A few weeks ago I was riding on the Hudson River bike path, when a man who I was getting ready to pass pulled to the left, waved his right hand, in a gesture that meant he wanted me to pass on the right. So I did, but as I passed, he swerved to the right and almost hit me. I had to stop. He said loudly, in a heavy French accent, "You must pass on the left." I said, "You told me to pass on the right," and I took off.

I have no idea what he was thinking, but I can tell you this, he had no business telling me how to ride a bike in New York City. Maybe where he comes from, the signal he gave means "I will run into you if you pass on the right." But we aren't in France, or Montreal, or where ever. We are in NYC.

The whole business about Facebook and Ferguson, to anyone who uses Facebook regularly, was nonsense, like the French bike rider in NYC. Facebook is not where you go for breaking news. They would like it to be that, but it is not. If you want fast news, go to Twitter, or turn on CNN. That's what those communities do.

Even if you saw every update from all the people you follow on Facebook, in real time, you still wouldn't get breaking news. And I'm not sure what purpose that would serve. Facebook as it is now, is useful. If you want to understand you have to use it.