Facebook (FB for the finance majors)

As my other colleagues have stated, it is a great website to keep in touch with friends, family, and the celebrities that you are stalking. I would go into the positives, but the other bloggers took care of that for me. So I will tackle the negatives and the ones that just annoy me.

UPDATES

Who doesn’t want to know what is going on with everyone every minute of the day? How great one’s relationship is one minute and how it ended the next?  The love that someone has for another and then the pure hatred for them the next second? These constant updates are made possible via Facebook’s stalker feed and by whiny people everywhere, who have no life…or should I say, people who think they have the greatest life ever that everyone on Earth wants to hear about it every second of every day... Oh, and gotta love updates on what others are cooking, what they’re eating, or how they’re processing it!

PICTURES

The greatest part of Facebook is the pictures. We can see what people are wearing out and about that night, watch the progression of people getting drunk….drunker………and drunkest. (More to come on this topic.) We can see what people are eating, where they are eating, and how much they ate. We also get to see peoples’ new outfits, which usually come about by them snapping a picture of themselves in the bathroom mirror. For the lady, it’s usually something revealing and she’s waiting for loads of comments. For the man, well, it’s the same. Turns out Facebook is a great way to sell sex and food…which brings me back to college. I graduated with a four year degree in Business and had to take many courses in marketing. I spent a lot of money just to learn the simple truth that sex and food sell.  Damn you, Facebook – If only I would have spent more time on you, I would have saved tons of money. 

Perhaps I should separate my friends into groups – close friends, family, old friends, people I don’t talk to, pregnant people, people I drink with, and people I would just feel bad for deleting. That way, when I log in, I don’t have to see all of these updates from people that I really don’t wanna hear from. You see that your news feed is full of nothing but nonsense, and then you realize that all of the updates are from the same person…  “Love falling asleep to the rain,” “How could he say that?” Statuses with music lyrics…and some more music lyrics, “OH, how I love him/her,” “How I hate him/her,” more music lyrics, “I am going to sleep,” “Today was the worst day ever” (with an obvious undertone of a desperate search for pity), and finally, more music lyrics. 

Having a baby is a beautiful thing and it truly is a miracle every time. With that being said, pictures of baby bumps, ultra-sounds, and naked babies should be kept within the family.  A stranger does not need to see the status of your baby from ultra-sound to birth. I’m surprised I haven’t seen pictures of the crowning and after-birth yet. Maybe that’s coming soon. Perhaps I should start a new trend…mmm, warm after-birth…

By the way…

Two Months

Four Months

Six Months

Nine Months

I’m drunk...And by “months,” I mean beers.

don't you just love/hate facebook

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, but who doesn’t?

I’m not going to get into the history of how Facebook came to be or how it has evolved, so if you're lost, just go rent “The Social Network” cause I don’t have the patience to hold your hand though the progression of online media.  I would like to simple point out what I LIKE & DISLIKE about the social communication monster.

First of all, put a capitol “F” on “facebook” already… it’s a billion dollar company so act like it.  Also, I have not and will not buy any stock in Facebook’s IPO… for two reasons mainly. 

1) Zuckerberg seems more like a douche every time I see a photo of him or read an article about him.

2) I just don’t trust a company that really has no tangible “product” that they are selling.  And that makes me nervous about the stability of that company’s future.

Actually, just ignore the first reason.  I’m just jealous that I’m not a billionaire at age 27… also, I am a little irritated that I don’t have a gold medal either… so screw you too Phelps!  Not that I have the intelligence or athleticism to accomplish either feat.  And the more I think of it, I really should NOT voice my presumptions about the future of consumer driven commodities in relevance to communications stock features.   So let’s just forget about the last part and get to the point here.  That being that Facebook is good, but it’s not great.

I use Facebook to basically communicate with people that I don’t talk to on a weekly basis.  It keeps me in touch with friends & family who might live out of town, be incredibly busy or hard to get a-hold-of on the phone…  and so on.   I like that I can see photos of people that I have not seen in a few years, especially family members.  And I think it’s a lot easier to Facebook message someone instead of email them in some cases.  I can do without the games, but they are a nice touch.  It’s unfortunate that life has gotten so busy that I need to simplify my correspondence with friends & family using Facebook, but use it if you got it right?

