The Facebook Experience: How is It For You?

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Came across a friend’s post where he hinted at leaving Facebook. A bunch of people quickly jumped in and commented.

Why are so many people getting fed up? He (let’s call him George) summed up one reason quite nicely:

“People aren't using their imaginations. They're afraid to concede to fantasy for fear that others will think them silly, or worse, naïve. I say, what's so bloody wrong with a little silliness or naïveté? We all need more fantasy in our lives. We all need to have more fun.”

George happens to be a musician and thus IS more creative. And he is tired of a million shared posts that provide no added value to his life? Think about it; all those posts he describes tells nothing about the person! Many times the post is simply shared without any commentary.

Why ARE we friends with people on Facebook (or circlers/followers on Google+ for that matter) anyway? If they are strangers to you, have you ever thought about why you friended them? 

• Do you really want to get to know that person? 
• Will you take the time to nurture a friendship? 
• Or, are they just another number in 4 digit plus count of friends?

Meanwhile in your newsfeed, you’re subjected to numerous sponsored ads and a bunch of pages that spew out nothing of value to you that you liked as a courtesy! Don’t get me wrong; I like pretty scenery and quotes. It’s refreshing for a quick break to give my brain a rest and inspire me a bit. It just seems like (as George stated) to have a lack for imagination, or as I would say it, originality.

Last week a Facebook friend (that I met through another Facebook friend) declared “There is nothing for me here.” I enjoyed his posts; they had a lot of humor to them. Because his posts were public I didn’t comment much. His account is now gone and not merely deactivated.

A couple of days ago another Facebook friend declared that she “had had it” with Facebook and she was going to hang out on Twitter instead. She’s still posting though less frequently.

And today, a friend posted a rant that she was fed up with Facebook. I asked why and she stated “People don’t respond to my private messages.” I spurred her on and other issues came up; friends who post fifty times a day, lack of originality, stupid posts, etc. I asked her if she ever sees my posts and she said no. She then came back and said she “adjusted her settings” and now my posts are in her timeline.

And with that statement, she hit the nail on the head! YOU are in control of your experience with Facebook. YOU choose who to friend, what groups to join, what pages to like. 

AND, you can, to some extent, control your newsfeed. If you like a page, go there, like a few posts, and make comments. That page will then show up in your feed! If you really want to hear from a friend, go to their wall, hover over friends, click on settings, and make some changes. Or, “star them” and make them a close friend.

It’s that simple!

In tribute to my friend George, The Temptations will now sing a song about how what we should let run away when we’re posting on Facebook. While you’re running take a rest at our our website, or on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ and enjoy a little noise sometime too! 

Did You Know It’s Nice to Share, Facebook?

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Talk about stunner! A post was made by a frantic fan on my Groovy Reflections Facebook page; he was upset because of a message he received from Facebook when he tried to share a post from the page. He wrote:

 “It's unbelievable. Facebook is severely curtailing the ability to share, saying it was never meant for that purpose. It's a little late for that isn't it. I hope the grooviest place on Facebook isn't next.”

This gent is a regular on the Groovy Reflections page, posting often and sharing our posts often. The kind of fan every page wants; a regular participant who is a joy to engage with. He told us that he regularly shares posts from his favorite sites with his friends and has not increased the amount of sharing recently.

He went on to relay the specific warning from Facebook:

“It looks like you’re using this feature in a way it wasn’t meant to be used. Please slow down, or you could be blocked from using it.”

Facebook, you have now officially removed the social out of social media with your declaration! Sharing IS a part of social media, whether it’s original material or shared from elsewhere. If you’ve suddenly baked up some criteria that considers a user as “too social” and therefore deemed to be sent into a lockdown mode, then please tell your chefs that they need a new recipe!

In my book, social includes sharing, along with conversing, laughter, hanging out together. My, this sounds like Google+!

According to Dictionary.com, social is:

• Pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations: a social club.
• Seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious.

And no, sharing is not mentioned, however, isn’t that a part of friendly relations?

And the plot thickens. Apparently it is not cool to ignore your friends on Facebook either! A friend posted this last night:

“Just got a FB notice saying they were turning off notifications from one of my friends because 'I haven't used them recently'. Are you kidding me?”

She went on to say that she had recently commented on a post made by that friend earlier in the week and that she has been actively socializing with her. 

Facebook, why are users being treated this way? WE choose who our “friends” are, and whether or not we converse with them on a regular basis is none of your concern. And it appears that it doesn’t matter if we are currently socializing with them or not; you’ll do your best to break up the friendship.

Have to wonder; just what was in the eggnog at the Facebook holiday party? My suspicion is that new “rules” for socializing and friendship were implemented in the New Year. And they are not working.

