Facebook in Iqaluit: Informative. Quirky. Funny?

I've hinted a lot on the blog about how important Facebook is to the city of Iqaluit, and to the whole of Nunavut. I'm not a huge fan of Facebook.  It feels like a bit of a fad website that has seen its day in the sun, and is slowly turning into a mess of ads and posts from people I don't know (that are friends of friends of people I don't know). That said, it is impossible to live here and NOT be on Facebook daily.  Facebook doesn't cost money to join, doesn't take long to load, and if you change your settings so those videos that automatically start playing in your newsfeed DON'T start playing, it doesn't eat up a lot of bandwidth. For these reasons, it is used by everyone in the city. I am, like other Nunavummiut, on Facebook every day. Its the first thing I look at in the morning to make sure school hasn't been cancelled due to a power outage, or lack of water, or high winds, etc. When the scheduled teacher development days were changed, it was announced on Facebook. When the city shuts down, it is announced on Facebook. Way back when Halloween was postponed? Facebook.

Facebook is the beating heart of the city of Iqaluit.

There are two main "groups" I go to frequently: Iqaluit Sell/Swap, and Iqaluit Public Service Announcements. (Then there are the closed-group sites for the schools, which I check daily.)

Iqaluit Sell/Swap Facebook group

You can come across any number of useful, unique, and downright wacky things on this site. (This is a closed group, so you need to be invited to join by someone who is already a member.) Before moving up here I'd heard of people selling things via Facebook before and thought it was kind of weird.  I mean, that's what Kijiji and Craigslist are for.  But here, Facebook is THE way of obtaining second-hand goods.  And meat. Crafts. And brand-new shampoo. Everything from houses to photography to curtain rods. For your reading pleasure, I have hand-selected a few choice posts from the sell/swap group. (Be warned: some of the things that are common-place up here may not be suitable for all viewers. Remember, this is a community of hunters.)

Inuit-style Minnie Mouse parka.

Oh, the new love of my life. Kamiks.

I just.....mayonnaise? 

Caribou meat. I used to cringe at my Facebook feed some days, but
I've gotten used to it now. Mostly.

Narwhal tusks are always a top seller.

This one doesn't need a caption. I can't help it.  I still cringe sometimes.

Star Wars parka.

Walrus skull and arctic fox hide.

Iqaluit Sell/Swap runs on small town trust.  People pay someone in advance via EMT (electronic money transfer, or internet transfer through your bank), then they collect the item. This works far better than I thought it would.  If we lived somewhere else, I would be worried about paying for something and then never receiving it.  Iqaluit, though, isn't like other places. If someone hasn't received an item they paid for, they will post about it, tagging the seller.  And they don't mince words.  "Don't EVER buy from _______________, I purchased a ____________ that never showed up!  She took my money and ran!  BEWARE THIS PERSON CANNOT BE TRUSTED." Then they keep an eye out for the seller and sabotage any further attempts at selling. Also, people who have not received items they have paid for via Facebook have been known to report it to the local RCMP (and yes, they do investigate). Since its a small town, and because you are expected to use your real name (and even if you don't people know who you are), everyone quickly learns who not to trust.

Also, if items get stolen they are very hard to sell on Sell/Swap.

Good luck selling this red parka now, thieves.

Iqaluit Public Service Announcements

Still with me? When I told JJ I'd joined this group, he nodded and didn't say very much.  I would read various post out loud to him in the evening, roaring with laughter.  It wasn't until he joined that he put 2 and 2 together and realized what an amazing site this is.  You would think from the name of the group (Iqaluit Public Service Announcements) it would be mostly official announcements from the city of Iqaluit. "Such and such neighbourhood is experiencing a power outage", that kind of thing. And yes, those announcements are there.  The site is extremely informative when it comes to blizzard warnings, construction, water shortages, school closures, polar bear sightings, etc.

However, the glory of this site is that it is open to ANYONE to post ANYTHING.

This happens frequently.

Whaaaat?

This has to happen at least once every two days.  Someone either loses or finds
a wallet.  I don't know how many are returned to their owners, but it almost
feels like the people living here need to put their wallets on strings around their
necks. Also, its funny that Iqaluit still has a Video Shack.

Another polar bear sighting.

Yup.  Anyone can post ANYTHING.

Iqaluit mitten crisis--solved.

Hard to get away with anything..............

Finally, there are the posts that tug at your heartstrings. You get to watch
goodness happening in the world in real time.  But then it makes you sad
thinking "WHY are so many people so desperate for food?" Many of
the responses were people tagging other people to bring it to their
attention in their Facebook feed.

If you have been reading the blog you will know that we are in the middle of a "milk crisis", in that, for over a week now, milk hasn't been available in any of the stores.

And finally a few days later.........

Ermagerd the milk is here!  Quick! Run to the store!

When Arctic Ventures put this on Facebook, I was in the middle of making supper.  I sent JJ to pick some up if he could, because this has already happened once.  Milk came in, the store posted on FB, and the milk was gone. Fingers crossed he gets there in time..........

Milk happy dance.

When JJ got to the store he said they had 6 1L cartons of 1%, and about 8 2L cartons of lactose-free (which CJS and I drink).  He bought 2 of each.  I hope this milk shortage gets under control soon.

Up next: I got kamiks!!!! Or kamiit, depending on who you talk to. This whole inuktitut to english translation gets tricky sometimes.  At any rate, I GOT THEM!!! Plus, I'll tell you how they are made.