Facebook overload

My initial love affair with Facebook is fading fast.

I still think the platform is ingenious and something corporations can emulate for internal comms. But Facebook itself is turning into a non stop promotion machine. I get alerts on all sorts of stuff that have nothing to do with me prompted mostly by promotions.

As a survivor of the media business I understand such a business needs ad dollars to survive. But when it starts pushing stuff to me that I have no interest in looking at, or I can't control, it doesn't serve anyone's purpose.

One of the great hopes of the Internet was personalize marketing -- sending me messages I wanted to see. I thought Facebook would do that but it seems less and less likely.

Some of this is perhaps my fault. I've accepted invites from "friends" who aren't really friends (defined as someone I'd enjoy having a drink with) so maybe the algorithms are making vast assumptions they should not.

Still, Facebook is no longer on the top five list of places I go first thing in the morning.