Does everyone love FB? I must confess it is addictive and I think it's probably great for many breeders who are in outlaying rural areas and feel out of touch with friends. But the endless competitive brags and mundane reporting on everyday things is a bore.

OK shoot me :)

It's called communication.
It might be addictive, but here is the cure:

And here is how you use it:

You can always just not read it or Unfriend people who bore you. Why complain about something that can so easily be fixed?

Here's an idea............close YOUR account !

I love the brags. Like to see who is winning. Look at the stud dogs, what others are doing and yes, just unfriend or don't read. Some do bore me also.

I hate the brags. It's alot of hornblowers and so often like a kennel commercial. I love the fun and intersting informative stuff on there.

You can easily solve this problem instead of complaining with the several options available to you:

1) Un-friend the person you are annoyed about because obviously you arent supporting them in their accomplishments.
2) Click the little X beside the post on the newsfeed, and click "Hide All by ____"
3) Close your account
4) Turn on your TV or open the newspaper and see that there are others in the world that have MUCH bigger problems.
5) Drink a coffee and relax, its a bright and sunny Monday morning.

Sometimes it seems like a race. Who can have the most breeder friends in the world on FB. I'd say 95% of my facebook is friends and family. I prefer it that way. A very small percentage of them are dog people (show/performance/rescue). I would also say probably more than 95% of them are people I have seen, sat with, and been friends with in "the real world" as well.
I do like Labrador Retriever Stud Dogs because I SO enjoy viewing beautiful boys from around the world!!

Feel free to "Unfriend" me if you'd like because I am one to share the joys in my life. ... from my kids to my dogs to any other wonderful blessing. I think there are far too many complainers in this world and far too much news of destruction and heartache that I want to hear the good stuff. And I will share it. Sure will not be offended if you don't want to hear it so unfriend away!

Keep sharing, Stacey! I love seeing your and other's accomplishments is FB.
As one who is somewhat home-bound these days, I love seeing what is going on in the Labrador show scene and reading about the accomplishments, joys, and, yes, even sharing the sorrows.of those I care about.
Rock on, FB!

The last time I checked a friend was someone who shares in your joys. Someone who you can't wait to tell that exciting piece of news to - however trivial they realize it's important in your life. And, if they are your friend they will love hearing about it. I guess if you find all the brags and daily life accomplishments boring you aren't really all that great of a friend. So, please go ahead and un-friend me if I am on your list. I love hearing of my friends accomplishments from all over the world! I love hearing the brags, the stories, the laughs and seeing pictures of everyone! Post away my friends!!

I totally agree with Stacey, Susan, and Liz. Facebook is a great positive communication network and I LOVE seeing and sharing in the joys of others accomplishments. It's just another way that we can all 'let that little light shine':).

I just don't get FB. A zillion people are clamouring to be my "friends" and I don't even know most of them and I don't want to. I find FB so trivial and BORING.

Email, OTOH is far more interesting. I belong to many dog-related email lists which are interesting. My friends write to ME and I don't have to waste my time reading through stupid, boring comments and wondering why people find it so entertaining.

Guess it must be fun for ten year olds.

Bah Humbug!

I really was not jazzed about Facebook at first either, and I don't like getting "friend" requests from people I don't know or those who have never given me the time of day in person. That said, it is easy to ensure your friend list is made up of real friends, if that is what you want. What I do like is that it is easy to share photos without clogging people's email boxes with large files. I can get opinions on photos without opening numerous emails from multiple people. I can get instant feedback on info I need without having to ask anyone in particular. When I start getting a lot of posts on my news feed that I am not interested in reading (mostly political rants), I can block the person who posts them. It is pretty easy to ignore/block the stuff you don't like

Is there a lot of stupid stuff posted on FB? Yes. But I also get a lot of dumb email too. The funny thing is many people also hated email when it first came out - there is nothing like a phone call or personal interaction. I felt the same way, but when I had friends in different time zones, the benefits of technology helped us stay connected, and that is what I like.

As FB friends of Stacey, Liz and Lisa, I must say I enjoy your posts, photos and brags. I share your joy, understand the heartaches and support all my FB friends. They never bore me.

