Time to Say Goodbye to the Facebook Addiction

Thirteen years ago, I met Facebook. It was a new tool that connected me with so many people from years gone by. I remember the day that a friend from 1990 connected with me, and I thought it was wonderful to hear form him again. I’ve enjoyed following a few people I knew in high school and several people who are in my Jeep Club; and many in between.

However, now it seems that Facebook is more of a time sucker. Other than pictures of Jeeps in the snow, my feed is full of shared memes that add little to no value to my life. I haven’t figured out how to make it stop, so, it’s time to just stop. Goodbye Facebook has begun.

Here is my plan. First, establish a new forum to share my worldly posts. A few years ago, I started a WordPress site, family.dahlstroms.us. I have shared many stories, and several people have commented. I like the mobile phone / tablet interface, and I enjoy that I can update posts on the fly. You’re seeing this happening here. 🙂

Next, I need a way to share photos. My primary use of Facebook has been to share photos. So, a suitable replacement is important. I found Piwigo, an open source photo album. I am still playing with the settings, but you can look Through the Crystalline Lens and explore some of my thoughts. A huge benefit to this solution is it will automatically update the albums based on folder structure. I’m looking forward to going through my photos to pick the best for sharing.

I know people aren’t going to randomly go check my blog for new updates, so I need a way to keep people informed at a frequency they choose. Thus, I need to let people subscribe to my blog or tell me they just want an occasional email from me. You’ve probably seen the request for this information either in your inbox or on Facebook. If you didn’t get the message, you can update your contact information using this form.

Finally, I needed to be sure that I have current emails, phone numbers, and addresses for the people who want to be kept in the loop using the old school methods. I created Christian Dahlstrom’s Contact List Management form to allow you to update my address book. I emailed it to every email address I have and posted it to Facebook. (Note: this is my personal address book and will not be used for commercial purposes, nor will it be sold or shared to anyone, ever.)

Let the journey begin. If you follow my blog, you’ll get updates along the way as Ian and I prepare for our Wedding in November. You’ll see the latest tractor work in the driveway. You’ll get some insight to recipes we are trying, including the step by step to make it yourself. And, you’ll get to see photos from my adventures. I hope you stick around.