For several months, I’ve been wanting to vent about what I see as the downfall of Facebook. Since I joined Facebook in the summer of 2007, it has evolved quite a bit. I was an early adopter and was impressed with the clean design, ease of use and LACK of clutter that was beginning to make MySpace somewhat annoying to navigate.

The advent of the Facebook’s newsfeed brought about a whole new level of passive connectivity with your friends. Without so much as lifting your finger to click the mouse, you could see – at a glance – what your friends were doing, the stories they were sharing, pictures they were posting and what was “on their mind.” This was an improvement, I thought. Granted, chatty friends could clutter the newsfeed, but all in all I thought it was good.

Early applications on Facebook largely consisted of things like “cities I’ve visited” or ways to root for and support your favorite sports team. Now, things have gone too far. The applications are out of control and are destroying the Facebook experience. Facebook is becoming a cluttered mess of games, quizzes and food fights.

Even with the ability to hide all of these distractions (by clicking the “Hide Food Fling” drop down menu at the right of one of these items in the newsfeed), quizzes consume my Facebook main page. In my humble opinion, the quizzes aren’t a geniune way to share useful information on this social network. They often convey inane and useless information. It started with the “five Things” lists and has now exploded with “which ____ are you?” and “what is your ____ name?” lists. To make my case, here is just a small sampling of the quizzes that clog the newsfeed and make Facebook seem more like the mess that MySpace has become. My thoughts follow in the ().

Five things I could grab from where I’m sitting (I wish the computer wasn’t one of them)
The first five cars I owned (Lamborghini or Model T would be interesting. Taurus is not.)
My five favorite places (One of them must be the quiz page on Facebook)
Five toys that remind me of childhood (the noise making Animal drum set should be on the list)
Five films released year I was born (about as interesting as Ishtar)
What is your stripper name? (step away from the keyboard, Lexus)
What is your clown name? (Should’ve been Bozo)
Are you hot or not? (mirrors are ubiquitous)
Which TV housewife are you? (Kate. You’re all Kate.)
What is your 80s song? (Hip to be Square by Huey Lewis and the News would fit better)
Which Grease character are you? (I’d rather forget I was Teen Angel in the Sac High production)
Which personality type are you? (annoying, for sure)
Which muppet are you? (every answer should be Gonzo. He talks a lot.)
Who is your guardian angel? (one that is unfamiliar with preventing technological mistakes)
Which fairytale do you belong in? (one without computers)
Which country song are you? (should always be “Achy Breaky Heart”)
What is your birth number? (you aren’t sure?)
How well do you know Sac City? (from there. Real well, thanks.)
Finish the song lyrics? (in your car with the windows rolled up please)
Which ridiculous librarian are you? (how many are there?)
Which college basketball coach are you? (you aren’t, because you are doing a quiz on Facebook)
What sense would you like to lose? (these quizzes make me want to choose sight)
What kind of disco dancer are you? (can’t we forget disco once and for all?)
How good are you in bed? (trust me. We don’t want to know. Especially you.)
Which My Little Pony are you? (there’s probably another list you should be on, buddy)
Which nail polish are you? (then paint your nails and take a break from the quizzes)
Which baseball team were you born to root for? (you’re not sure?)
What beer are you? (drink more of it and spend less time on Facebook quizzes, please)

Wouldn’t it be nice if Facebook had a “thumbs down” feature, in addition to the “thumbs up?”

Disclaimer: I don’t mean to offend any of my friends who disagree and find these quizzes amusing. If I have stepped on some toes, please add this to your “five most offensive blog posts” list.