Facebook apps

I think Facebook is passing me by.

I wasn't one of the original users--I believe it was started in 2004, and I didn't join until about a year later, when my school was added--but I've been around for awhile, since before you could add photos and before there were networks and before anyone could join and when the URL was still thefacebook.com instead of just facebook.com.

And for the most part, I like the direction it's gone in. I like that it's now accessible to all and I like that people from other countries are starting to join. I like that they have fine-tuned their privacy options to the point now where you can select a specific piece of contact information or a specific group of other personal information and list individual friends who can't see that part of your profile. I think it's moving ahead intelligently and while people always resist change, for the most part I think the changes have been positive.

I also like certain things that haven't changed, like the overall look of the site, and the inability to go overboard with customizing your page--a refreshing change from MySpace, where I'm too old and un-hip to be able to read all the crazy stuff with the insane blinking backgrounds on some of the pages. I like that I know where to look to find specific information on people's profiles. I like the updates and the news feeds and the way that I can keep tabs on what's going on in my friends' lives.

There is one minor thing that I actively dislike about the site, and that's the inability to opt out of receiving notifications when people comment on something after you. Multiple times I have thought twice about commenting on a photo or a status because I didn't want to deal with the headache of nine thousand notifications popping up over the next day or so.

But the thing about Facebook that I don't totally get is the applications. When they were first introduced, I installed a few, but mostly uninstalled them shortly thereafter. I do understand the concept--third-party applications to do just about anything in exchange for access to your personal information. I have Lexulous installed, and I love it. (Speaking of which, if we're FB friends and you play Lexulous too, start a game with me!) But that's the only application that I actively use.

The apps that I don't understand are the ones that send notifications from people you barely know. We all have those friends on FB, the ones who aren't really friends and with whom we never really communicate. So why am I receiving plants for my little green patch from them (especially when I don't even HAVE a little green patch), and invitations to join their team in Mafia Wars? Did they actually select me individually for this honor? Or is it just a massive spam from the app to their entire list of friends?

And also, just because I installed that app to "take your friends' personal quizzes!" to take ONE PERSON'S QUIZ doesn't mean I need a freaking notification every time ANYONE on my friends list sets up a quiz like that. OMG LEAVE ME ALOOOOONE. I'm just saying.

It's gotten to the point where I don't even LOOK at notifications from apps anymore. I never respond to requests or notifications or gifts sent or anything else. They are just not on my radar. And, therefore, I don't install apps on my profile anymore. Even though there might be some really cool ones I'm missing out on. It's just too much for me to deal with. I'll stick with Lexulous, thank you.

What about you? Do you use apps on FB? If so, which ones?