So here it is, apparently one can sign up (using their phone) to FB Messenger without having to create a profile on the Main Faceborg Mothership.
Had read this evening that people could now use Messenger without having to sign up to Faceborg itself and that the ability to do this was now global (Not just limited to a few countries), I had tried last year to join without a facebook account, but the App at the time still wanted me to sign up to a fully fledged faceborg account and I promptly removed it from my phone.
Tonight I downloaded the App again for my Android phone, selected the “Not on Facebook” Messenger sign up option and was in (while dutifully declining it access to my address book). It didn’t take long for people to discover that I was on there and start sending me messages and having friends from different circles adding me into their groups.
No, I’m still NOT going to board the main faceborg mothership and create a profile there (on facebook’s main platform). I realise that faceborg has now got a hold of my phone number and name and I remain unwilling to give it any more than that. I will continue to use this web domain for sticking up event and vacation photos and other such memorabilia and it is this web domain which will continue to be my main point of presence on the Internet.
Hopefully, being on Messenger should be enough to stop the gnashing of teeth that I regularly get from several circle of (well meaning) friends for not being on faceborg, while they try to assimilate me into the faceborg collective. It’s a workable compromise at least for the time being (while I continue to hope one day, that we will see a unified standard for all of this instant messaging (Corporate personal data collection) palaver that seem to now exist on my phone (Messenger, Google Chat, WeChat, etc))
It’s clear from my few hours perusing Messenger that the task to pull you lot away from the corporate platform for social event arranging is nigh impossible, faceborg has you all firmly held by your balls. Pa-ping! Now I know why everyone is steering in to their phones. Pa Ping! I’m going to stop throwing time and money into building an alternative for arranging small group events, it’s just not going to work.
Like WeChat, my use of Messenger is going to be primarily read only to follow any announcements, events, etc, with responses from myself only where required (confirming attendence, etc)
Let the Pa-ping’ing begin!
(In fact my phone has been pa-ping’ing non stop for the last two blooming hours (from the point that I signed up)… going to turn off WiFi on my phone so I can get some sleep… )