It’s so tempting. So alluring. So inviting. FACEBOOK.
I remember when I first heard about it. Was it, what, three years ago? Josh’s friends asked us if we’d heard of Facebook — “omigosh, you guys, it is so addictive.” Soon, all my friends and family (minus my parents who, sorry it’sgrandma, have no clue about social media, let alone INTERNET, let alone COMPUTER) were on Facebook. But, not me.
From that first day I heard about it, I swore I’d never sign up. “I have a blog,” I’d tell people, “Isn’t that enough internet presence? Plus, if I wanted to stay in touch with EVERYONE I’ve ever known, I’d call them up, or we’d BE FRIENDS NOW.”
Now I add to that: “I have a blog, and I’m on TWITTER. Isn’t that enough internet presence?”
But, then, this morning I go for Starbucks chai tea lattes tea with my friend Eden Spodek — PR/social media guru/BARGAINISTA par excellence — and she makes me believe (ME) that I may want to be on Facebook. Apparently, I need a page for “Haley-O” and a “Fan Page” for “Cheaty Monkey.” I have no idea what either of these things are. Me, freshly self-proclaimed lover of social media.
So, do I? Or don’t I? Must I?
Do I need the added TIME SUCK? Do I need the added PRESSURE (how many friends do YOU have)? Do I need PEOPLE I’D RATHER FORGET reconnecting with me and finding my blog? Do I need all the “I TOLD YOU SO”s I’ll be hearing when/if I finally succumb? Is it worth it? Necessary? Should I? Do I? Must I?
To help you think better, here’s a picture of Minden and me in bed together — for you to meditate on, of course….
I had Josh take this picture, by the way — just to rub it in. Because he MUST be so jealous that I have such a furry cuddler in my life. Lucky me, I tell you. I love this cat. Facebook? Yay or nay?
Love!
xo Haley-O
Laural said, October 5th, 2009 at 7:53 am
I’m on facebook, but I don’t LOVE it.
I check it probably once per week, and occassionally upload photos. It’s not that I don’t like social media. That’s a huge part of what i do at work, but I also didn’t push for a work facebook page.
I don’t know why. It’s just not my thing so much.
Some people love it though.
The thing I found was when I first joined all sorts of highschool people kept inviting me to stuff. I have stayed connected with a few highschool friends, but it’s a time in my life I don’t really want to revisit.
Also, my blog links to facebook and i don’t really enjoy that.
.-= Laural´s last blog ..Sleep … I need it =-.
JavaChick said, October 5th, 2009 at 8:39 am
I’m with Laural; I’m on facebook but I don’t spend much time on it. But I’m not trying to network or promote anything either. I barely use my twitter account. It’s just not me.
.-= JavaChick´s last blog ..Harvesting the garden =-.
Heather said, October 5th, 2009 at 9:08 am
I’m on fb and I waste way too much time. As much as I would love to be your friend, my vote is nay. You’re busy enough my friend. Because of course, facebook doesn’t really mean people are friends.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..France Part II =-.
Renee said, October 5th, 2009 at 9:14 am
I’m on Facebook and I admit…I’m addicted and it is a HUGE time suck. However, I’m having fun and I did reconnect with two old friends that I had lost touch with.
Just to say…you can always ignore and block folks that you don’t want to be friends with.
The thing that I’ve noticed is that I’m blogging less.
Jennie Menke said, October 5th, 2009 at 9:24 am
I am exactly the same. I signed up for facebook when I was trying to become a fiestamovement agent and had to. Personally, I hate it. I consider myself a “techie” and I seriously can’t seem to navigate the stupid site. Wall? News feed? Friends? Wall-to-Wall? Plus, I’m so conflicted about where I should post something like, say, pictures: blog? facebook? Flickr? ALL? But here’s the thing, and I’m not sure you’ll care, based on where you are at with your blog: I’ve been on twitter way longer than facebook. I have 2x the followers on twitter than friends on facebook (not saying much, but go with it for a minute). Twitter where I spend most of my time. I rarely update my facebook status… Yet 90% the unique visits to my blog come from facebook. It’s probably because most of them know me, but still. Very few come from twitter. Perhaps it’s because twitterstream seems to be very self centered: “click MY link,” “read MY blog,” “here’s the latest news,” etc, with very little give and take. So, if you are looking for new readers, it might be worth it just for that reason alone. You won’t like it though. I can tell. You sound too much like me. And I seriously HATE the whole “I-want-to-be-your-friend-will-you-be-mine” thing. yuck. Good luck! Jennie
.-= Jennie Menke´s last blog ..Tomatoes! Tomatoes! Tomatoes! =-.
