In The Netherlands, the Dutch social network Hyves (I know, it's a very odd name) www.hyves.nl is much more populair than Facebook. Recently people here have begun to discover Facebook. I have been on Facebook for about a year now, but it only starts to get interesting for me now that my friends are joining Facebook too.
I agree that Facebook is most suitable for friendships and to a lesser extent for business.
facebook-1618143138
· 4 months ago
I'm curious to see what Chris as well as any of the other commenters who read this feel about posting pictures in Facebook. I read above in the main post that this is where you send your pictures and blog posts. But I'm more specifically talking about hosting pictures on FB, it's ToS, etc. Personally, I found Google ToS to be a little less 'we own everything' (it's all relative), and have instead posted/hosted pictures there, and put a link to them in FB.
Chris Brogan
· 4 months ago
I don't really care much about the ToS yet, but then, I've yet to be burned by them. I am a Flickr guy, so my FB photos are often also stored on FB, but just for sharing purposes.
Great points to consider.
startabuzz
· 4 months ago
I love Facebook. And I'm not afraid to say it! :)
I love Twitter, too, but it's an entirely different animal. Facebook, for me, is a way for me to keep up with my friends. I'm very particular about whom I "friend" there, because I tend not to put up many boundaries; the people who are in my circle there are people whom I already know well, or want to know better. I post pictures there, I speak pretty frankly. In short, I am myself there; you're pretty much getting the real, unfettered, deal. You can connect with people on a completely different level on Facebook than you can on Twitter. I have a "fan" (though I hate that word) page for my company, and use it, primarily, to post news items that are of interest to me, as well as the general goings-on of my business and, of course, a feed to my blog (which I also post on my personal page).
I only have a few quibbles with it, and they're the same as everyone else's. I have no interest whatsoever in the quizzes, or receiving virtual rubber duckies, or any of that. That said, you can remove those things from the feed and go on about your life.
While I've seen that Facebook can be extremely effective for the promotion of small businesses, I don't really use it as a business tool. I use it to foster real relationships, with friends, some business acquaintances, and people whom I genuinely want to know better.
Lynne d Johnson
· 4 months ago
I have to agree with you on Facebook and Twitter being completely different animals. I use Facebook in much the same way as you and Chris, with some exceptions. Facebook is far more personal for me, and there are people there whom I grew up with, went to elementary, middle, and high school with as well as college. Those people see a wider scope of who I am, like Chris mentions above. The home page drives me crazy so I don't use it often. I just look for the people I want to look for -- and now realize I'll have to start using lists.
As for Twitter, I know a lot of people there too, but I've met them through work, blogging, or conferences. So I have different discussions there. My hair is down a lot more on FB and it should be..it's a place for Friends, right?
Louise Barnes-Johnst
· 4 months ago
I realise I'm not using Facebook as well as I could :( When I first joined (a couple of years ago) it wasn't at all clear how to use it as a small business marketing tool without being obnoxious. At least now, with Fan Pages, the number of spammy emails has been much reduced.
As always, I've learned something new from reading your post, thank you Chris.
forrest cate
· 4 months ago
how do you import your blog to your facebook page?
Angela Trumbaturi
· 4 months ago
I've been on Facebook since 2004, way back when it was still only available for college students. In a way, I feel as if I've grown up on Facebook and I agree that it is best used for people who you know on a personal level.
I am, however, coming to an interesting crossroads as I progress career-wise because I now have professional contacts requesting connections on FB. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle these, because I don't want to be rude and not "friend" contacts but then again so much of my non-"professional" life is on FB. (Not that I ever posted anything bad or distasteful, just things on a more personal level. We're talking 5 years of my 20s.)
At first I had several of these contacts on a "limited profile," but I've since gone back and allowed them to full-access because I felt as if "limited" defeated the point of connecting in the first place. Now I'm censoring myself even more and I wonder if (or when) I'll get to a point where Facebook is too public of a forum and I'll revert to something more personal again.
Timberland shoes
· 2 months ago
I like what you said.
NarenUBi
· 4 months ago
Well, while twitter is both for professional and personal tweets, Facebook is more towards being a privat-o-social thingy. Even I created a fan page, and later deleted it coz it didn't do what I expected it to do. Of course, one can show off the number of fans - but what the heck! If I were a FB engineer, I would definitely add a couple of more cloud computing servers to improve the response times..sometimes I just close the FB window coz it just won't load!
Ken
· 4 months ago
I use Facebook primarily as a tool for connecting with friends. I may set up a fan page in the future, but for now, I have enough on my plate with Twitter and and my blog.
Where I see Facebook being extremely beneficial is in the service industry and for other businesses that need to promote frequent sales or promotions. For instance if a bar wants to drive business during happy hour they could announce specials on their fan page and quickly disseminate the information to their "friends". Another use would be if your place of business ran different specials on different services, for example, "Come see us this week and receive $5 off of your XYZ service."
Larger companies can use it (like AT&T does) to announce product launches and community service announcements. This helps to create a buzz about the product and generate good will toward the company.
David B. Thomas
· 4 months ago
I use Twitter and LinkedIn primarily for business and Facebook primarily for personal connections. If I get to know someone at a conference, for instance, I might friend them on Facebook if I feel there's a personal connection. I like having different outlets for different thoughts, links and pictures. I don't try to separate my personal and professional lives completely (you can't), but this vague division works for me.
melissamcdaniel
· 4 months ago
I agree with Startabuzz. I love Facebook, too. I have my own page and also have a fan page for my photo book project on rescue dogs. On both it has allowed me to connect with many people who are interested in photography and interested in dogs and animal rescue. I can share the photos from the latest shoots and post dogs from area shelters that are in desperate need of saving. Everyone comes together to help these dogs. I get a ton of comments on the photos and a great deal of encouragement and support from the fan page. I've also sold a number of pre-orders from Facebook. Facebook is actually my number one referring site - more than double that of twitter. (I've ordered your book though, so maybe that will change once I start using twitter differently.) The fan pages give like-minded people a place to hang out. I think Facebook is a real community builder.
