Facebook: Unforgiving

As you may have noticed I do a fair amount of writing. I write my blogs on Word at first, blathering away until I’ve figured out what I am writing about and then, over a three- day period or longer, depending, I cut, re shape and sharpen. I can do that on Word. Word is forgiving. I can move lines, delete, shift whole paragraphs, adjust spaces and leave out letters and Word doesn’t mind. It alerts me, but doesn’t give me any grief. Everything can be fixed. Word is perfectly designed for writers who tend to be in process and to be truthful, are rarely satisfied with their work.

As my sister-in-law, the former Editor in Chief of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, says, “Publishing is purely arbitrary. Writers are never finished.”

Next I have to post the blog. Although I know the Blogger/ BlogSpot routine quite well by now, as I set out to publish--early in the morning---I carefully place my How To Publish The Blog sheet beside my computer to reawaken me if my mind has suddenly gone back to bed. I cut and paste the blog content from Word and then, guess what? I get another chance to edit the piece on the work sheet of the blog. Fantastic.

Furthermore, even after I have clicked on PUBLISH, which appears to be irrevocable---as if I had hung myself out to dry-- surprise! Even if some of you have already read it, I am able to revisit the blog and change a word that began to bug me as I was munching my cereal.

I love all this flexibility. I’m sure there are more confident writers less in need of these EDIT opportunities than I, but I am utterly grateful for every chance I get.

Facebook? Totally unforgiving. Once you POST a blog you are committed for life. That’s it. There is no going back. I should say, at least I haven’t found it. If any of you know how to accomplish an edit for a blog already posted, I will receive your advice with gratitude.

The other day, at the suggestion of a friend, I “hovered” my cursor over the right corner of a comment box, which suddenly revealed a here-to–fore hidden opportunity to “Remove.” I inadvertently did remove a friend’s nice comment about my blog. So much for that!  But now I know that I can at least rewrite a comment if not a blog.

 Assuming I am correct—and I admit my Internet know-how is low grade--and a once posted blog on Facebook cannot be edited or if it can, only with difficulty, I am immensely curious as to why. What harm would it do? After all, Facebook is awesome in its capacity to gather our information. Indeed it pesters us for personal data to share with the world.

With all of that going for it, couldn’t FB offer EDIT opportunity and let go of some of our information, thereby cutting some slack for those of us who stammer and stutter on the keyboard?