I do set my profile to private and can not be found in searches (which reduces a lot of unwanted friend invites from people I don't know/don't want to know). I keep my group of friends small because I don't always have a lot of time to keep up with everyone on my friend's list, but once in a while I can check in and enjoy photos. There are some really good photographers on my friend's list. I also enjoy seeing puppy photos especially litters sired by a dog I might be interested in using.

Another great group on FB as someone mentioned is the Stud Dogs. The quality of dogs from all over the world is OUTSTANDING.

FB is a wonderful tool for keeping in touch with friends, making new friends, and learning more about what's available in our breed.

If you are bored with FB, deactivate your account for awhile and just take a break. You only have to do as much as you want on FB.

To the OP, I get the feeling that you don't like Facebook but you don't want to miss anything either so you stay hooked up. You can't have it both ways so you will just have to suck it up if you want to stay "in the loop." You have gotten some great suggestions on how to cut back on the amount so take a few minutes and reset your account or just deactivate. I promise we will all try our best to get along without you.

I love facebook, and I love people like Stacey and Liz who have become even closer friends BECAUSE of FB. Otherwise, I would only see them once a year, at most. As for the 1,500 other friends who I may not know personally, may daughter explained it to me: "They just want to see your stuff." Any harm with that? I guess not. ;-)

Many people complain about the every day posters, but I kind of like it. I mean, who else can't help but smile at a cute puppy picture, or an OMG, there was a huge spider in my bathtub! posts. If you don't like it, keep scrolling. FB is fun, if it isn't fun for you, the "hide" button is useful.

Don't be so close minded. I've actually MET people that i've FB'd with, that I would have NEVER met otherwise. Be open, who cares what people are posting. If it's constant non-sense, X them out of your life. FB has opened so many doors for me in Labradors...I would think it's a little bit good for everyone. Unless your a social degenerate.

It's funny because I'm not actually facebook friends with most of my family and non dog friends, we call and email eachother plenty ;) I am however fb friends with people from all over the world, some of which I don't even share the same language, but we seem to share a love of this breed! I LOVE to see pics of puppy evaluations and dogs of all ages from both here and abroad.

Strange to me that someone would let people bragging or really anything about FB bother them... unfriend people you don't like/want to hear about, sign out of FB or simply step away from the computer all together. Problem solved!

I guess this is exactly what you could have done ...

Heres what you need to do

You can easily solve this problem instead of complaining with the several options available to you:

1) Un-friend the person you are annoyed about because obviously you arent supporting them in their accomplishments.
2) Click the little X beside the post on the newsfeed, and click "Hide All by ____"
3) Close your account
4) Turn on your TV or open the newspaper and see that there are others in the world that have MUCH bigger problems.
5) Drink a coffee and relax, its a bright and sunny Monday morning.

I agree! I love FB... I have gotten to know so many wonderful people that have become my friends because of facebook!! Can't wait to see all your wonderful dogs and kids and everything else that gives you and me and most of us joy in our life's!!!
Just close your account or unfriend those you don't like ;)

Doesn't anyone ever think it's a huge waste of time to read and write reports of those spiders in the shower events? Of course any one of us can "un-friend" someone or scroll past those non events but I think it's a bit sad they way this facebook has such a hold on all of us that (me too!!) we feel a need to keep checking our acct. 20 years ago children, dogs and friends most likely got more "real time."

Just sayin

Just think about all the things you could be getting accomplished or doing instead of spending hours on facebook posting all the time. The people who do not work but spend all day posting on Facebook drive me nuts. Thank goodness for the hide button from all their stupid posts. It is also amazing to me how many people divulge so much personal information on facebook, its just facebook people, not the holy grail!

I guess I need to re-try this thing. I shut down my FB after one week, after getting my email addy hijacked, and receiving a gagillion emails wanting to friend me, and I didn't know half the folks. I thought I had set up the account so that the ad nauseum emails either wanting to friend, or letting me know that someone had posted to the Wall, would not appear. I just wanted to be able to check things and keep on top of what was going on in my Labrador world.

Advice to myself - READ UP ON HOW TO SET IT UP, before setting up an account, lol. I do feel like I am missing out on lots of things by not being on Facebook. I guess I should also set up another address specific to the Facebook account.

How is the lab community meeting up on FB? Are there lab groups or is it just that people are friending lots of other Lab people?