Pixie Stevenson
· 4 months ago
I use FaceBook to stalk our 7 adult children who are spread out all over the world and to stay in touch with people I know on a more personal basis.
Russell Dunkin,CFP®
· 4 months ago
For me, it has become so much more useful with the ability to use your custom groups to post updates, links, etc just to that group. I can easily segment personal friends, and business friends into separate groups and update specifically to them. I'm very pleased with this addition
Scott Shorter
· 4 months ago
Like most folks, FB for me is about my personal network. For me, Twitter is the personal side of my business face and linkedin is mostly business.
I HAVE had a good response from FB users who like getting updates through a fan page I setup for a local not-for-profit soccer league. It's basically another broadcast tool without a lot of interaction at this point, but it's well suited to the demographic (parents of school-aged kids) who I believe are the fastest growing demo on FB (someone correct me i'm wrong on that).
loreen72
· 4 months ago
I like your idea of "A Short List". I had already created lists and were using them - but A Short list of just who I want to see makes so much sense. Idea now implemented and in use!
Looking at my Page and Profile pages on separate tabs - also implemented and in use - I have several Twitter tabs open - why not several FB tabs. Making it much simplier to read what is going on and respond.
I'm pretty much the same on FB as I am in Twitter. Currently my tweets do update FB - but I've just created a business Twitter acct and will only be pushing tweets from my personal account out to FB.
Business wise - I have a lot of clients who not only follow my business page, they friend me. As a wedding photographer, my brides feel close to me and friend me. This had made me become more aware of what and how I tweet / update on FB - but if I need to vent about a bridezilla or a cranky guest - that's what e-mail and FB Inbox is for. An issue that is starting to arise for me now is Brides who only communicate with me via FBook. I like having the saved e-mails for historic purposes and w/ FB - I find myself e-mailing my self copied FB messages just so I can archive them with all my other client messages.
I also do a lot of teaching and many of my students friend me on FBook. So when I publish a blog or a class update on my website - I also throw out a status update letting current and past students see what is going on. I've have gotten new students in class because of these updates.
As for photos on FB - I only put "snapshots" up there. Anything I would deem photography or "arty" or something I would want to keep my rights to - I do not put up on FB. I do have Flickr.com and Google Album (Picasa) accounts and post things there with an update from FB letting folks know the photos from last weeks BBQ are ready to see.
Finally - I LOVE the event feature of FB. I have found out about several local events recently b/c of their postings on FB. If any of these events seem like my students or brides would benefit from them, I resend them as updates from my business page - or just send to a few individuals. And I especially like I can save the events right into Outlook.
Just my two cents...
brandonchesnutt
· 4 months ago
Hi Chris,
I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to updating my Facebook status. I try to keep it separate from my other networks and tailor it more on the personal side. The connections are deeper FB and I try to be sensitive of that. :)
Brandon @bchesnutt
Ryan
· 4 months ago
I intended to use FB for business but have decided to keep it personal. I network, provide an update or 2 a day, and that's about it. I have a wide range of friends so anything beyond a few updates a day might be seen as spamming, and I am not using it for business purposes anyway. I leave that for twitter.
Kathi Rabil
· 4 months ago
We just recently completed a website for the VA Tech eMBA program. They are actually getting more visits to the eMBA website via Facebook and Twitter.
I think Facebook has a higher value as a marketing tool, as opposed to personal connection medium, if you already have a "community" in place. This is especially true of higher education groups and non-profit associations that have a "membership."
Dani
· 4 months ago
Hi there - love the use of FB. I too, use it more personally...but don't yet have a fan page. Interesting...
I am interested in reading the article on how you manage Twitter, but the link did not work. Will you tweet it to me? @PassionJourney
Thanks!
Daniel Decker
· 4 months ago
I'm right there with you. In fact, on my FB Info tab I say... "Let me start out by saying that my Facebook profile is a place for me to interact on a more personal level. I don't use Facebook as a business tool. More so a "third place" to have fun, be silly and share with people I know, or who want to know me as a human being, dad, and regular guy."
Susan Taylor Brown
· 4 months ago
Another great article, Chris. Like you, I'd be lost without the list/groups function. When I first starting using Facebook and Twitter it all seemed to meld together. Now though I can see that I interact with different groups on each of them. My blog is where I talk longer about things that matter to me. Twitter is a great meeting place for people don't visit my blog and Facebook is usually a bit more personal. But I am finding since I import my blog to Facebook there are people who read it there who don't visit the actual blogsite. And that's great...it means I'm reaching out.
thatpj
· 4 months ago
Like a lot of your ideas on facebook. I think using lists would avoid something like The Great Unfollowing that Scoble did. Twitter should look more into filters and groups and such.
BenSpark
· 4 months ago
Hah, that was this weekend when Gary was asking for people to send him their real name so he could say it on the air. I was not quick enough. I started reading Trust agents and will be jumping over to facebook to the fan page. 2 chapters in and some really good stuff so far.
punpuff
· 4 months ago
Facebook was not created to be managed. It was created to be a simple social networking site. Hopefully the 'new' Facebook Lite will take us back to the old school and open our eyes to the reason we initially fell in love with FB.
peterrobertcasey
· 4 months ago
Your birthday tidbit is priceless. I use Facebook to keep up with the basketball community. There are so many recognizable players, coaches, administrators, event organizers, and fans that it's a must-use platform to observe, listen, and engage in related conversation.
