I think I’m sometimes misunderstood when I present about using tools like Facebook and LinkedIn for marketing purposes.
Here’s a post from Lauren Yant that I totally agree with: Facebook drama, part 2.
If you have any inclination to use Facebook as a marketing tool, please read this post. You may not totally agree, but it is something to chew on as you develop your personal relationships.
Thanks for that Facebook link, it convinced me that doing ANYTHING on Facebook is likely of near zero value if that post is representative. With limits on available time yet nearly unlimited possible things to do and/or consider doing its helpful to see such a clearcut example of WWW (worldWideWasteofTime) even though I suspect that was not your intent. I’d have a higher regard for JJBlog if I thought that WAS your intent, but that’s beside the point. JMO/YMMV
Thanks for sharing this, Jason. Lauren’s post does give some food for thought. Her experience is why I keep my personal (Facebook) and business (LinkedIn, MVPF) networks separate, with very little overlap, and why my Facebook network consists of ONLY people (family and friends) that I know IN REAL LIFE.
Hey, Jason! Glad my post was able to help you and some others elaborate on what Facebook relationships should (and should not) be like. Also glad to know that someone reads my blog. hehe. 🙂
Oops, misspelled my blog address in that last comment. Here it is…(click my name to go to it)
I’ve thought a lot about the comment from R Howe, for two reasons. First, regarding the value of Facebook if Lauren’s thoughts are representative of how everyone else feels about connections.
In LinkedIn there are conservative networkers and then there are LIONs, and everyone inbetween. Everyone has to figure out where they fall on the connection policy spectrum… for some it makes sense to be more open, for other, more closed. It’s a personal thing.
And, some people use LI for searching (a big database) while others use it for relationships and communications. Different strokes for different folks.
Same in FB … some are there for family and personal relationships, not to connect with everyone they can. Since Lauren could delete 500 “friends,” she probably accepted friend invites from many (anyone?) people… and has since rethought her strategy with this tool to make it a more personal place.
I’m guessing this will make it less a “waste of time” than what it was for her before. It’s just her personal decision to manage “information overload” and all the other overhead social stuff brings us.
The second thing is the line: “I’d have a higher regard for JJBlog if I thought that WAS your intent, but that’s beside the point.” I have tried to figure out what this means (“your blog sucks and this is indicative of why” or “usually you are pretty good but everyone once in a while you write stuff I don’t agree with” or “I just came across your blog and it obviously sucks”… ) All I know is, I win some, I lose some. And I have lovers and haters for most of my blog posts.
Luckily we can all choose which blogs we follow, and which to ignore.
Jason,
Thanks for the referral to the initial post and the follow up comments. You make a good point that with Facebook, like many other social media tools, usefulness is subjective. For me, I’ve found it easy to get sucked into “shiny object syndrome,” so I try to step back occasionally to reassess my reason for using these tools and to ensure that I haven’t lost sight of the forest for the trees.
Bill – LOVE the name of your blog… :p Bill Rowland’s Brain!