Facebook...

[Chris]

I probably fit into the old fart mould, (apart from not knowing who Daniel O'Donnell is. cratch: ) being over 40 and more likely to tune into The Archers than Radio 1.

However I do have (and use) FB and Twitter accounts. I don't use FB for updating the World on what I had for breakfast this morning, nor the fact that my youngest got a gold star at school last week. I generally use it for keeping in touch with those friends and family that are abroad, or whom I don't see often. I don't subscribe to anything public, and my privacy settings are like Fort Knox. Have I let my 11 year-old daughter have an account yet? Nope.

As for Twitter; I use it for work as a marketing tool. I comment about my area of expertise, with a number of my followers becoming clients and vice versa. It certainly can be profitable

I guess it is all about how these things are used. Reading the illiterate ramblings of some talentless Z-list "celebrity", or the "thoughts" of a gormless footballer, are a waste of time in my opinion. Used carefully and intelligently, FB and Twitter can be great. All forms of media contain the good and the bad, the informative and the cretinous; just chose what to read and what to ignore.

It is excellent to see younger owners, and users of FB and Twitter on this forum, and they should be encouraged here. It would be sad to see such members distanced, amid a fug of musty cardigans and pipe smoke

[3rensho]

I had signed up for Facebook and Twitter accounts just to see what the hype was all about. After 48 hours on Facebook I had most of the people I had worked with as friends. Since I seem them regularly that was superfluous. After a month I had around 50 Turkish people who I had never met wanting to be friends and it just got stranger after that. I signed up for Twitter to follow some chefs to get their musings about food and restaurants. Pretty boring to say the least.

Nothing is all bad and if some people get some use out of it, fine. To me it they are the very definition of insipid.

[taxi]

I use Twitter to get up-to-the-minute info on traffic, weather and schools which saves a lot of hassle when doing taxi or school runs, dont Tweet though as I dont have anything to say lol.Only use Twitter for info, honest!! but seriously its essential to check roads and school closures etc especially in winter

[j90xxx]

Not sure what a "Twitter" is.
(Are the first 4 letters a clue?)
Someone who likes bird-watching??
And as for "Tweets"?
Didn't they sing "The Birdie Song" in 1981?

And Andre, would I want a "poke"?
And how much is it?cratch:

---

Oh, and for all our european cousins; I believe the Birdie Song is called the Chicken Dance.
(Thanks Wikipedia)tudy:

[Coco]

[quote='j

And Andre, would I want a "poke"?
And how much is it?:scratch:


[/quote]


First time I waS asked this by a girl in a shop in Aberdeen caused a bit of confusion - especially as Mrs Coco was there at the time !

[taxi]

Wots the ideal snack when using Twitter ? is it Tweety Pie ?

[Mike]

I'm on both FB and twitter. I have various people from work as well as family and people who I have met through hobbies on fb, and similarly on twitter.

[ron]

XTR,We don't want them ALL off the road,just the ones who pull out to overtake(often illegally) on 2 lane German Autobahns,without indicating.
Most of you do a good job & are appreciated,but some are downright dangerous.

[XTR]

XTR,We don't want them ALL off the road,just the ones who pull out to overtake(often illegally) on 2 lane German Autobahns,without indicating.
Most of you do a good job & are appreciated,but some are downright dangerous.

I heartily agree,but the overtaking problem has been bought about by EU legislation which was introduced in the late 80's.
The EU beauracrats deemed that trucks over 7.5t gross weight (and now recently over 3.5t) are limited by law to 90kph (56mph) and as you can imagine,with every truck driving at the same speed that's one almighty long convoy.

It is because of this that there are so many horrific accidents involving tailgating,which is made worse because of overtaking bans on a lot of motorways throughout europe.
This type of accident can be seen every single day of the week on the A2 in Germany between Dortmund and Berlin,usually with loss of life.
The Germans are at least addressing the problem to a certain extent by widening many autobahns,as the French have done too in some area's.

Many of these overtaking bans are outdated,they were introduced many decades ago when trucks were a lot less powerful,and Fritz in his BMW/Mercedes didn't want some slow overtaking truck on a hill getting in his way,not when he could drive as fast as he liked (there are still odd bits of autobahn that have no speed limits for cars).
But nowadays trucks are a lot more powerful (the latest Volvo has a 16litre,750bhp lump under the bonnet) and safer,with sophisticated ABS,ASR systems etc.
But again,with today's congested roads and overtaking bans,750bhp isn't going to gain you anything as you are just going to sit behind the less powerful,slower truck in front.

There has also been a massive increase in trucks on the road since the former Warsaw Pact countries joined the EU,from Poland in particular.
I can guarantee you that if you drive from Aachen to Ostend or Dortmund to Berlin any day of the week,8 out of 10 trucks will be registered in the former Eastern Bloc,they have absolutely swamped the market,cutting rates,driving excessive hours and usually watching a dvd as they drive!
Yes,I have had many Poles,Czechs and Slovakians overtake me, with their laptop on top of the dashboard showing a movie!

As I have said,I've done this job for over 32 years,tramping the highways and byways of Europe,from Sweden to Greece and Ireland to Bulgaria,it's a job I always wanted to do,but the fun,the sense of achievement and the pride has gone.
It's a job I no longer wish to do.

[Andre]

Thanks for everyones input, always an exciting thread with Martin at the helm.

I think it's run it's course now :thumbsup: .