Ed Bisquera
· 4 months ago
What a great way to just sum up some ways to utilize Facebook, by glimpsing into your world Chris. There are a few things I just recently did (like create my version of the short list, I call my "Close Peeps" and other groups) and it's helped manage more of the noise in the stream. While I don't have nearly that many friends as you, I'm hovering around 1200 and that's a lot for me to keep up with and manage.
I'll have to check into your posts about LinkedIn and find out your approach.
What I like about social media and Facebook in particular, is that you can decide how much of your persona you want to design for others to see. I mean, you can decide how much to blur the line between personal and business life.
For me, I'm friends with many people I've met through the "business networking" world, and I've done business with friends I knew from as far back as high school.
One question I get asked a lot whenever I'm speaking or teaching, is how do you deal with privacy? And also, how do you decide how much to make personal or business?
I usually answer that there's no official "percentage mix" but that typically, you want to keep as much of your contributions, conversations, etc, as personal as possible, with very little reference to "business." I certainly would suggest refraining from any traditional "selling," for sure!
Regarding photos, you can host them at FB without any problems, but one thing people forget, is the level of privacy that can be assigned to a photo album, a particular photo or for any other action on FB. You could have a photo visible by EVERYONE in your network except for 4 friends. You can have it visible to only ONE friend. The level of complexity on privacy settings are nearly unlimited and I think not everyone on FB really knows how to use the privacy settings to their full advantage.
I'm with you - I definitely use Facebook for more personal aspects than Twitter, where I try to stay professional. But I also really enjoy Facebook because it gives your clients a different perspective on you...you're not just a wedding planner, but you are also a friend, camp director, relaxed person. I love giving them a glimpse of who I really am, as well as seeing a bit about who they are!
Jumping in b/c I feel you might have the eyes and ears of "the team," as well as because I think this is a very valuable discussion.
Facebook is where I hang out with my normal, civilian people. For whatever reason, they've put people at ease who never, ever, EVER felt comfortable sharing stuff on the Internet or reaching out to old friends and connecting via the Internet before Facebook. So all the people who *aren't* social media/early adopter-ish nerd types, they're hanging there, so I use it to reconnect (and then, as Chris notes, to stay in casual touch).
I take email conversations out of Facebook as soon as I can. Immediately, with old friends, and later on, with new acquaintances. I've been around long enough to see various networks disappear with my data. These people were hard to find, and there are a lot of them I'd regret losing again.
As to my particular suggestions, for the love of all that's holy, Facebook, do these two things:
1. Let us easily configure our home page. I want birthdays up top. I should be able to have them. (Just one example.)
2. Make it easy to opt out of stuff. Those goddamned quizzes and toys and hoo-hahs drive me batshit crazy. I try to follow my whole stream, and end up having to unfollow certain people b/c they will not stop with the quizzes, new ones of which pop up like a hellish game of Whac-a-Mole.
Opting-out ease includes making it much clearer via the UI how to ditch stupid apps I signed up for when I was a FB n00b.
Thanks for posting this, Chris. I know Facebook doesn't have the cool factor that Twitter and FriendFeed do, but it really is a terrific gathering place, as people actually gather there.
(It's always all about content, isn't it?)
brilliantvideo
· 4 months ago
I have always used linkedin for business contacts and almost never add a business contact to face-book unless I know them and trust them implicitly. I share stories and pictures of my kids with friends I care about and trust some going back some 30+ years. I don't think my client at Umass needs to necessarily see pictures of my mullet from the 80's, or how cute my daughter looks at gymnastics.
lizzyval
· 4 months ago
As usual Chris - you're spot on - FB is more for relationship building and maintaining, but I still see there's a little of a conflict for many people in keeping personal and business separate. If your life is transparent, then it's no big deal, but if in "real" life you separate business and pleasure then you certainly aren't going to be using FB to hang out with associates. (I wish I had enough friends to have to create lists :-) @lizzyval
txsundwn
· 4 months ago
Well, I was a Facebook hater too. I remember socializing on ICQ, Yahoo Chat to Yahoo Groups, AOL IM, and then on to MySpace (my all time favorite due to artistic personalization). Facebook and Twitter seem so bland. And since June 08 I started using the boring Facebook more and more. What drew me to it was the the number of friends and relatives already using the web sites. The easiness of just typing for people makes it KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) hence the appeal to the masses. You don't have to think or figure out how to express individuality.
I am a communications major background... give me a megaphone and I will get the word out. I started this for local indie bands on Yahoo Groups with a group called SAMusicScene. I could offer something free tips to get bands in from the perspective of a booking person and groups I found and expored like Texas Music Coalition. My feeling was information sharing is karm-a-tic.
It was my basic human nature to be social that had me use the internet as a medium to talk with people all over the world. It helped me contact on of my favorite actors which fueled me to help promote his own production company's latest film. This got conversation of my friends who were now also in local media. As the economy now laid off many of us off in this industry I am finding a rebirth of a career in an interest I enjoy.
I develop the profiles for individuals and I find the people who may be interested in there products or services. I personally talk to people so they won't feel spammed. NEVER do I send an invite without a message and I always apologize for invading their private space on the internet. I read their profiles if they sound like the service or product would be something they would like I tell them. But there is another aspect to choosing these people. They like to be social too, and I need them because in all honesty I can not talk to the millions of households in the US. From here social networking goes viral they tell others. We meet at mixers and interact, share stories about concert;, families; and the OMG of 6 degrees of separation.
