To the shock of some of my friends, I’ll be fasting from Facebook for the next 40 days (if not indefinately).

My reason for leaving Facebook has nothing to do with the privacy fiasco, nor is it related to the inability to export my data offsite (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, rejoice! You’re not a geek).

Rather Facebook has (to put it bluntly) become a one stop vanity shop, creating no inherit value whatsoever in my life.

Unlike Twitter (which enlightens me), Tumblr (which encourages me), YouTube (which entertains me) and WordPress (which is just plain awesome!), I can not find any inherit value in Facebook that makes it worth investing time into.

So starting tomorrow (May 30th) I’ll be disconnecting my entire life from Facebook for at least 40 days (if not forever).

I’ve already turned off all notifications so if you need to contact me my Gmail is DarnellClayton and my tweet account is @Darnell (Skype is HiddenNook).

–Posted from my iPhone

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So I know what your thinking. “Are you serious?! How can you eat that Goliath meal?!”

Answer: It’s delicious! Truth be told I’ve had a strong hankering for salads lately ever since spring officially broke out.

But no salad is complete without pizza of course!!!

Don’t worry folks, I’m not turning into some kind of glutten. Truth be told I’m experimenting with eating 1-2 meals a day, as well we receiving only 6-7 hours of sleep (it’s up from 5).

But regardless of the meal (whether pizza, soup, a slab of cow, or even toasted bread) my menu is not complete without a salad.

Perhaps I’m turning into a rabbit? Or worse, a Vegan!! (I kid, I kid!)

–Posted from my iPhone

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Okay, for those of you who exist outside of the geekverse (or at least the twitterverse you stubborn Facebookers–I say that in love) it looks like the world’s number 2 search engine has decided to lay the smack down against the “search engine that shall not be named!” (via Gizmodo)

Lets ignore the fact that iGoogle exists, which Google launched in 2005 (and officially gave it the name iGoogle in 2007) which already helps users clutter up their homepage to their hearts content.

Why should I trade a site that takes me places (and in theory helps me become more productive) than one that is full of distractions from the 4 corners of the Earth?

Come on Yahoo!, the portal world died out with AOL! Why are you trying to resurrect that dead beast?

Why not instead focus on what you’re good at? Like Flickr (especially the video aspect), Yahoo! Search BOSS (which is totally awesome) and whatever else is left in your portfolio (sorry, your rivals have out shined you elsewhere).

Truth be told if I want to view info from “everywhere,” all I have to do is check out Twitter and Google Reader, or open up Facebook if I want to hear from my non-geek friends.

Instead of mocking Google, why don’t you do something instead like highlight why users should choose your various sites (like Flickr), without showing bitterness towards your rival.

That strategy didn’t work for Apple (as Window powered PC’s are still on top) and it won’t work for you either.

Highlight your products. Tell us what they do and why we should use them and your glory days will return again.

But if you choose the way of the dark side, you will only end up fighting against a zillion Google fan boys, and shouting back in a noisy crowd full of deaf ears.

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So I’ve been busy this weekend checking out a dozen (or is it 2 dozen?) blogging platforms, with the goal of finding inexpensive blog services that might appeal to those trying to “go pro” (as many of my friends/family are starting to post their thoughts online now).

My goal is to find a dozen services that one can blog under for less than $25/year (and yes, I’m serious).

In order to narrow the field down a bit, these platforms must also allow users to customize the layouts and (most importantly) give them the ability to insert ads or affiliate links).

Thus far I’ve found 7 blog platforms that meet these requirements (ranging from the obscure to the popular), although truthfully I am looking for more.

Anyways this is just a random note of mine, and so if this info bores you to tears, rejoice! You’re not a geek!

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