When I write something for someone, I don’t necessarily want other people commenting on it. For example, I posted one of my comics on my friend’s wall because it reminded me of them; I don’t really want everyone commenting on that. But there’s pretty much no difference between posting a comic on a friend’s wall and posting it on my feed. It looks the same; the only difference is an arrow for someone’s name. So normally when I post a comic, I want people to see and comment on it. Yet when I post it for someone specific, there’s no visual distinction from my normal purpose.

You can’t really criticize me for getting annoyed at this because facebook is “public.” There’s a difference between something being public and something being broadcast. There’s a difference between posting a flier on your cubicle wall and putting copies of fliers in everyone else’s cubicles. There’s a difference between having a conversation in a coffee shop and having a conversation on stage. So yes, everyone can see what I post, but that doesn’t mean I want everyone updated with what I post.

It distorts communication. Instead of talking, you’re performing. Everything you say to someone is broadcast for the world. I used to have these updates turned off, but facebook keeps changing their TOS because they’re assholes. What’s the point of agreeing to something if they have the right to change it at any moment?

Again, we’re no longer people. We’re just memes floating in the stream.