Facebook... We need to talk.

Dear Facebook,

We need to talk.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Facebook and have been a loyal user since 2003 - the good ole days when it was only open to college students. In the past couple of weeks, some things have been bothering me. And in an effort to be more "adult-like" I am going to share my feelings, instead of bottling them up inside and doing something rash like deleting my account for good.

Which is why below you will find a listing of some things that have been bothering me. If you could please address some if not all of my concerns I will not be forced to limit my Facebook site visits to only once a day instead of my normal three or four visits. I may only be one user but I want you to know that my daily usage counts toward the 13.1 million people who update their

status at least once a day and while you continue to beat MySpace as the number 1 social network with more than 70.3 million unique visitors each month, my temporary boycott of your site could cause you to loose that honorary position and the millions of valuable advertising

dollars associated with being the number #1 social media site.

1. Inappropriate Status Messages

I understand that status messages are the new AIM away message and that's great. I actually really enjoying telling my entire network of "friends" what I am doing but there are certain issues and topics that should not be discussed via status message. Please read the example below and note this is 100% authentic. I couldn't make this stuff up.

Now, I am all for free speech but is there some setting that can make status messages with words like "dilated" disappear from my news feed? Because honestly, just because someone was my sorority sister years ago doesn't necessarily mean I want to know the status of her cervix.

2. Easy on the Quizzes

I might be guilty of creating a "How well do you know Steph?" quiz but can we please limit the number of super dumb quizzes available? Understandably, Facebook as long been used to avoid doing any actual work while at work but figuring out "What my birth month says about me?" or "How well would I survive a horror movie?" seems like a complete waste of time and news feed space. They always say there's a drop in corporate productivity when March Madness starts but I would be more curious to see how much work time is used figuring out color best suits your personality.

3. Ridiculous Fan Pages

I am currently a fan of Showtime's The Tutors, Current TV's Max and Jason, GirlTalk and various work fan pages but do I really need to let the world know I am a fan of beer? Or my personal favorite "Being on top"? Really? Don't get me wrong. I love Chicago and I am not afraid to shout that from a rooftop but is a fan page for Chicago really necessary?

Sincerely,

Stephanie Sipe