Social Media - A Word from your Blogger - Lady D.

Nearly every week, I find another invitation to join one or another of the social media sites out there has found its way into my inbox.  Let's settle this here and now.  I have no intention whatsoever of belonging to any of those social media sites. Facebook, Linkedin, Google Plus, and now Twitter... seem to have attracted most everyone involved with writing and/or publishing. Except me. Instead of being attracted to these types of sites, I am repelled by them to the point where I've just about stopped doing anything on the internet in order to avoid having to decline such invitations. 

At least Linkedin allows me to contact the person sending the invitation via email so that I can tactfully decline such invitations. Facebook and Twitter have no such option, that I know of.  I'm not certain of Google Plus, but also not interested enough to find out how that works.

My reasons for declining to join social media sites:

1. Facebook and Google Plus require the use of my real name, which I consider to be a violation of my privacy.  Not sure about Linkedin or Twitter, but suspect the same is true of those sites as well.

2. Facebook won't allow me to have a verified account without my supplying a cell phone number. I tried this in late 2011; with no way to verify my account unless I revealed my cell phone number,  I deleted the Facebook account. I'm not about to reveal that number to ANY website. My cell phone is for communication with friends and family, and for emergencies, it is not for frivolous things such as joining a website. Besides, I trust social media sites (especially Facebook) like I trust my worst enemy - not one bit.


3. My other objection to Twitter is the brevity of the posts.  I couldn't possibly post anything useful within such a short limitation. That limitation makes Twitter even more useless to me than the other sites mentioned in this post.

A Request: 
If you know me, please do NOT invite me to join any social media site. This goes double for you if you do not know me, and triple if I don't even know who you are.  Either way, the answer is unequivocally NO.  I won't change my mind, or even give that type of site a fair trial.  I already belong to enough different sites and blogs that I've no time for or interest in joining another site.