I may not be as techy savvy as other individuals but the difference in my online networking is I just love people and their stories. When I meet my online friends at a mixer I have invited them too, I get the common compliment you are pretty much the same online. I show off that personality I guess... like it or hate it I am just me.
This is not a job you can do 100% from the comfort of home you NEED to engage the human connection.
Cynthia has told so many people about me and more people have come to me. Now I feel like one of those women who gives birth without knowing they are pregnant. I am now figuring out how to make this a business and pay the piling bills since my job loss. Unemployment is not a fund I wish to depend on long.
I do wish Facebook would get rid of submitting one phone number per account to verify because this makes a lot of people nervous. And I would be glad to let my number hold for my clients.
I wish fan pages and groups could send messages out to people to invite them.
I wish non-profits could be automatic friends of people when they sign on based on their interest for one month under a list as good deeds or karma and after a month give users the option to delete them.
Okay that is my input.
fleagal
· 4 months ago
I only allow my friends into my Facebook account and have several pages for everyone else to follow me or interact.
If I had the ear of the team? Get with better integration and editing. I had to delete a page and redo it because I could not correct a type in the header of the page!
Also, it is really not intuitive and you have to go through a bunch of steps to create a page THEN you are limited as to what you can do with the page (as far as widgets) and it is not easy to contact people unless you figure out how to short cut from your main profile list.
Some people let almost anyone befriend them but ultimately I think that might backfire. Now that Facebook has limited friends it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Adriana Palanca
· 4 months ago
I recently made the shift towards using Facebook for personal uses only - and I'm glad I did.
What pushed me to do so was the fact that some members of the Web community were overly pushing their Facebook activities. So much so that some days I would log in to find my Home page completely dominated by updates from the same person.
I do believe in the business aspects of Facebook, but some industry members are using it too heavily.
Interesting ponder point: when is it too much?
JenioTate
· 4 months ago
I am a somewhat new user of all these sites and have naturally gravitated toward FB as a friends and family place. Twitter is for learning and sharing ideas. The access to valuable info on Twitter is what I like for work. And, I wouldn't want all those "random" people to be subjected to what is important to me re: my family and friends and the activities in which we are involved.
Hans Schiefelbein
· 4 months ago
Can you give a quick tutorial on how you set up the Short List? And how does your blog automatically import into Facebook?
Chris Brogan
· 4 months ago
Go to Home. Then Newsfeed (upper left area). Then click "more" if you have a lot of stuff. Then look at the bottom of it all. See: "Create New List". Do that.
That's how I did it. Make sense?
The blog automatically imported via FB notes, I think, but I also use Simplaris Blogcast from the FB app gallery.
Hans Schiefelbein
· 2 months ago
Thanks for your time and attention Chris. It makes sense and I've worked the two items into my Facebook strategy.
chrisnadeau
· 4 months ago
Chris, thanks for sharing. I used to be pretty guarded on FB as well, up until about 2 months ago. I may have visited FB once a week if I was lucky. But then the lights went on.
Similar to you, I love the new fan page, but what I also love about it is it is people who really know me and I know them. So why not talk about what I do professionally...I would at a bar or at a party. I love hearing about what my friends are up to as well. I treat it the same way I would when talking "live". Not sure this is right or wrong, but it is the way I do it.
As for Twitter, I think it is great for meeting new people, which I don't think I could of done in FB. But what's really cool is some of the people I have met on Twitter are now friends in FB.
I think it comes down to whatever way feels right for you. The same way you would act in person.
I use Facebook for both personal and business use. I think it allows you to add a personal level to business connections...very similar to your point of view I believe. I have been able to walk into several meetings and know something personal about the prospect or client due to checking out their Facebook profile. This has helped add a new level to our working relationship.
Also, do you mind if I borrow your Facebook birthday strategy? Very classy to send email or tweet rather than doing what everyone else will do.
Chris Brogan
· 4 months ago
Everything I write for you is "steal-enabled," Derek. Have at.
Kevin
· 4 months ago
Chris, just an FYI but the link to your twitter article (at the top of the post) is wrong.
Chris Brogan
· 4 months ago
Crap. Thanks. Fixed it. : )
David Turnbull
· 4 months ago
I've designated Facebook purely for personal use. I even hide myself from search results. Although some would consider that fairly shallow I like having a place on the internet that's just used to connect with friends.
triceretops77
· 4 months ago
If it weren't fer FB my entire Politiku column on Huffpo <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susanna-speier> couldn'ta happened. Seriously. And I'm not saying that my loyal Politiku contributors aren't sending in submissions via email or website commentary. It's how I keep track of everyone's state o mind, tho. If someone posts that they're blocked working on a book or something then I go ahead and immediately IM them inviting them to submit a political haiku on whatever the given topic may be and whammo, its there. Could it happen on Twitter also, yes I suppose-ie. But, as you say, FB is more about nurturing relationships you already have, rather than obtaining a following (hope I'm not taking what you seem to be saying outta context here. follow you online from time to time but haven't read your book yet). And my Politiku contributors tend to be people I know and/or people whose work I'm familiar with. Speaking of which----might I convince you to Politiku about Twitter?
triceretops77
· 4 months ago
If it weren't fer FB my entire Politiku column on Huffpo <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susanna-speier> couldn'ta happened. Seriously. And I'm not saying that my loyal Politiku contributors aren't sending in submissions via email or website commentary. It's how I keep track of everyone's state o mind, tho. If someone posts that they're blocked working on a book or something then I go ahead and immediately IM them inviting them to submit a political haiku on whatever the given topic may be and whammo, its there. Could it happen on Twitter also, yes I suppose-ie. But, as you say, FB is more about nurturing relationships you already have, rather than obtaining a following (hope I'm not taking what you seem to be saying outta context here. follow you online from time to time but haven't read your book yet). And my Politiku contributors tend to be people I know and/or people whose work I'm familiar with. Speaking of which----might I convince you to Politiku about Twitter?
