Google+ Versus Other Internet Social Networking Sites.

There is a whole big list of social networking websites, most of which many people are unaware. In addition to the list embedded in the preceding sentence, I found a website that provides the top 15 most popular social networking sites ranked by a combination of continually updated traffic statistics.

Why is Facebook so popular? Or Twitter? Or any of those sites for that matter?

I have used LinkedIn specifically for professional purposes, not for trivia conversations. I have used Twitter to post on a wide variety of interests and for some dialogue exchange to a limited extent. I gave up on MySpace years ago and rarely use my Flickr account.

I have made extensive use of Facebook for myriad purposes. I have even created numerous lists of specific people based on commonality of specific interests to target the audience of who may see what. It doesn't stop there, though. I have also created and/or administer several special interest Facebook groups that include only those people I authorize to join; and I belong to several other groups that someone else administers.

None-the-less, I have found that many people on Facebook are what I call gawkers, using that term very loosely. These folks just kind of lurk in the shadows reading what others write but do not write anything themselves. Gawkers may do nothing at all other than read OR they may click on a like button OR share by re-posting what someone else has written or posted OR they may post internet meme after internet meme after internet meme. These gawkers, as I label them, do not really use Facebook as a means of social interaction.

Additionally, there is way too much drama and bickering on Facebook. People write mean, nasty, rude comments to others. It is unbelievable that there are so many people who write things to others on Facebook that they would never say to them in a personal face-to-face conversation. Those folks disgust me.

Because of my experiences with Facebook, I go through phases of using it and then not using for periods of times and then using it again and not using it. The primary reason I started a Facebook account is the same reason I continue to have a Facebook account. Simply put, I have used Facebook to reconnect with long lost friends and family; to that end, Facebook has been very helpful for me.

I much prefer Google+. However, even after several years of concerted effort, I have still been unable to interest most of the people I know to use Google+ rather than those other social networking sites. I do not understand why people do not switch over to Google+ from Facebook and/or other social networking websites, OR, at least start up a Google+ account in addition to their Facebook and/or other social networking websites. IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), Google+ is a much more useful and friendlier place.

Is Donald Trump the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler?

It seems some folks got irritated with me when over on Facebook I compared the style of political speech used by Donald Trump with the style of political speech used by Adolf Hitler. The message thread over there got to be very controversial. As a result of that, I composed and posted a Roland Hansen Commentary on Friday, October 2, 2015  entitled Donald Trump. Adolf Hitler. Similar Style of Political Speech.

Well, since that time, it appears that there have been other comparisons of Donald Trump with Adolf Hitler. Take a look at the embedded Google search results for Trump and Hitler compared.

(I hope you took the time to explore and read some of those search results. It saves me a whole bunch of writing if you have done so. And consequently, I may bring this specific blog entry to an end.)

Is it any wonder that I have entitled this blog entry Is Donald Trump the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler?

Postscript: You may now add this blog entry with all other Roland Hansen Commentary entries in which I have mentioned Donald Trump.

Adult Protective Services (APS). Senior Citizens. Unscrupulous Business Practices.

At one point in my career, I was the administrative manager that oversaw the Adult Protective Services Unit of Lucas County in Ohio, as well as several other social programs and services.

In the State of Ohio, Adult Protective Services (APS) are social services provided to abused, neglected, or exploited older adults age 60 and older. There are many areas of concern when it comes to the abuse, neglect and exploitation of older adults. As an example, there is a story reported in The Blade that may be read in the article Lucas County unit focuses on protection of elderly by Erica Blake.

Okay, so I would venture to guess that not many people would disagree that older adults (60+) should be helped in situations such as reported in that article.  I imagine most people would agree that our senior citizens should be kept safe from physical or emotional abuse, that neglect of older adults should be prevented, and that seniors should be protected from financial exploitation.

BUT, what about private business people and enterprises that prey on everyone but who especially exploit the vulnerabilities of senior citizens???
Let me give you just a few examples that come to my mind:

• Health and medical insurance companies, ineffective medical equipment devices, and 'health cure' scams, 
• Home improvement companies and their representatives 
• Investment companies, investment advisers, and get rich quick schemes and scams 
• Fake 'help a needy relative' pleas, fake 'overdue bill' collectors, all con artists
• Timeshares and Vacation Plans

Think about it.
Senior citizens do not need

• to be confused and frustrated with all those mumbo-jumbo medical insurance plans 
• or be sold a bill of goods about some miraculous knee brace in place of needed knee surgery 
• or sold some cure-all arthritic pain relief 
• or sold a repaved asphalt driveway that is really just cheap oil coating
• or put their life savings into an investment with a ROI that they will never live long enough to collect 
• or have their hard earned money stolen by a con man 
• or be sold a damn timeshare that has a grossly overly inflated initial purchase price and ridiculously high annual maintenance fees to the point that the person will die long before he and/or she could ever receive a decent return on the money expended.

I really think that persons involved in unscrupulous business practices should not only be brought to justice in the criminal arenas of our jurisprudence system when conducting business illegally, but, when senior citizens are the victims, the offending parties should also be charged with exploitation under APS laws and prosecuted accordingly.