Let's Be Friends Via Facebook? NOT!

[Craig Desorcy]

I use facebook to connect with friends and family. Very cool.
I get to share images of Japan with them, see what they've been
up to etc..

Since I started using facebook, from time to time I get contacted by
marketers wanting to "be my friend". I'm like cool, living in Japan
I don't have many English speaking friends and definitely no marketing
friends besides a few.

But what happens is, I approve the "new friend" and they never contact me.
Next they send offers that make my family and real friends wonder who the
hell are your friends Craig?

Maybe I'm old-school when it comes to "Friends" but my friends can be
counted on one hand. Kevin Riley is a friend. We talk often with no
hidden agendas and can call each other for no particular reason.
I'm sure if we lived closer, I could stop by for coffee if I wanted.

I'm going to keep my definition of a "Friend" and leave social media's
definition alone... It's not for me.

I'm sure I'm missing the "Social Media Boat" but based
on what I've seen with facebook and twitter, they can keep it.

Craig

[Hesaidblissfully]

That's why I have two different Facebook accounts. One is personal and one is for business.

[TheGodfather]

I got only about a hundred people on my FB, and yet every now and then when i'm bored I delete all the ones that never contact me at all... i hate those parasite "friends"

[AceHazel]

I only add those whom I know.

[michellegreen]

I only have a certain number of hours in my day, but if a "friend" comments on a post of mine, or I see one of my "friends" post something great, I'll comment on that. But I certainly won't go through my friends list and make a consistent effort to contact each and every one.

I just don't have time for that! The only "friends" I tend to ignore are those who only post marketing type statuses. Where's all the nice and warm and fuzzy stuff?? I have no other way of getting to know the people who use FB solely for marketing purposes, so I really have no time for them.

[Kevin Riley]

Originally Posted by michellegreen

Where's all the nice and warm and fuzzy stuff??

You ask, you shall receive:

l

[antiquenh]

Facebook has a LOT of members, which is why it's safe to add only the people you know, especially if it's a personal account. But for business though, I assume these are tolerable.

[Alican Yenidogan]

Originally Posted by Kevin Riley

You ask, you shall receive:

l

I LOVE these little gonzales' had two in the past and I guess I'll get a new one after seing the picture.. Reminded me of old days

For the Facebook problem, you should def. use multiple accounts for personal and business. That should solve your problem

Alican

[michellegreen]

Aww Kevin that's sooo cute! What is that? A mouse or a hamster or what?

We have two pet rats, but I'm afraid they're not this cute! lol

Thanks for the warm and fuzzy - I'll go to sleep tonight feeling very happy!

[Shannon Tani]

I had someone request me and I saw that he was friends with some of my other friends, but then when I saw his profile, I was like "I have no idea who this guy is" and all he does is play Mafia Wars. (I don't) Freak.

But yeah, I totally only use FB for connecting with real friends and family, though I may start a separate account or create a fan page or something for my niche.

Love,
Shannon

[zhunzi]

I'll accept anyone who be-friends me on facebook. My family thinks I'm crazy, but I think it's generally a nice thing to do. I've actually met some pretty cool people this way. I don't have a problem being everyone's friend I guess

[Gary McCaffrey]

Yip. Facebook for me is about having a laugh and keeping in touch with real friends and family.

I don't want to post or read anything to do with marketing while I'm there.

[TiffanyDow]

I initially had marketers on my FB but it was mixed with my personal friends/family and I got some raunchy stuff tossed into the mix by marketers too so I mass deleted everyone but family and personal friends in real life. Problem is, somewhere out there I had posted my FB link so I constantly get friend requests that I have to deny. I did a fan page instead.

[Mac the Knife]

Accept em all...open networking is the way to make connections with INCREDIBLE people. Heck, if you only accept people you know...how did you make friends in the first place? We are all strangers at some point. Think about this...are YOU following up with them?