Give the control back to the users. You’ll still make money. Granted, you are doing everything you think is right to get the stock price up. The big item that is lacking is CARING. Yes, caring for the users and giving them the opportunity to enjoy time spent on Facebook. It’s a long term strategy that you need, not a quick slap of a band aid.

Facebook, talk to us. Not in a convoluted sort of way, but ask us what WE want. Then, accommodate us. Your stock will then go up. People will cease abandoning you for Google+. Sounds like a win win to me.

Hot Chocolate sang about how all of us can be victorious in 1978. Have a winning time when you say hello at our website, or hi on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. 

Don’t Just “Like” My Page.

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Watch out folks, I’m going to rant a little. Some of you know that I have several pages. When I initially started those pages I didn't start plugging them relentlessly on my personal profile nor did I invite all my friends. I DID invite friends, however, ONLY the ones that I thought would be interested in the subject matter.

Pages aren’t about your friends.

They’re all about the folks who have an interest in what’s being presented to them. The point is to make it so darn interesting to them that they comment on the posts. That’s engagement; it’s key to survival for a page.  And yes, its lots of hard work, so if you’re not ready to put in the time, don’t start a page until you’re ready to commit to it.

I work my butt off coming up with original, interesting articles to please the good fans on one of my pages, MODern Marketing 4 U(ModlandUSA). Don't worry; I enjoy the writing! Very few respond and/or comment. For now; that’s okay. Facebook is not the main source of traffic for my blog readership and may never be. Despite that fact, I continue to work hard to keep my audience on Facebook captivated.

And lately I’ve had a flood of folks from Twitter say “like my page and I’ll like yours.” Truth is I’d rather see you display an actual interest in my page and talk to me than just merely “like” it! Honestly, I felt funny liking a B to B biz recently that offered office management services to landscapers, plumbers, and the like. There’s nothing I need there. Sigh.

But back to the friends. I probably get four or five requests a week to join a page and most of them are concerned with products or services that I’m not interested in. Do you please your friend and like their page or blow them off? There have been a few instances when I’ve felt comfortable enough to write to the page owner to tell them WHY I won’t like it.

Does having me there as a number and not as a participant really add any value?

Personally, I’d rather have fewer fans and a higher engagement “talking about this”. Currently, my Groovy Reflections page is at 36%, ModlandUSA is at 10% and Gizmo and His Groovy Friends is at 12%. These are great numbers since the average is 3 to 4%. Thank you fans!

In closing, I just have one request: Talk to me...on my website, Twitter, Facebook, or Google+! I love to yack. 

The Byrds sang about pages long before Facebook had them:

Fans, Facebook, and You.

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Once upon a time, a fan was simply a way to catch a cool breeze. You held it in one hand and fluttered it up and down by your face. Paper, bamboo, plastic, a fashion accessory. 


Spectator sports brought about a whole different kind of fan; loud at times, loyal, swelling with pride and perhaps swigging a brew.


And then there are those “fans” in Social Media, namely Facebook. Remember “fanning” a page? Despite the changeover of terminology, we’re stilling referring to them as our fans (at least I am). “Likers” just sounds too awkward.


Who ARE these people who have indeed “fanned”, oops, “liked” your page? They include: 
Your friends (admit it; you may have strong armed a few however they generally have an interest for your page else they wouldn’t be there in the first place)

• Your friend’s friends (since they may see activity for your page)
• People who searched on Facebook and happened to find you 
• Tweeps or users of other social networks (if you are promoting your page on Twitter or elsewhere)
• Enthusiasts (who will share and promote you if they really dig you.)
• Friends of enthusiasts who are enthusiasts (who found your page via their friends)
• Spammers (they’ll post spam soon after liking your page so they’re not there for long unless you've been ignoring the upkeep of your page)
• Fans who are “Talking About This”: They consist of new fans “liking” the page, clicking like on a post, commenting on, tagging, mentioning or sharing a page, checking in (if you have a location) and those who are coming to an event (if your page offers events). These are important fans!

Note that a fan can fall into more than one of these categories.


Where do YOUR new fans come from? Are they mostly your friends? If so, concentrate on growing that fan base since your friends may not be typical enthusiasts of your product or service, thus skewing the demographic information that Facebook provides. Not a breeze to do but they may catch wind of you via a Facebook ad or via your blog if you have one.


And why did Facebook make the change in the first place? They state: To improve your experience and promote consistency across the site, we've changed the language for Pages from "Fan" to "Like." We believe this change offers you a more light-weight and standard way to connect with people, things and topics in which you are interested.


Hello Facebook, this rationale is rather broad in scope. Would have been nice to have asked US first. Or are you planning to use a 1 to 10 scale at some point (see my thoughts on that issue here). 


It’s been over a year and half since the change, Are you stilling calling them “fans”?
Donovan “caught the wind” early on his career. Click here to enjoy his folky sounds.


This blog is part of the Blogging A to Z Challenge. Here's E, D and C.