The way I look at it is the new forum. You can get to know someone just by reading their post,brags and looking at their pictures. If you feel like they have something you are looking for or something to offer you contact them and find out. I bet the OP is one of the ones on here that always hides behind anon and starts all the crap on here. On Facebook they aren't able to hide.

I love seeing other breeders brags and litter. I love to see post about their horse and their kids. Do I know all of them...not personally...but I hope to meet them one day and when I do I will know a little bit about them.
Absolutely love the Labrador Stud dog and parade of champions. Its like having LQ in one spot all the time..for free!

The two non profits I work for have facebook pages and use them to keep friends up to date on whats going on.

I just dont see why when other people use alternative methods to find good puppy homes, some of you get all bent out of shape?

Who is on your facebook page? mine is full of lab friends (present and future), horse friends, family and many of my puppy owners from the past 20 years. This would be the perfect place to show off a litter.
if you didnt like someone I doubt they would be on your facebook page??

technology is changing the way we interact, embrace it and enjoy it.

that just maybe "not a lover" doesn't have anything to brag about so they are just trying to find attention on the forum?

Please re-read from "Heres what you need to do" "not a lover"

You can easily solve this problem instead of complaining with the several options available to you:

1) Un-friend the person you are annoyed about because obviously you arent supporting them in their accomplishments.
2) Click the little X beside the post on the newsfeed, and click "Hide All by ____"
3) Close your account
4) Turn on your TV or open the newspaper and see that there are others in the world that have MUCH bigger problems.
5) Drink a coffee and relax, its a bright and sunny Monday morning.

I love FB. I love the networking aspect. I am into Chocolate and I love making new "friends" who have chocolates....when I see a litter, I find out who the parents are, the pedigree, make a note for the future.

I monitor folks to make sure the BYB's and silver breeders don't get in. If I don't like their breeding practices per their website, I remove them as friends.

But I try to keep my options open as someday I might need a referral for a family or need help in a part of the country where I cannot get to...and hopefully I can be that same help to someone else.

How do you know people are trying to sell their puppies on FB? I have never seen puppies posted with "for sale" listed in the comments or a price tag on them. I am someone who posts most of my litters on FB. I've never done so with the intent to sell puppies. I do so because A) it's easier to post pictures in one spot than it is to send multiple emails to several friends to help me look at the pictures (not everyone has the ability to receive or open large files depending on their computer or email program), B) I invite all my pet puppy buyers to be my friend on FB and they can keep track of puppies and see pictures rather than all of them sending me emails asking for pictures and then when the puppy goes home they post pictures on their FB so I can see them, C) I like that the pictures stored in my FB account are always there. I recently had a complete hard drive crash and lost every bit of information on my computer. Luckily all the pictures I've posted in the past few years are safe and sound in my FB account.

Don't assume that you know the reason behind someone else's actions without asking. I love seeing pictures of other breeders litters. It's nice to see what certain studs are producing and what other's get when crossing pedigree's. It's called social media for a reason. Be social and enjoy it!

Ok where's the damned "Like" button for this? LOL

Liz, we like seeing puppies and have never thought people were trying to sell them on there but so what if people did! Is that any different than listing them on a website? Personally if I don't have puppies for sale I like to know a couple of responsible breeder friends to send potential puppy buyers too (rather than have them stumble across a Walmart parking lot puppy) and FB is a way of networking to know what people have.

Again, for those who don't like FB you can always leave! Sounds to me like perhaps some people (like this forum) just come there to gripe. And since they can't be rude with their name attached they still frequent this forum so they can carry on hidden being anon names. People need to spread a little sunshine and find something in their lives to be happy about .... and even "brag" a little. You'd be surprised - the rest of us are actually drawn to positive people and you may make a few friends.

It's interesting to read what people think about Facebook. I always thought it was just another plaything for the Geeks of the world, but eventually I signed up to see what is was all about.

I find it a fabulous way to keep in touch with family overseas. As a matter of fact I was able to catch up with a cousin who is living in Spain. I had an email addy for a long time, but then messages started bouncing as the mailbox was full. I tried searching phone books etc to no avail. I found her on Facebook.

I like to use Facebook to see what people I met on my trips to USA are doing and really enjoy reading their brags and puppy pictures. I also love to see the gorgeous horse pictures I have picked up from other posters.