How many people here want a huge network of WARM contacts? maybe not all that you can sell to, but those who might refer you, or help build your network, or offer you advice or consultation when you need it? Look at your network like a massive board of directors...USE it...when someone wants to connect with you, find out what info and experience they may have and learn from it...teach them your own and pass it forward...we are in a society of collaboration...ever read "What Would Google Do?" Well...they don't manage scarcity...they create abundance...why limit your connections? Ignore those who you can't learn and grow from or teach for that matter...spend time with all others. If your inclination at this point is to say "I don't have time" then you are really saying "I don't have a system"

I am not gonna put my url here, but I created a social business network for exactly the reasons many have cited no this thread....I wanted to create something that was friendly, allows people to have fun and network, but was solely for business. You actually CAN have both believe it or not. Some of my best referrals and MONEY for that matter came from my accepting someone....that I never knew before they requested the connection...

Mac the Knife

[davidac]

I was using Facebook as a mean to communicate for my business, but found that this was not a good idea for me so I have stopped doing it. Now I only accepot from people I know.

Regards,

David.

[willyboy104]

Ha its annoying aint it? My personally account currently has 21 friend requests all of which are IMers trying to get in contact with me, hows about f off....

[Chris Stigson]

Create a Facebook Page for your marketing buddies and you are pretty much set in that department, easy enough :P

- Chris

[Nightengale]

I've not yet tried to use FB for marketing purposes. I'm VERY picky about who I accept as a friend on FB and I'm fanatical about keeping it to people I know personally (with a couple of exceptions). Still, my FB friends list has grown to about 130, mostly due to my old college classmates. And I DO know them personally, although some better than others. It's nice to keep up with them and see what's going on in their lives. I refuse to have people who are just friends of friends, people I don't really know. (It's a pet peeve of mine when people do that.)

It sounds like two different accounts (one for personal and one for marketing) is the answer. (Right now, I have just the one.) One of the people on my list is my marketing mentor, although I've never seen her or talked to her personally. Hers is a fan page. I've really liked her and have a lot of respect for what she's done and how she's grown her business. But the non-stop marketing statuses have been getting on my nerves lately. I've almost unfriended her! She does her marketing in a very classy, up-front way and mixes a good bit of personal tidbits in with it, but the marketing just annoys me right now. (And I'm a marketing junkie!)

Admittedly, a lot of that irritation is due to burnout. I've been burned out in my job and on IM in general and have basically been on hiatus from business and marketing for the last few months. I want NOTHING to do with marketing right now (or I haven't for the last several months). Which is VERY strange for me since my major is marketing and I love love love all aspects of IM. But somewhere along the way, I must have overdosed and I lost all of my motivation and enthusiasm for it. In fact, I've been in detox for the last several months, avoiding anything remotely related to business and marketing. :P I'm slowly coming back, but very cautiously.

When I'm ready to use social marketing for business purposes, I'll try FB marketing. For now, I'm trying to figure out how a "little guy" (ahem, "little girl") like me can do it successfully since I don't already have an established business with a huge base of fans. Some of the gurus (like my mentor) are just so huge now that I can't really relate to them anymore and consequently, I'm not getting nearly as much out of it.

Instead, I'm focusing on the personal aspect of it. During my hiatus, I decided to come out from behind my computer and went out and created some semblance of a social life (I had none). I got involved with the singles group at my church and it's been a complete godsend. Most of my friends are married with kids. My sisters are both married and now my brother is engaged too, which just leaves me still single (I'm one of 4 kids). I desperately needed to be around others in my same situation.

I've made some wonderful friends (IN REAL LIFE friends!) and got put in charge of putting together a FB group for our singles group (that's what I get for suggesting it! ). It's been fun and last night, I gave a little tutorial on how to use FB and join the group for those complete neophytes who don't know the first thing about FB. :P I'm in charge of listing events and posting photos for the group and I find it so much fun. It gives me an opportunity to use my IM/computer skills and give back to the group.

And it's wonderfully refreshing to be away from the IM world, which I find is often so incestuous (IMers selling to other IMers).

Michelle