However, I do NOT use Facebook to:

-          - Tell the world what I am doing every second, minute, hour, or day.

-          - Constantly add anyone I recognize to my friends list, just because I can.

-          - Go on a trip, and upload photos and comments to FB instead of enjoying my vacation.

-          -  “Facebook Creep” or rifle through photos of people I don’t really know.

-          - Comment on other people’s conversations like I’m part of it, when really I’m not.

-          - Meet new friends from Nigeria that need some cash… but promise a huge return.

-          - Poke people (except for Scribs)

-          - Post song lyrics that I think are awesome for how I feel today.

-          - Ask rhetorical questions to no one in particular… or just posting random thoughts

-          - Post photos that are “cute & sexy” (girls) or “masculine and ripped” (dudes) to gain attention.

-          - Speak out on politics and religion to anyone who will listen.

-          - Gain sympathy from others by boradcasting to everyone a personal difficulty I am having that day.

-          - Post photos of myself with the hopes that someone will complement me

-          - In general, use Facebook as my forum to proclaim every single idea or thought I have ever had… and expect not just anyone, but everyone to be amazed by how interesting and intelligent I am.

-         

            Shit… I could be here all day.

Ok, maybe I have done some of those things in the past… but I’m going to stop… tomorrow!  I promise!

Let’s face it, there will always be someone who is irritated by what you post… I just think some people are asking for it a little more than others.  So just use better judgment and we will all be better off. 

If you are sitting there thinking “I don’t care what people think, I’ll say and do whatever I want”… then you are the problem… and sadly you will never get it.

This leads me to another type of person on Facebook.  Like gasoline to the fire, the instigators and supporters of these idiots (who are “followers” to the very definition of the word), are what keep these crazy people going on with their ridiculous ways.  So don’t be one of those people either please.  It’s a bad way.

But with twitter, facebook, blogs, youtube, and whatever else… it seems that I am out-gunned.  Society has created a hype of these communication tools, and now we must suffer the bad to enjoy the good.

In conclusion, if you want to listen to some idiot ramble on about nonsense, enjoy your Facebook… or you can just continue to read our blog… same difference.

I promise my next blog will be better, and will continue to promise this at the conclusion of every blog!

Facebook, or how I married a 78 year old man.

I just got done going for a walk and bike ride so I figured I might as well keep this productivity going! How do you go for a walk and bike ride? Simple, just go for a bike ride, get tired, then walk your bike home. It helps if you have a tail to put between your legs…

Well here’s the start of the new blog experiment for us. We’re trying to get more blogs out there and hopefully keep the quality up there, or I should say, get the quality up there…

What we will be doing is taking certain topics and writing several different perspectives on that subject. There is about six of us who are contributors to this blog, everyone isn’t exactly active, but we should be able to get at least three of us to write on most subjects. Hopefully they’re funny, but if they’re not at least you should be able to enjoy how terrible we are at getting our points across and how little sense we generally make.

The first subject we are going to tackle is Facebook. We were going to do a breakdown and compare and contrast the new Justin Halpern book, “I Suck At Girls” but that will have to wait until the other guys finish the book…me, I might as well have written it, or most of it! The following is my take on the phenomenon that is Facebook…

A long time ago, at a college campus much like the one you attended…

I first started using Facebook in 2004…I think. It wasn’t exactly September 11^th, or the day Kennedy was shot so I can’t recall exactly where I was or what I was doing but being most my days consisted of playing lots of basketball, partying, and skipping class in those days there is a good chance I was hung over and was trying to figure out who that girl was from that party. What girl and what party are also insignificant as you will undoubtedly learn in upcoming blogs.

Facebook was cool, no doubt about it, and the best apart about it; it was just for college students. When you turn 18 you can officially vote, buy cigarettes, and gamble in many states…not exactly the greatest things in the world, but Facebook became another one of these rights of passage and to me seemed like an awesome way to keep in contact with high school classmates I had lost contact with and kids from my courses which I would have met during Syllabus day and then quickly lost contact with (due to lack of attendance) if it hadn’t been for Facebook!