Ed Justen
· 4 months ago
I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with people about the usefulness (or lack there-of) of Facebook. Fan pages, list management and privacy settings are only a few of possible capabilities, yet most mainstream users are clueless about their existence. As most computer users utilize less than 5% of their CPU's capabilities, I'm sure it's the same percentage rate for most Facebook users. I'm only using Facebook for personal connections for now. I've enjoyed getting in touch with past friends, and being connected to distant family members.
stevensreeves
· 4 months ago
I'd really like to see Facebook improve the software. There are things that too often don't work - today it's adding links to pages. So much of the valuable stuff is hidden, or at least hard to find.
The other thing I'd like to see is a proper section for business, maybe more like LinkedIn. If I could have one site to replace Twitter, Friendfeed, LinkedIn, Facebook profile, Facebook Page, Tumblr, Posterous and Google Reader I'd get a lot more work done.
asquaredgroup
· 4 months ago
I love how Facebook has evolved and offers more ways to be efficient with one's information. Long gone are the days when communiques were all about adding fish to your sea or plants to your garden. Thankfully.
leyla_a
· 4 months ago
I tried facebook ads as well. I tried them in several different ways - 1. to increase sign ups for my FB Fan Page and 2. that went directly to my client's site for a price promotion. Neither worked well. I did get many impressions but not enough clicks.
I would consider creating an application. That is in the works for the future.
I do use FB both for business and personal. I have MANY more lists than 3. I like to use lists as "mailing lists" so I only add 20 people per list (if i am going to bulk mail them) because FB doesn't allow you to email more than 20 ppl at a time.
I also have a "personal" group. The Leyla Group. This is where I tell people about events I am hosting and any promotions that my clients are running. I never try to email people more than once a month. I HATE when people load up my inbox so i refuse to do it to them :)
michaelsorg
· 4 months ago
I certainly see Facebook as a an extension of my other activities. It's the place where I can bridge the gap to family and friends that haven't gotten on board with the Twitter and Blogging to reach out to find what I'm doing where I'm doing it.
I also invite the use of facebook as a sort of "comment system" for my twitter activity. It's nice to get some responses on Twitter, and maybe have a conversation there, but have a whole other stream of responses from the FB crew.
I've pushed groups and events for my own podcasts, and some clients (most notably, with IWC Wrestling). It's something to quantify the people who are actively looking at us and coming to our events, but that's about all. Conversations are still happening on the age old message boards for this line of users.
Web Hosting Reviews
· 4 months ago
I really love facebook and I'm happy to have this article that was posted in here. This seems to be relevant because this shares more relevant topics on hot\w to be a good user on this.
jimcalabrese
· 4 months ago
Chris, I had invested hundreds of hours on Facebook, only to have them disable my profile for having too many friends that shared "a similar physical characteristic" ???
I thought about creating a new profile, but I have moved on. Their ToS are nebulous and their appeals/customer service is nothing more that auto-responders. Now I spend my time on Twitter. I'd love to see some Facebook-like features added to Twitter, but I don't miss the inane quizes and gifts.
What I really would like to see is social network interoperability. I think Google has the best chance of providing us with an open SN, where users own their data and can take it with them where ever they choose.
Lori Anne Brown
· 4 months ago
I recently discovered the "list" feature and love it. It's a great way for me to check updates from 1) customers 2) friends 3) vendors/other business and 4) everyone else. I really wish Twitter would let you do this easily. Seesmic & Tweetdeck are nice, but impossible to manage if you have multi-accounts since none of their tabs roll up or otherwise compact. Would like to see facebook list style buttons in them and a common window.
I have found fan pages are a great way to reach new customers and promote certain products. Since I run so many niche stores, I have different fan pages for the different segments. I'm still working on the best way to brand/utilize them, but find they are getting some traffic and fans and am enjoying them. We'll see if they really do lead to more sales.
Brian Gryth
· 4 months ago
Chris,
Thanks for this post. I know it is a couple of days old, but I'm sifting through 1000+ post in my Google Reader. I just wanted to reaffirm your adoption of lists. It made my life better as well. I have my "top peeps" who post great content, but some not that often. It helps me keep track of these important people. Also thanks for the birthday suggestion. I used to post on peoples walls, but I going to follow your advice.
Be well, Brian
Overlord
· 2 months ago
I don't even use my real name on facebook. I signed up for Facebook orignally to get access to some tech forums that required a Facebook account to gain access but don't understand the facination with posting inane crap at any given moment about your day/life for other people to here. (to the point where it will be a few months go by that I realise there is an outstanding friend request).
I agree with you on the apps and the apps/presents/gifts. i.e Some one has given me a "chicky hug" or a virtual chocolate sundae Am I going to eat it (virtually as well) <rolls eyes> If there was a way to block everything on the wall except comments that directly relate to me I might use it.
Until I can do that in facebook I'd much prefer to keep in touch with people via the phone/SMS etc.
I'm just not that interested in something a common friend has said about someone else.
Overlord
· 2 months ago
I don't even use my real name on Facebook such is my concern about Facebook's business model and privacy policy.
