Spin Cycle

2014's final slap in the Facebook

Aww, Facebook made me a New Year's present!

A cheery customized "Year in Review" collage with happy memories from 2014, complete with colorful dancing stick figures, the words "Jennifer, here's what your year looked like!" and a cover photo of Horshack, my sweet, orange, fuzzy kitty.

My sweet, orange, fuzzy -- dead -- kitty.

Yes, sickly, old Horshack had to be put to sleep in November. It was hardly a high point of a difficult year that also involved losing my mother.

I had posted his photo with this little Facebook eulogy:

Today I said goodbye to one of my dearest pals, Horshack (aka Horsie, Shack, Shaq Attack, Shackalacka). A fan of ham, other kitty cats, chin scratches, ham and, well, ham, Horsie pranced prissily on his tiptoes, kept his kittenish looks and charmed with his big Puss 'n' Boots eyes. For 17 years, I was blessed by his cuteness and quirkiness. I loved him. And he loved ham.

My fallen feline post drew a considerable number of sympathy "thumbs-up" and comments. But the social media site's rather antisocial technology interpreted the occasion as a delight and not a downer. Therefore it became the cornerstone of my "Year in Review" with the automatic caption "It's been a great year! Thanks for being a part of it" -- the same one that topped friends' more festive cover photos of newborns, kiddos, vacations and parties.

Instead of sharing my "Year in Review," I deleted it, penned a joking post ("Facebook, I so appreciate the cheery 'Year in Review' ... with my dead cat as the cover photo! It's been a great year! Thanks for being a part of it!") and felt a bit sorry for myself.

But I'd soon feel far worse for other Facebook users, like Eric Meyer. The Washington Post wrote that Meyer's "Year in Review" featured a photo of his beloved daughter -- the one he lost to brain cancer on her sixth birthday -- surrounded by dancing figures and balloons.

A web designer consultant, Meyer criticized Facebook for callousness on his blog: "This inadvertent algorithmic cruelty is the result of code that works in the overwhelming majority of cases, reminding people of the awesomeness of their years. ... But for those of us who lived through the death of loved ones, or spent extended time in the hospital, or were hit by divorce or losing a job or any one of a hundred crises, we might not want another look at this past year."

Other Facebook friends responded that their computer-generated reviews were similarly troubling.

"They put a pic of my father who died three years ago as the cover for mine. I declined," wrote a friend.

"My husband's was mostly pics related to his brother's death over the summer. Thaaaaaaanks, Facebook!" wrote another.

"Mine had pic of [my dead dog] and pic of my dad's grave on Father's Day," wrote another.

"And Facebook drops the ball again!!! Mine had my late wife as the cover. She's been gone 5 years. What year are we in now?" wrote another.

Facebook has apologized, at least to Meyer. In a statement to the Washington Post, a spokesman said: "[The app] was awesome for a lot of people, but clearly in this case we brought him grief rather than joy. It's valuable feedback. We can do better."

Yes, Facebook can do better.

And speaking of better, here's to a better year -- one we'll be excited to celebrate via social media next year.

To borrow Facebook lingo: It's going to be a great year! Thank you in advance for being a part of it.

Happy 2015! Email:

jchristman@arkansasonline.com

Spin Cycle is a weekly smirk at pop culture.

Style on 01/04/2015

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