To the poster who said they were not interested in enquiries from people overseas about their dogs, that is a shame. There are some great dogs in the US and other parts of the world and it is good to be able to compare the styles of Labrador, whether the bloodlines are similar to ours in Australia. It is nice to check out the different show scenes in various countries and I am sure if I am lucky enough to visit these far flung places, I would love to be able to contact folks along the way and hopefully meet up with them sometime. Likewise, my door is open for people who have visited me on FB and are planning a trip to Western Australia

+1 to this! LOL

I so totally agree with Olivia. In the past I would spend hours going through any old, new, obscure-anything-publications just scouring for pictures and pedigrees of dogs (and horses-as I am an equine enthusiast as well) from far off places and times. Enjoyable but so limited in comparison to what has been made so accessible on fb. We all have so much to learn from one another and if all my 'friends' stopped posting pics of their lovely dogs and puppies for fear that someone would condemn for trying to sell them (doesn't that sound ludicrous?)then we all would be missing out on this enormous opportunity to learn more about what we all obviously love so much.

I agree! I like Liz's response!

There are people who are annoying and that is the way they are. Facebook does not make them annoying. I have unfriended some people because I was tired of hearing about every time their dog took a step or a pooh. They were not really my friends to begin with just acquaintances and I was tired of reading their posts. I also have been unfriended by some people and they are obviously not real friends. It goes both ways. Read what you want and delete what you don't like. There is a place in your setting that you can edit so you don't receive all of the comments in your emails.

Personally, FB has opened an entire door for me in the labrador community with getting to know other breeders. It is a good tool for introducing my stud dogs and they can be seen by breedes all over the world. I enjoy sharing updates about my dogs recent wins (brags) and my new litters. I also have the advantage of seeing puppies produced from other breeders or a stud that I am interested in that may not be posted on their website. I do enjoy hearing of brags from others and seeing photos of their nice labradors. I love to look at the 8 week evaulation stacked photos of puppies and read other breeders opinions to learn from them. Everything is good in moderation.

Yes, there are a couple who are always saying I have this puppy or that to sell. So wrong. Most do not. I also see some becoming friends with Silver breeders, puppy mills, some just collect friends. Not me. Mostly those I already know. Its okay. Do see some nice dogs.

facebook is not a public forum, it is a privately picked social circle depending on your preferences. I dont see how pictures of litters and puppies is any difference than having them on your private webpage that everyone can see? sharing photos with my friends and family is my prerogative and if this bothers you then don't be my friend.

Don't you think the opposite is true sometimes? I mean on Facebook, if someone posts a puppy pic or brags about a win, everyone posts how tremendous it is. And everyone has to post because not posting that the puppy is so cute is much worse than actually criticizing it. Especially if it is a famous or popular breeder....everyone comes out of the woodwork to say how great they are.

Not that this is bad BTW; mutual group hugs are great. But just like you get nasty comments from anonymous posters here, you get insincere flattery by named posters on other social media.

FB fan

Breeder newer to FB

Yes, there are a couple who are always saying I have this puppy or that to sell. So wrong. Most do not. I also see some becoming friends with Silver breeders, puppy mills, some just collect friends. Not me. Mostly those I already know. Its okay. Do see some nice dogs.

Why don't you tell them instead of anonymously criticizing them here.
Op started this thread because he/she doesn't have the guts to tell people in their faces what he/she thinks.

The forum can be the exact same way. You can see that some accomplishments or even posts get acknowledged and then others dont. Sometimes I think it is because people are away from the computer, but than sometimes I think it depends on whether or not you are in the "group"

Seems a bit high-school to me, last time I checked werent we all mature adults?

I agree with the insincere flattery comment. What else can/should you say if a "friend" posts a picture of their puppy?

As far as all of us being past the high school stage--that *is* funny.

I remember a Sopranos episode where one of the guys went to the nursing home to straighten out some "friends" of his Mom who were excluding her :)

I think it goes on until the grave!

My point was more about the insincere flattery that results on FB due to the identities of the posters being known. Among the many positives of FB, this is a negative that I only mention in response to the criticism of anonymous posting being allowed on this forum. I think it is great that there is a place to post anonymously and a place where you must post with your identity. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. It would be interesting to observe which method, however imperfect each is, results in more substantive discussion.