"Don't Friend Me!"

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000105 EndHTML:0000004697 StartFragment:0000002292 EndFragment:0000004661

           “Don’t friend me!” (285) Jacquielynn Floyd, a news writer, has taken a stand on Facebook and a problem that has developed with its creation. There have been many complaints about privacy issues with Facebook, and users are worried that certain things they don’t want the whole world to see will get out a lot further than they want. However, according to Floyd, “there’s not a thing wrong with Facebook.” (285) So then, where does the problem lie? The problem, she claims, is that we have lost, “the ability to distinguish between our public and our private selves.” (285)

            I enjoyed reading this, being a believer in her idea, because of her intensity and ability to be straightforward. Through her writing she shows a passion and fire for what she believes. She sarcastically uses the terms like, twittered, blasted, poked, or super-poked; to get her opinion across of how ridiculous the argument is that she has entered. She, as you can tell from her tone, is sick of hearing people complain about privacy issue when they could easily be stopped by just not posting what you don’t want the world to see. One of her direct, intense statements is this; “Face this:  You are your own front line of defense in maintaining your privacy.” (285) She is telling everyone who has a problem with Facebook’s privacy that the problem isn’t Facebook it’s you! The “Face this” part of it is what makes it so bold, and even offensive, to some readers.

            However, with all her intense wording and straightforward statements, she will turn off many of her readers. One risk in writing boldly is you will lose some credibility (ethos) with some of your audience who get offended by your statements. But along with that, you will also gain credibility with other groups of people, and most important of all, there will be a few that react to your bold statements with an open ear and turn to your ideas.