I signed up for Facebook orignally to get access to some tech forums that required a Facebook account to gain access but don't understand the facination with posting inane crap at any given moment about your day/life for other people to here. (to the point where it will be a few months go by that I realise there is an outstanding friend request).
I agree with you on the apps and the apps/presents/gifts. i.e Some one has given me a "chicky hug" or a virtual chocolate sundae Am I going to eat it (virtually as well) <rolls eyes> If there was a way to block everything on the wall except comments that directly relate to me I might use it.
Until I can do that in facebook I'd much prefer to keep in touch with people via the phone/SMS etc.
I'm just not that interested in something a common friend has said about someone else.
Nasim Rizvi
· 1 month ago
For facebook administrator can U please update Your system uploading pics or anything ETC please do it know B-coz its too BAD ???
Tomi Lyn Bowling
· 1 month ago
Thanks for this Chris. I enjoyed seeing another's perspective. I often wonder if others see it the way I do or ? I am on Twitter, Linkedin, Myspace and some others I don't even remember the names of. I kind of signed up for all of them at the same time. I was focusing on myspace at first and then something, I can't even say for sure, made me migrate to facebook. I think it was the ease of use. I understood what I was expected to do to set up my profile. It took me a little while to get it on myspace and on twitter I never did get it. In fact every time I tried to post a comment it would not let me. I gave up after four or five goes at Twitter. It might even be that my account was not functioning but even that should be simpler to resolve. So I was outa there. I kept coming to facebook. Then I found people I knew and the friends grew and grew. I found people talking to me. I like talking. I was hooked. Then the Station Fire happened. I suddenly found myself using facebook to tell people what was going on. People from our foothills were not getting any news locally, the authorities were absent, the media for the first week was absent. It was really bizarre, like they were on holiday. So people from all over the place were going to my wall to find out what was going on. I connected myself up with some key officials and between that and the info I could gather from a local blog, my own visibility made the news on facebook very important to people. They were reaching for it and I could put it there for them. It was an awful time for a lot of people and they needed to know what was going on, every minute. So I posted it for them every minute, every change, the wind direction, the fire department updates, the smoke, everything. I have actually removed most of it but there is still some of it on my wall if you keep clicking older posts. So for me facebook opened up a whole new world. I really like it. I have gotten some new clients from it but that was never my purpose originally. It just made connections to people possible. I am a people person. I really like it.
All Comments
I agree that Facebook is most suitable for friendships and to a lesser extent for business.
Great points to consider.
I love Twitter, too, but it's an entirely different animal. Facebook, for me, is a way for me to keep up with my friends. I'm very particular about whom I "friend" there, because I tend not to put up many boundaries; the people who are in my circle there are people whom I already know well, or want to know better. I post pictures there, I speak pretty frankly. In short, I am myself there; you're pretty much getting the real, unfettered, deal. You can connect with people on a completely different level on Facebook than you can on Twitter. I have a "fan" (though I hate that word) page for my company, and use it, primarily, to post news items that are of interest to me, as well as the general goings-on of my business and, of course, a feed to my blog (which I also post on my personal page).
I only have a few quibbles with it, and they're the same as everyone else's. I have no interest whatsoever in the quizzes, or receiving virtual rubber duckies, or any of that. That said, you can remove those things from the feed and go on about your life.
While I've seen that Facebook can be extremely effective for the promotion of small businesses, I don't really use it as a business tool. I use it to foster real relationships, with friends, some business acquaintances, and people whom I genuinely want to know better.
As for Twitter, I know a lot of people there too, but I've met them through work, blogging, or conferences. So I have different discussions there. My hair is down a lot more on FB and it should be..it's a place for Friends, right?
As always, I've learned something new from reading your post, thank you Chris.
I am, however, coming to an interesting crossroads as I progress career-wise because I now have professional contacts requesting connections on FB. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle these, because I don't want to be rude and not "friend" contacts but then again so much of my non-"professional" life is on FB. (Not that I ever posted anything bad or distasteful, just things on a more personal level. We're talking 5 years of my 20s.)
At first I had several of these contacts on a "limited profile," but I've since gone back and allowed them to full-access because I felt as if "limited" defeated the point of connecting in the first place. Now I'm censoring myself even more and I wonder if (or when) I'll get to a point where Facebook is too public of a forum and I'll revert to something more personal again.
Where I see Facebook being extremely beneficial is in the service industry and for other businesses that need to promote frequent sales or promotions. For instance if a bar wants to drive business during happy hour they could announce specials on their fan page and quickly disseminate the information to their "friends". Another use would be if your place of business ran different specials on different services, for example, "Come see us this week and receive $5 off of your XYZ service."
Larger companies can use it (like AT&T does) to announce product launches and community service announcements. This helps to create a buzz about the product and generate good will toward the company.
I HAVE had a good response from FB users who like getting updates through a fan page I setup for a local not-for-profit soccer league. It's basically another broadcast tool without a lot of interaction at this point, but it's well suited to the demographic (parents of school-aged kids) who I believe are the fastest growing demo on FB (someone correct me i'm wrong on that).
Looking at my Page and Profile pages on separate tabs - also implemented and in use - I have several Twitter tabs open - why not several FB tabs. Making it much simplier to read what is going on and respond.
I'm pretty much the same on FB as I am in Twitter. Currently my tweets do update FB - but I've just created a business Twitter acct and will only be pushing tweets from my personal account out to FB.
Business wise - I have a lot of clients who not only follow my business page, they friend me. As a wedding photographer, my brides feel close to me and friend me. This had made me become more aware of what and how I tweet / update on FB - but if I need to vent about a bridezilla or a cranky guest - that's what e-mail and FB Inbox is for. An issue that is starting to arise for me now is Brides who only communicate with me via FBook. I like having the saved e-mails for historic purposes and w/ FB - I find myself e-mailing my self copied FB messages just so I can archive them with all my other client messages.
