be a WINDOW into your life (no matter how fake it was), not your whole life! Oh, and commercial free too! Let’s get a grip here. If you are going to use “stories”, let’s keep it to one or two, three max. Don’t overwhelm people with your life.

I mean, really, we don’t care that much.