Sure Facebook was filled with creeps, but really where isn’t? Myspace was the major competitor in those days but to me the major downfall was that anyone could join myspace…I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure I married a 78 year old man on there at one point…you at least needed a valid college email address to join Facebook back in the day. Now that exclusivity is gone, which of course helped Facebook grow immensely but now I get friend requests from my elementary basketball players, and I’m that 78 year old man all of a sudden.

There is certainly a million things I don’t like about Facebook and I think most of you would agree but for the most part I still use it to keep up with what my friends are up to, and more and more I am using it for business. We now have a profile and company page for our business as well as a group site for our charity organization…I know what you’re thinking, when did I actually get my shit together…well I’m not totally there yet, but like most people, I have my moments.

The ways you can now use Facebook for business are unbelievable. It is by far the best method we have to advertise and keep our customers up-to-date with whatever may be happening and it has helped build our charity from very small to one that has now raised over $130,000!

I still am able to talk to friends and family all over the world, follow certain organizations and personalities that interest me, and due to a group I started several years ago, “I’d High Five The Todd” (from SCRUBS) I am now friends with Robert Maschio, the actor who plays “The Todd.” The random connections you can make on the site are really unbelievable, but like most things, there’s an opposite side to the coin…

I now officially know everything about everyone, or at least it seems that way. People I had always liked post some of the most ignorant hate filled things on there so that now I often find myself appalled to even be in the same room as them anymore. I now know when everyone is in a relationship, and better yet, the standing of said relationship. Because of this, we also know when said relationship has ended and as it is very easy to get your feelings out there instantly, we know how, and many times why, things didn’t exactly work out. I’m not saying that this is the worst thing, some people just need a little support when they’re feeling like they’re at their lowest point but long before Facebook there were…phones, and coffee shops, and living rooms.

What makes matters worse is not only does everyone know what you are doing at any given moment during your day (if you are an active member, as most are since it is far more addicting than crack or heroine, a fact…which I recently made up) but you know what everyone else is doing. I don’t want to find out I didn’t get a job because I find out one of my random friends got it, or worse yet that one of those friends was recently tagged in a photo with my girlfriend in which they appear to be…doing something inappropriate. None of this has actually happened to me, but it could easily as I’m not very employable…or attractive.

As we continue to become more and more dependent on electronics and communicating through them, we may lose contact with real relationships. I finally did graduate from college (online, stupid hypocrite) my degree was in Hospitality Management…I guess it still is, you can tell the writing thing isn’t working out too well…I love talking to people, and generally I enjoy being around them. I’m perfectly content being myself as well, but given the choice I think I take people any day…even via Facebook.

A quick note on Pinterest…I’m not on the site but I’m pretty sure it’s mostly used for recipes and craft ideas…Don’t we have Google for that? I’m not a big recipe guy but if I want to make something and I’m not sure how, I type what I want to make into Google and after reading the recipe…I make it, and it’s awesome as I am tremendous cook/baker. Arts and Crafts? You should see the picture my nephew and I colored the other day, or the barn we made out of cardboard. You want to know how to make these? I’ll “Pin” it to you later…

The bottom line is that Facebook, like it or not, is very addicting. We all know people who aren’t on Facebook and refuse to join…but they’ll join…just give them a taste, the first ones free. That’s how they got me…the 78 year old man you’re going to marry later…

Now to just post this to Facebook…

The Flood of 1997

The Flood of 1997

(A 13-year old boy’s perspective)

The spring of 1997 was a terrible one. I remember it started out with my mom, dad, and I coming back from a basketball tournament in Devils Lake and on our way home we happened to run into a heard of Holstein cows. That’s right, a heard. The cows were all very dark and it was one of those nights where there was absolutely no moon, one of the darkest nights that I remember. We went into a dip in the road and when we came out on the other side all we saw was the reflection of the eyes of a million hamburgers. Somehow my dad managed to miss most of the heard but we did clip two or three of the cows with one of them flipping around the side of the car and crapping on the window on my side of the car. All I could think of was that if that window had busted in the ordeal this trip could have been a whole lot shittier…

So that was the beginning of the Spring of ’97 for me, almost got crapped on by a heard of cows and totaled out our car, things weren’t looking so great.

