Reviewing

Reviewing is kind of fun.

It allows me to tell a story coherently and sometimes with a little creative wording. Sometimes I have to think about where I’d like to review, though, because the majority of places I do go aren’t where one would think of or have time to analyze.

And then I’m kind of a homebody.

#RASP - Rant Around Several Paragraphs #4: Facebook Feeds

I have a like/hate relationship with Facebook.

I like it because it helps me keep tabs on my friends, brothers, and geographically distant family. It helps me to get to know people I don't see fairly regularly a little better.

On this point, my hate comes out as well: Facebook likes to cater my feed to those with whom I've had relatively frequent or recent contact on Facebook or Messenger. This angers me.

I want to get to know all my friends, and to know what's going on in their heads or hearts. Biasing my feed to only those with whom I actually click a like or something occludes the posts of those who don't post very often. Facebook does this intentionally, of course, because they want your eyeballs, thumbs, and ears on Facebook (and hopefully some of your money, too) 24/7, if they can help it.
Enticing, one, therefore, to stay on there with things they know you'll continue to like and see out makes it worth their while to a have the feeds display that way.

I want, though, to see everyone's stuff. I want the "Most Recent" feed to be something I can default to. I want, when the Facebook app updates, to have the "Sound Off" on the feed option remain off!

I remember the good old days of "The Facebook" with virtual flinging of sheep and various little apps that included national flags of one's heritage, and when one could really connect with one's schoolmates. Then they'd rolled out neighborhoods, and I'd reluctantly had to have Miami as my secondary to FIU. That's still an option in Facebook, actually, a grandfathered thing.

As they've grown more commercial, more ubiquitous, and people are using Facebook for things that had fallen to other places to fill (Messenger for WhatsApp, even though WhatsApp is now a Facebook property anyway; Marketplace for Craig's List; Jobs for pretty much any job board; Memories for TimeHop or just going over one's feed nostalgically; Reviews for Yelp). It's gotten insane. I was on reddit the other day and someone was complaining about the Facebook app size, and all I had to say was, in more creative wording, think about how Facebook has become more than just a social network.

It's become a life draw for some people,

I just want to be able to have "Most Recent" be default so I can know what's going on in all my friends' lives and not just whomever Facebook determines is "worth" my time.

Today's Yelp Review Doozies

Every day lately I've been going into Yelp and looking at reviews, sending messages, and just getting to know what Atlanta offers (seven years late).

So, yes, there are always those reviews that have pretty bad things to say about places, whether for dining or just a service generally.

Today, though, took the take. These four were in pretty decent succession of each other, and some of them left me just shocked.

David B - Kacey's Home Cooking

In this one, the manager flat-out and unprovokedly told them to get out. I mean, what? I understand, people have lives, and having someone come in relatively close to closing time might not be the most ideal thing. Having worked in various customer-facing and serving positions, I totally get it. But dude…

Jessica B - Shaking Crawfish

This one is probably the draw between laughing at how ridiculous the service was and just throwing one's hands up in frustration. I mean, the people laughed at the fact they were about stealing the customers' money. 🙄

Leah B - Burger King

This one is probably the tamest of the four because it was the most passive. Simultaneously, it's probably the saddest because the service person – basing this on the review – seemed to not care she'd spilt a drink all over the customer and her car. I mean, now she's got soda she has to clean out of her car somehow, and it's full of sugar, the soda!

Nina L - QuikTrip

Then this one, it is anger-producing, partly because it involves multiple people. There seems some racial profiling in it, as well as some misogyny, some assumptions about the writer, some sexual harassment… It's just a complete clusterfuck, and I don't blame her one bit for just walking out… I've messaged her she should bring it to corporate.

And I mean in Oklahoma!