I also do a lot of teaching and many of my students friend me on FBook. So when I publish a blog or a class update on my website - I also throw out a status update letting current and past students see what is going on. I've have gotten new students in class because of these updates.
As for photos on FB - I only put "snapshots" up there. Anything I would deem photography or "arty" or something I would want to keep my rights to - I do not put up on FB. I do have Flickr.com and Google Album (Picasa) accounts and post things there with an update from FB letting folks know the photos from last weeks BBQ are ready to see.
Finally - I LOVE the event feature of FB. I have found out about several local events recently b/c of their postings on FB. If any of these events seem like my students or brides would benefit from them, I resend them as updates from my business page - or just send to a few individuals. And I especially like I can save the events right into Outlook.
Just my two cents...
I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to updating my Facebook status. I try to keep it separate from my other networks and tailor it more on the personal side. The connections are deeper FB and I try to be sensitive of that. :)
Brandon
@bchesnutt
I think Facebook has a higher value as a marketing tool, as opposed to personal connection medium, if you already have a "community" in place. This is especially true of higher education groups and non-profit associations that have a "membership."
I am interested in reading the article on how you manage Twitter, but the link did not work. Will you tweet it to me? @PassionJourney
Thanks!
I'll have to check into your posts about LinkedIn and find out your approach.
What I like about social media and Facebook in particular, is that you can decide how much of your persona you want to design for others to see. I mean, you can decide how much to blur the line between personal and business life.
For me, I'm friends with many people I've met through the "business networking" world, and I've done business with friends I knew from as far back as high school.
One question I get asked a lot whenever I'm speaking or teaching, is how do you deal with privacy? And also, how do you decide how much to make personal or business?
I usually answer that there's no official "percentage mix" but that typically, you want to keep as much of your contributions, conversations, etc, as personal as possible, with very little reference to "business." I certainly would suggest refraining from any traditional "selling," for sure!
Regarding photos, you can host them at FB without any problems, but one thing people forget, is the level of privacy that can be assigned to a photo album, a particular photo or for any other action on FB. You could have a photo visible by EVERYONE in your network except for 4 friends. You can have it visible to only ONE friend. The level of complexity on privacy settings are nearly unlimited and I think not everyone on FB really knows how to use the privacy settings to their full advantage.
Thanks again for a great post Chris.
Ed Bisquera
Follow me on Twitter @edbisquera
www.elevatingbrilliance.blogspot.com
@Intertwined
Facebook is where I hang out with my normal, civilian people. For whatever reason, they've put people at ease who never, ever, EVER felt comfortable sharing stuff on the Internet or reaching out to old friends and connecting via the Internet before Facebook. So all the people who *aren't* social media/early adopter-ish nerd types, they're hanging there, so I use it to reconnect (and then, as Chris notes, to stay in casual touch).
I take email conversations out of Facebook as soon as I can. Immediately, with old friends, and later on, with new acquaintances. I've been around long enough to see various networks disappear with my data. These people were hard to find, and there are a lot of them I'd regret losing again.
As to my particular suggestions, for the love of all that's holy, Facebook, do these two things:
1. Let us easily configure our home page. I want birthdays up top. I should be able to have them. (Just one example.)
2. Make it easy to opt out of stuff. Those goddamned quizzes and toys and hoo-hahs drive me batshit crazy. I try to follow my whole stream, and end up having to unfollow certain people b/c they will not stop with the quizzes, new ones of which pop up like a hellish game of Whac-a-Mole.
Opting-out ease includes making it much clearer via the UI how to ditch stupid apps I signed up for when I was a FB n00b.
Thanks for posting this, Chris. I know Facebook doesn't have the cool factor that Twitter and FriendFeed do, but it really is a terrific gathering place, as people actually gather there.
(It's always all about content, isn't it?)
I am a communications major background... give me a megaphone and I will get the word out. I started this for local indie bands on Yahoo Groups with a group called SAMusicScene. I could offer something free tips to get bands in from the perspective of a booking person and groups I found and expored like Texas Music Coalition. My feeling was information sharing is karm-a-tic.
It was my basic human nature to be social that had me use the internet as a medium to talk with people all over the world. It helped me contact on of my favorite actors which fueled me to help promote his own production company's latest film. This got conversation of my friends who were now also in local media. As the economy now laid off many of us off in this industry I am finding a rebirth of a career in an interest I enjoy.
I develop the profiles for individuals and I find the people who may be interested in there products or services. I personally talk to people so they won't feel spammed. NEVER do I send an invite without a message and I always apologize for invading their private space on the internet. I read their profiles if they sound like the service or product would be something they would like I tell them. But there is another aspect to choosing these people. They like to be social too, and I need them because in all honesty I can not talk to the millions of households in the US. From here social networking goes viral they tell others. We meet at mixers and interact, share stories about concert;, families; and the OMG of 6 degrees of separation.
I may not be as techy savvy as other individuals but the difference in my online networking is I just love people and their stories. When I meet my online friends at a mixer I have invited them too, I get the common compliment you are pretty much the same online. I show off that personality I guess... like it or hate it I am just me.
This is not a job you can do 100% from the comfort of home you NEED to engage the human connection.
