My name is Lorne and I’m a Facebook fan. There, I admitted it. Does that mean I’m now on the road to recovery?
Facebook is the only form of social networking that I use consistently (I still don’t “get” Twitter, and it’s not from a lack of trying). It’s like the prototypical drunk uncle, full of faults but still hard not to like. After all, how else to keep up with family and friends from all over the world, or even the activities of friends right here in the Creston Valley?
While its detractors rant about privacy issues, Facebook does let users pretty much control who sees what. In the end, users determine what they write and what photos they post, so letting information get into the wrong hands or get too widespread is pretty much their fault, not Facebook’s.
I’ve particularly enjoyed being able to reconnect, or to connect more regularly, with a number of our former Rotary exchange students, most of which spent three to six months in our home, becoming part of our family and bringing us countless wonderful memories. Even if I am not communicating directly, I get updates when they post about their activities and I can pop into their pages to see if they have added photos.
One of the great peculiarities, though, is Facebook’s use of Bing translations — our exchange students regularly post in languages including Finnish, Turkish, French and Russian. I’ve typically skipped these posts in the past, but recently I’ve been clicking on the Bing translations. While they aren’t particularly illuminating, they are at least entertaining.
Consider the following exchange. I’ve included the original posts in and the Bing automated translations, which are supposed to help us non-Finnish speakers. What follows is an actual sequence:
tietääkö siitä syksyn tulleen, kun Ruska tulee kylään? Lempivuodenaikani!
in the autumn, when the autumn leaf color that came from it’s substantive assessment of the will to the village? Your Favorite Year In My Time! (Translated by Bing)
Yes it is now very hard coming (Translated by Bing)
tämmöset days is quite wonderful (Translated by Bing)
Saispa itekin enjoy, but here in the four documents within the wall niiskutetaan (Translated by Bing)
Can you correctly as saikkulomalla, mullakin is pretty oikee the nose, when it is usually “normal” but in the semmonen of the nose (Translated by Bing)
No can not. Meninkö then tarttutamaan?:( höh. We’ve been working for for the time being. Today, at least in the presence of the deteriorated, but tomorrow is to go to work, but not yet to a disease leaves make a katotaan. (Translated by Bing)
No it now comes from anywhere, and it is not serious enough to justify halting the bed.Power has been (Translated by Bing)
No good then and hopefully out of the nose leaves soon:) (Translated by Bing)
Of course, not all Facebook posts are entertaining only because of their silliness. On the morning of this writing I have received interesting updates from former Crestonites Nancy and David Pridham, who are having more fun than anyone has a right to at their home in Mexico (although there is concern for the dire potential of hurricane Miriam), John (Sandy) Nadler, who continues to enjoy his life in Budapest, and RCMP Sgt. Rob Knapton, who recently transferred to Whistler and shared photos of himself in a Stop the Violence Against Women demonstration. In them he wears not one, but two, different pairs of women’s red shoes, the toeless version being his favourites because they show off his blue-painted toenails!
For every inane post, like who is achieving what scores on one goofy game or another, there is a touching or funny ecard or announcement of a happy or sad occurrence.
I’m no fan of chatting on cellphones, sending text messages and photos, but Facebook lets me pop in and out when it is convenient in my schedule, not that of others.
Now if it can just get the translations right.
Lorne Eckerlsey is the publisher of the Creston Valley Advance.