Playing Hide & Seek on Facebook

These days it seems that I have hidden or blocked so many things from my Facebook newsfeed there's not much left to read. Everytime I log in I'm treated to a new kind of  hide-and-seek game. I hide everything (and nearly everyone) who is obnoxious while I seek entertaining and informative exchanges with friends. Though the childhood game involving groups of kids usually results in great fun, the Facebook version is anything but fun.

The most annoying thing I've blocked or hid is the real-time news Ticker on the right side of the newsfeed page. Some people call it the 'stalker ticker' as it creepily relates everything our friends comment on, like, read and listen to. Click on the arrow at the top right of the Ticker header to hide it. Rumor has it that Facebook may be eliminating it soon to free the space up for something else.

I've never understood why I should be interested in scores and levels achieved by my friends in the various game apps. The only interesting information those posts portray is how much time some people spend playing the games - particularly the ones who claim to be hard at work. Click on the arrow in the right corner of the post for the hiding options. Hiding the games can become a game in itself due to the number of new ones that keep popping up. Too bad I can't amass scores to brag about how many games I've killed from my newsfeed - now that would be fun!

Trending articles and trending videos have become annoying too. I really don't care what anybody else is listening to watching or reading. When they come across a particularly interesting article or video they usually post it to their feed anyway. To remove this clutter from your newsfeed click the arrow on the top right corner of the update for the choices available for removing it. This too may have to be done frequently as the updates are trending from various sources, e.g., Yahoo, The Washington Post, Spotify, etc.

Last, but not at all least, are the people. Yes, I have managed to 'friend' people who have proven to be too obnoxious for me. Some are trying to save my soul while others are trying to sell me their products, books or seminars. Others are chronic reposters (see previous post Repeating Bleating....baa baa!), and some just need to chronically share their appetite for gross and offensive humor. I haven't hidden anybody for the excessive posts about their kids yet, but they're now getting closer to the top of my annoying offenders list. If you are ready to elminate posts from people who bug you -there are two options: 

1. Click the arrow at the right of their post for options to unsubscribe from some posts or hide them altogether, or
2. Move your cursor over the 'friends' button on their profile page and select 'unfriend'

If you ever want to go back and see who and what you've hidden, hover your cursor over 'Newsfeed' just under your profile photo on the left side of your newsfeed page. Click on the pencil that appears to view and, in case you've had a change of heart, make the changes to allow some updates back on your page.

Now that that we all know how to hide the annoying stuff, let's get out and seek the fun. OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE!