FB psychosis creates and encourages some really bad behaviors online.  I believe that I've come up with a solid formula to keep it healthier.   I actively filter my FB "friends" and it has helped tremendously.  

Here are three questions that set the bar/filter. 
1. Do I ACTUALLY know you? If I see you in grocery store, do I know you well enough to speak to you and say hello?
2. Do I want to talk to you and hear what you have to say? respect, civility, tone... all matter.
3. Do we have an ongoing context for relationship?  other friends, politics, church, music... 

​The reality is that FB is NOT an effective public publishing forum, but it can be effective, to a point, at connecting me with other people.  I can't prove that as I don't really know how to quantify success, but it is my hypothesis. I know that I want to remain connected to my FBfriends and that in most cases, I desire for those FBfriend relationships to progress into deeper personal friendships.  It rarely happens, but it has happened.. and it is possible.  
The list is constantly changing. New friends enter, old friends exit. The filtering is essential to keeping friends relevant and fresh and to ensure that the most valuable relationships get priority. 

By Lonnie Bullock..
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As we move into early voting and the last few weeks before the election, I have been thinking often about the filters I use in selecting the person I will vote for. Beyond party alignment, beyond fear, beyond media hype, beyond the deception of advertising, I find myself asking, "What will influence my decision when I mark my ballot?"

Here are some of the filters I am using to determine my vote:
1. I am a Christian who values the teachings of the Bible so that is my first filter.
2. I have and will forever be a defender and voice for the unborn. I will never silence by voice by voting for a person who devalues the life of the unborn.
3. I value our history of being a republic of states, united under one constitution.
4. I believe government should be as small as possible and exists to serve the people not for the people to serve the government.
5. I believe all people are created equal and should not be used as pawns to accomplish political agendas.
6. I believe in capitalism and that government exists to encourage private ownership and not government control.
7. I believe those who have much, much is required as individuals find ways to serve the community.
8. I value religious freedom and believe the church is essential to the health of communities and our nation.
9. I value law and order equally administered and enforced.
10. I will support those who best match my filter and who love their country.

I am proud to be an American and am excited to participate in our great democracy by voting. I encourage all of you who live in America to do the same.

Social media, particularly FB shows you what you “want” to see by design. It amplifies the echo chamber. Seeking diversity of opinion and real dialogue is extremely difficult and time consuming.

The new rage of Blaming conservatives for NOT seeing posts and ideas is lunacy. The nearly instant rage mobs grow and peak emotions to garner views/likes. It is NOT productive. The feeds show me what I like to maximize online time and retention, spurring the mob effect for the most extreme and provocative writing. This amplifies and extends the moral superiority based on popularity fallacy. We all lose in these crazy spikes of energy. Flatten the curve by logging off and talking to neighbors and friends and family for real.

The stark reality is that each of us IS a journalist and a news contributor and an editor in the social media infused frenzy of the 21st century. We are curating our feeds and our contacts and presenting our daily editions with content. The platforms of social media are an exceptional megaphone for free speech. Only the individual can decide what is or is not appropriate for their mind feed intake channel.

As in all things, some are more skilled that others but the tiered value system has yet to fully evolve. Twitter and FB models which monetize the person as the product and then censor the content reach based on the “platform” editorial and political view are a disaster. The ensuing echo chamber segregation is destroying lives and families and communities and remaking the world.

I want to hear what people say and think. I don’t care what the platform thinks I should hear. To submit to this ongoing filtering is anathema to authentic dialogue and freedom. The best ideas, managed well, succeed at scale and duration. Only individual skills and local communities based on shared context with relationships pass the gating criteria for phase future.