No I joined and signed up with name OogieM and Oogie McGuire, put my avatar pix and the farm pix up there and once in a blue moon I’ll post something so the account doesn’t get deleted for inactivity but otherwise I ignore facebook.
Facebook doesn’t require unique usernames, so there is no limit on the number of accounts that share the same name.
Not according t othe Facebook Site
" When you create a custom username for your Page or profile, keep in mind:
- You can only have one username for your Page or profile, and you can’t have a username that is already being used.
- Usernames can only contain alphanumeric characters (A–Z, 0–9) and periods (“.”). They can’t contain generic terms or extensions (.com, .net).
- Usernames must be at least 5 characters long.
- Periods (“.”) and capitalization can’t be used to differentiate usernames. For example, johnsmith55, John.Smith55 and john.smith.55 are all considered the same username.
- Usernames shouldn’t impersonate someone else.
- Your username must adhere to the Facebook Terms."
I think it’s a good idea to establish your presence in such a prominent social media site, but nothing prevents another person from using your name as well. If they attempt to actually impersonate you though, then your (presumably) long(er) established account will give you leverage and credibility should you decide to make a complaint over a Terms of Service violation.
Actually yes it does. I just tried to create a new facebook account with the same name OogieM and I can’t
I should be more clear here. You can’t reuse the username for an account, but the display name (your name or mine, the one that people associate with the account rather than what you login with) isn’t unique. I can create an account that shows up as Oogie McGuire with a username of (let’s say) theRealOogie1234, unless things have changed recently. (I’ve heard rumours of FB asking for proof of identity but I don’t know the things that would cause that to happen.)
1 Like
I think it is now, or at least if it matches someone else you have to verify. There were ID verification things on the account I tried to make that I never got to because the username was identical to my real one.
If by display name, we mean “John Smith” (and not facebook.com/johnsmith) I’d be stunned if that had to be unique, as then millions of people couldn’t use their own names. Perhaps Facebook Pages and Groups have to be unique, but not people.
3 Likes
I thought this quote from Cal Newport, Deep Work, is a helpful reminder:
These services are engineered to be addictive—robbing time and attention from activities that more directly support your professional and personal goals (such as deep work). Eventually, if you use these tools enough, you’ll arrive at the state of burned-out, hyperdistracted connectivity that plagued Baratunde Thurston and millions of others like him. It’s here that we encounter the true insidious nature of an any-benefit mind-set. The use of network tools can be harmful. If you don’t attempt to weigh pros against cons, but instead use any glimpse of some potential benefit as justification for unrestrained use of a tool, then you’re unwittingly crippling your ability to succeed in the world of knowledge work.
3 Likes
How timely in this quote for me. The past couple of days on my Facebook feed I am seeing stuff I know is there to illicit a reaction of anger. It’s fascinating to be aware of it happening. I teach my music kids that there are people who spend a lot of money learning to how to use music to create an atmosphere to make people feel a certain way. We are all susceptible to being unaware of the matrix (my tinfoil hat is on now), but it’s just the reality.
For what it’s worth, I think that things like mindfulness and self awareness work is helpful in knowing how you are reacting to things like social media.
I’m not trying to be a contrarian on this, and I suspect my perspective is far too limited, but I find the mindfulness trend to be a bit overwrought.
While meditation has clear scientific benefits and has been practiced for centuries, being mindful and self aware (a form of metacognition) strikes me primarily as a matter of being mature. Children are seldom mindful or self aware whereas being adult presumes a degree of both.
That said, while I don’t practice mindfulness in the meditative sense, I do practice 30 minutes of daily prayer and Bible reading, which includes reflection but is grounded in learning and digesting solid material in contrast to a form of mindfulness that could be interpreted as mindlessness–an emptying rather than a thoughtful taking in. I’m not being pejorative here–merely trying, probably poorly, to define terms. I’d rather mediate, ruminate, muse or ponder on some thought, concept, etc. This is more of a filling and a developing than an emptying but doing so in a quiet contemplative and distraction free environment. I don’t even need a mat! 
Sure, that’s fair, but if we’re talking social media, I would say that we see a huge lack of maturity or metacognition. The art of nuance is lost (and is encouraged to slip further away based on algorithms). I view self-awareness not in the spiritual new age sense, but being able to recognize and articulate what makes us happy, sad, angry, etc… Perhaps our definitions are not far off from each other.
Also, I think mindfulness as “New Agey” is morphing into Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Schools are putting in dedicated time to these efforts (we use a program called 7 mindsets), which is teaching kids how to be aware of themselves and those around them. I watch first hand how teachers in our school struggle with topics like “Attitude of Gratitude” or “Everything is Possible.” Perhaps the problem is we are not as mature as we need to be for future generations lol.
I agree with everything you noted.
we see a huge lack of maturity or metacognition.
That is an understatement. I wonder how many careers, reputations, marriages and organizations have been severely hurt or even destroyed as the result of impulsive, immature social media posts!
I would add that though SEL may expand upon the concept, it overlaps with EQ, an essential skill for everyone, often learned through hard knocks growing up. Some things only experience can teach.
I’m still not going to do SM or meditate on a mat. 
I lasted one entire session of lamaze in the 80’s. I stopped, to the chagrin of my wife, after the instructor told me “to imagine and focus on a warm spot in the middle of my gut slowing spreading throughout my body…” That was it, I was outta of there!
3 Likes
Leaders have followers. The biggest arena in today’s world to find followers is on social media.
I accept therefore that leaders in today’s world who want more followers and who avoid social media will not do well by comparison to those who learn how to embrace social media.
Best practices to do what? Knock 'em dead? Win friends and influence people? Or simply gain more followers? We might need to plan to spend a few days on this. But, in short, go in with a clear head, open eyes, and a well-framed outcome in mind. Alternatively, drop plenty of breadcrumbs or be tied to a strong rope in case you have to find your way back out of the forest that has surrounded you.
Consider as the converse the extent to which you are courting a desire to dive into a den of rapid raccoons armed only with a sense of moral obligation to tame them with a (higher) sense of responsibility to your fellow man or mankind.
In my case, I have a short fuse for fools and often easily loose my self-discipline. I also find that I generally end up shooting myself in the foot (or worse) with the shotgun that I thought might protect me more than I do any damage to the raccoons. So thank goodness that I find Facebook and Twitter (and YouTube and others) entirely boring, as well as that I (for better or worse) do not find it my calling to save certain classes of lost souls.
To this end, back to the question on best practices. I have decided the best practice for me is to sit with like-minded souls that we can assure each other that we could at least stop one rapid raccoon should it stray over with a clear intent to attack us.
The beer is also so much better on this side than with the raccoons. 
–
JJW
4 Likes
@DrJJWMac that was a great read!! Although I’m not a drinker (not against it, just not interested) keep the beer cold. I may join you and the raccoons!! 
3 Likes
when they govern via twitter, that gets a bit much.
Agreed!
20 characters
1 Like