For instance my friends who are parents, teachers, pediatricians I direct to
my friend Cynthia Lee's new project's web site about positive stories about kids
www.gomotah.com
get the one's who talk and are social to join her facebook's group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=585409315...
or to one of her stories YouTube (promo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3J7tuaOQ74
on twitter
@motah
Cynthia has told so many people about me and more people have come to me. Now I feel like one of those women who gives birth without knowing they are pregnant. I am now figuring out how to make this a business and pay the piling bills since my job loss. Unemployment is not a fund I wish to depend on long.
I do wish Facebook would get rid of submitting one phone number per account to verify because this makes a lot of people nervous. And I would be glad to let my number hold for my clients.
I wish fan pages and groups could send messages out to people to invite them.
I wish non-profits could be automatic friends of people when they sign on based on their interest for one month under a list as good deeds or karma and after a month give users the option to delete them.
Okay that is my input.
If I had the ear of the team? Get with better integration and editing. I had to delete a page and redo it because I could not correct a type in the header of the page!
Also, it is really not intuitive and you have to go through a bunch of steps to create a page THEN you are limited as to what you can do with the page (as far as widgets) and it is not easy to contact people unless you figure out how to short cut from your main profile list.
Some people let almost anyone befriend them but ultimately I think that might backfire. Now that Facebook has limited friends it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
What pushed me to do so was the fact that some members of the Web community were overly pushing their Facebook activities. So much so that some days I would log in to find my Home page completely dominated by updates from the same person.
I do believe in the business aspects of Facebook, but some industry members are using it too heavily.
Interesting ponder point: when is it too much?
That's how I did it. Make sense?
The blog automatically imported via FB notes, I think, but I also use Simplaris Blogcast from the FB app gallery.
Similar to you, I love the new fan page, but what I also love about it is it is people who really know me and I know them. So why not talk about what I do professionally...I would at a bar or at a party. I love hearing about what my friends are up to as well. I treat it the same way I would when talking "live". Not sure this is right or wrong, but it is the way I do it.
As for Twitter, I think it is great for meeting new people, which I don't think I could of done in FB. But what's really cool is some of the people I have met on Twitter are now friends in FB.
I think it comes down to whatever way feels right for you. The same way you would act in person.
Once again great post!
http://www.facebook.com/chris.nadeau
Also, do you mind if I borrow your Facebook birthday strategy? Very classy to send email or tweet rather than doing what everyone else will do.
The other thing I'd like to see is a proper section for business, maybe more like LinkedIn. If I could have one site to replace Twitter, Friendfeed, LinkedIn, Facebook profile, Facebook Page, Tumblr, Posterous and Google Reader I'd get a lot more work done.
I would consider creating an application. That is in the works for the future.
I do use FB both for business and personal. I have MANY more lists than 3. I like to use lists as "mailing lists" so I only add 20 people per list (if i am going to bulk mail them) because FB doesn't allow you to email more than 20 ppl at a time.
I also have a "personal" group. The Leyla Group. This is where I tell people about events I am hosting and any promotions that my clients are running. I never try to email people more than once a month. I HATE when people load up my inbox so i refuse to do it to them :)
I also invite the use of facebook as a sort of "comment system" for my twitter activity. It's nice to get some responses on Twitter, and maybe have a conversation there, but have a whole other stream of responses from the FB crew.
I've pushed groups and events for my own podcasts, and some clients (most notably, with IWC Wrestling). It's something to quantify the people who are actively looking at us and coming to our events, but that's about all. Conversations are still happening on the age old message boards for this line of users.
I thought about creating a new profile, but I have moved on. Their ToS are nebulous and their appeals/customer service is nothing more that auto-responders. Now I spend my time on Twitter. I'd love to see some Facebook-like features added to Twitter, but I don't miss the inane quizes and gifts.
What I really would like to see is social network interoperability. I think Google has the best chance of providing us with an open SN, where users own their data and can take it with them where ever they choose.
I have found fan pages are a great way to reach new customers and promote certain products. Since I run so many niche stores, I have different fan pages for the different segments. I'm still working on the best way to brand/utilize them, but find they are getting some traffic and fans and am enjoying them. We'll see if they really do lead to more sales.
Thanks for this post. I know it is a couple of days old, but I'm sifting through 1000+ post in my Google Reader. I just wanted to reaffirm your adoption of lists. It made my life better as well. I have my "top peeps" who post great content, but some not that often. It helps me keep track of these important people. Also thanks for the birthday suggestion. I used to post on peoples walls, but I going to follow your advice.
Be well, Brian
I signed up for Facebook orignally to get access to some tech forums that required a Facebook account to gain access but don't understand the facination with posting inane crap at any given moment about your day/life for other people to here. (to the point where it will be a few months go by that I realise there is an outstanding friend request).
I agree with you on the apps and the apps/presents/gifts.
i.e Some one has given me a "chicky hug" or a virtual chocolate sundae
Am I going to eat it (virtually as well) <rolls eyes>
If there was a way to block everything on the wall except comments that directly relate to me I might use it.
Until I can do that in facebook I'd much prefer to keep in touch with people via the phone/SMS etc.
I'm just not that interested in something a common friend has said about someone else.
I signed up for Facebook orignally to get access to some tech forums that required a Facebook account to gain access but don't understand the facination with posting inane crap at any given moment about your day/life for other people to here. (to the point where it will be a few months go by that I realise there is an outstanding friend request).
I agree with you on the apps and the apps/presents/gifts.
i.e Some one has given me a "chicky hug" or a virtual chocolate sundae
Am I going to eat it (virtually as well) <rolls eyes>
If there was a way to block everything on the wall except comments that directly relate to me I might use it.
Until I can do that in facebook I'd much prefer to keep in touch with people via the phone/SMS etc.
I'm just not that interested in something a common friend has said about someone else.