Job Discussion Forums

[gharwell1]

I have started a Facebook group, "You Live in Oman if" where people can share their positive and/or interesting experiences. and... yes, you can even share your academic experiences.

[johnslat]

Dear gharwell1,

" . . . . yes, you can even share your academic experiences."

Should anyone do that, I hope he/she will remember to be discrete. Facebook, like Dave's, is a very public site.

Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

If I were still in Oman (or for the whole Gulf actually...) ...or were looking to go there to teach, I wouldn't even join Facebook.

The debacle at Qatar University should be a lesson to anyone of the risks... of course, that one taught to not trust anyone you know who is on Facebook and can post your picture.

VS

[While I was out]

Yeah, and don't accept any invites to join any work facebook accounts just in case.

[gharwell1]

You should also check out

"I lived on a compound in Saudi Arabia!" on Facebook. People are talking about their general experiences.

Of course you should be discreet about your work situation.

But... for example, I made a 13 hour road trip from Nizwa to Sohar and back through Muscat for some shopping and dinner......and I only hit one traffic signal. That's pretty good. Especially since I hate traffic signals. Notice, I didn't say anything negative about Oman, Omanis or my employer. That kind of stuff is best left to low volume grumblings between like minded people.

My personal feelings are if you don't like it(the place, job, etc.) then take a hike. There are plenty of places in the world where you can be just as miserable as you are in Oman. If you are not happy in Oman, then you are not going to be happy anywhere. Exit stage right!

[denise]

[johnslat]

Dear Denise,

Facebook's having problems:

"Then Facebook decided to turn �your� profile page into your identity online � figuring, rightly, that there�s money and power in being the place where people define themselves. But to do that, the folks at Facebook had to make sure that the information you give it was public.

So in December, with the help of newly hired Beltway privacy experts, it reneged on its privacy promises and made much of your profile information public by default. That includes the city that you live in, your name, your photo, the names of your friends and the causes you�ve signed onto.

This spring Facebook took that even further. All the items you list as things you like must become public and linked to public profile pages. If you don�t want them linked and made public, then you don�t get them � though Facebook nicely hangs onto them in its database in order to let advertisers target you.

This includes your music preferences, employment information, reading preferences, schools, etc. All the things that make up your profile. They all must be public � and linked to public pages for each of those bits of info � or you don�t get them at all. That�s hardly a choice, and the whole system is maddeningly complex.

Simultaneously, the company began shipping your profile information off pre-emptively to Yelp, Pandora and Microsoft � so that if you show up there while already logged into Facebook, the sites can �personalize� your experience when you show up. You can try to opt out after the fact, but you�ll need a master�s in Facebook bureaucracy to stop it permanently."


http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/05/facebook-rogue/

http://www.businessinsider.com/well-these-new-zuckerberg-ims-wont-help-facebooks-privacy-problems-2010-5

Regards,
John

[Duffy]

I completely agree with JohnSlat.

If you have reservations about Facebook, read this article, it will expalin how to manage you FB account.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7724359/How-to-delete-your-Facebook-account.html?utm_source=tmg&utm_medium=TD_facebook&utm_campaign=tech1505


Duffy

[denise]

Yes, I am aware of those changes, and... I STILL choose to use facebook! I am careful about who I add, what I allow them to see, and what I post. Without getting into personal details (which you could try to find on facebook, if you really had nothing better to do with your time--and you probably wouldn't find anything that I wouldn't want you to see anyway), IF you read the fine print and choose the privacy settings that fit you the best, then...

Well, never mind. Some people just don't like facebook. Fair enough. I do like it. I've found people that I've been looking for for years... but again, getting too personal now! For the details, see my FB page. But you WON'T see very many work-related comments, because I don't want to bore old friends and family with work-related stuff.

d

[veiledsentiments]

I too have found Facebook to be very helpful in connecting to old friends and since I am retired, the privacy issues are not as important as they would be. But still, I have no private information or photos on there (to the complaint of some of my "friends") but I only use it to keep in touch with my friends around the world and to be able to view their photos.

Most likely it is just that some of us are more "old-fashioned" about the idea of privacy. The children of today will likely not even know what it means to have any privacy.

VS

[johnslat]

Dear denise,

Whoa - don't get me wrong. I like it; I'm still on it. I just wasn't sure if you were aware of the privacy issues that have been surfacing lately.

If facebook doesn't shape up, it could easily go the way of MySpace (Huh? what's a MySpace?)

Regards,
John

[Poetic Justice]

I like Facebook because it has the potential to be a new source of unbiased information about employers, schools, and countries.

[veiledsentiments]

... isn't "unbiased opinion" an oxymoron?

In the last few days I've had many people on Facebook sending me the link to this new site... Diaspora... (which I find a rather unfortunate name) where large numbers of people are checking it out with the idea of doing to Facebook what Facebook did to MySpace.

VS

[pat blake]

Does anyone know how to kill a facebook account?

[Duffy]

Pat,

check this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7724359/How-to-delete-your-Facebook-account.html?utm_source=tmg&utm_medium=TD_facebook&utm_campaign=tech1505


Duffy