Besides this there was a growing fear that all of Minnesota and North Dakota was going to flood, in Minnesota we’re survivors but we were obviously worried about everything we would lose in North Dakota…this was before the oil was really discovered otherwise it might have been more of a national concern.

The day after my near poop experience there was a pretty terrible ice storm that knocked out most of the power in our area and kept it down for several days, which made the flood fighting all that much more difficult. Once the power was back and we were able to get back to junior high…and life for most other people, they really kicked up the efforts by giving us the option to go down and put together sand bags for building dikes in Grand Forks and the surrounding area. Now I’m really into volunteer work now, but at the time I’ll admit that the only thing that I was thinking was that it meant getting out of school. I live at one of the highest points of Red Lake Falls, I’m not really worried about the river getting to me, I’m more worried that I may fall into the river!

So you know just how smart I was signing up to do a bunch of manual labor rather than practicing my keyboarding skills in school…thankfully I’ve gotten smarter over the years, it did only take me about ten years to finish my bachelor’s degree…

After a few weeks of loading up these sand bags and sending them to the needed areas we all got pretty good at it but unfortunately we started hearing phrases like “100 Year Flood,” which of course being as smart as I was, I started constructing an Arc and gathered pairs of animals. But even at 13 years old we began to realize just how devastating this flood could become. Grand Forks was in serious trouble and despite all of the help it was getting from the area, the thought was that it just wasn’t going to be enough.

My sister was attending UND at that time but classes had been put on hold so that the students could help sand bag to help save their city and very possibly their University. As it became more and more evident that the effort simply wasn’t going to be enough, the residents of Grand Forks were evacuated. They were told to leave their possessions behind and just get out of the city. My sister, much like myself, was a bit of a procrastinator at the time and probably took off much later than she should have. On her journey from Grand Forks to Red Lake Falls she was detoured several times because of flooded roads and eventually took her car through about four feet of water to get home. Now mind you, she is probably the smartest of this Brumwell clan…

By the time she arrived home I had gone to sleep, I was tired from all of the keyboarding practice I had resumed after they found out my notes to go sandbagging had been forged…but I awoke the next morning to one of the greatest sights a 13-year-old boy may ever experience, a living room filled with beautiful co-eds!

As our place was the closest place for Steph and her friends to escape to they decided that they would all come here until they were able to get back to their families once the water subsided. I truly thought I had died and gone to heaven…just a few short weeks prior to this a cow had almost crapped on my head, now all of a sudden I felt like Hugh Hefner! I took immediate action, waking up Ryan and heading straight to the kitchen. I had met all of these girls before but I hadn’t had the opportunity to truly impress them, so by the time they woke up Ryan and I had prepared their breakfast and were dawning our Sunday best…but alas, I was 13 and wouldn’t have known what to do with any of them if given the opportunity, not like today’s generation.

Oh, I almost forgot about the flood! Downtown Grand Forks was all but destroyed, after the dikes broke and all of downtown was flooded, the buildings downtown somehow started on fire as well. The local paper had pictures of houses and decks floating down the river almost daily. Whole sections of the city were completely wiped out and many, many people lost their homes and really, their identity.

But from the ashes of devastation an almost new city was reborn. The old downtown has mostly been rebuilt, and in many ways is much nicer now than it had once been. Larger dikes and flood walls were constructed to help protect the city and where once stood an older neighborhood there is now a beautiful city park that helps house many travelers that come to Grand Forks for the shopping and many other area attractions.

It has now been 15 years since this terrible disaster, and I was recently reminded by a posting on Facebook by one of those same lovely ladies that was once a guest in our basement. Many people remember the events differently and this account probably isn’t accurate at all, I was 13 after all, but I guess the point is that although it seemed like a real shitty situation to most, to one 13 year old boy, it resulted in one of the best weeks of his life. It goes to show you, when God (or a cow) shits on your window, sometimes he opens a door (that leads to a basement filled with beautiful co-eds)…or something like that.