Chantal said, October 5th, 2009 at 9:37 am
It is a tough one. I have to admit that lately, with my twitter addiction in full swing, I have been considering getting rid of facebook. Then this weekend I went in and paired down a bunch of apps I had on it. Things I never use anymore. I do like it for keeping in touch with friends. Annie from PHDinParenting uses the fan page very effectively to get traffic to her site. Maybe you could talk to her about that angle. I actually downplay my blog on facebook, I am still a bit shy like that.
.-= Chantal´s last blog ..the harvest =-.
Henry said, October 5th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Here’s my nickel’s worth of free advice:
Facebook is a fantastic utility to keep in touch/informed with the people in the periphery your life, as it is extremely impersonal and is really designed to facilitate a sense of “community” with your extended network of friends and family.
It gives equal weight to that cousin you don’t talk to very often (but like!) and to that creepy co-worker that always liked your shoes from 15 years ago.
It is littered with distractions in the form of applications/games, advertising and unwanted attention. For anyone who’s job it is to be in the public eye, it’s darn near useless.
That being said, there are fan pages, event calendars and other promotional tools that can be created to manage your identity and potentially increase awareness. This can be a boon to certain types of businesses and marketing campaigns.
I, for one, don’t see these features benefiting you since you manage your identity online just fine. Unless you have an assistant, I don’t imagine you have the time to manage yet another marketing platform— especially one that is all but invisible to search engines.
As someone who assists in promoting the online activities of a certain young multi-talented entertainer, I can tell you that it is a chore to work with once you’ve achieved a certain critical mass of people.
Additionally, FB’s benefits diminish greatly because of its closed nature. You’re either in club and working it or you’re not— as I said, most activities inside of FB’s are invisible to the rest of the net.
Finally, while I’m on FB myself, I’m just there to keep in touch with my periphery. I pipe my tweets directly to my status and observe the birthday reminders. That’s basically it. By doing this, I keep almost all personal activities out of my e-mail and still let people know I’m alive, well and linking to some strange pop-culture nugget— this is Facebook’s greatest strength if you use it as I suggest.
If you join, join for you and leave Cheaty out of it.
Anyway, as I know you’re an advocate of blog-post commenting (it’s dead! DEAD, I say! Why scroll through a sea of comments when you can have near-immediate running commentary on Twitter? Bad for natural search optimization – wonderful for reader utility!), I thought I’d share my findings publicly. I’m sure you’ll let us know what you decide soon!
Drea said, October 5th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I love facebook
My entire family is on it. Great way to keep in touch and network. I prefer it over twitter any day.
.-= Drea´s last blog ..The 2’s finally hit? =-.
LAVENDULA said, October 5th, 2009 at 10:07 am
hi Haley i have a facebook page and for the first year i never did anything on it except look at my best friends daughters pics of her daughter….i use my page to promote causes and organisastions i am passionate about like THE ANIMAL RESCUE SITE GREENPEACE PETA DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE 10 of my 20 friends are family . I have fun on my page i am addicted to stupid quizzes but hey some of my friends have shown interest in defenders etc.that makes me happy.so IF you join you can control how much time you spend waste on facebook.the choice is yours my friend XO
Sara said, October 5th, 2009 at 10:39 am
I see Facebook and Twitter as two different utilities with it’s own set of pros/cons/uses.
Personally, Facebook feels more personal. So your fan page may only have 250 fans vs. 2500 followers on Twitter – but I expect they would be more active, more participatory, you may feel more “connected” to them.
I think if you want to dip your toes, create a fan page for Cheaty, link your blog, link your twitterfeed (selective twitterfeed super easy to use), and that will keep it slightly less personal + invasive (as in highschool peeps you’d rather never speak to again).
This is just my opinion. Love fb myself – but I’m not a “quizzes, mafia wars, apps” user – I just like that I have gotten back in touch w/ some good friends that geographically I was distanced from. And by linking my blog, it makes it an easy way to update the family/inlaws/friends on what’s going on, with minimal effort. Because I’m all about minimal effort (read: lazy).
Anyways – if you try it and you hate it… well, then just shut ‘er down. No one says it’s a lifetime commitment. And I understand the busy busy concern, but it wouldn’t be that much effort.
PS – Re-reading my comment, I’m so pro fb that you’d think I work for them or something… I don’t. For the record.
.-= Sara´s last blog ..The countdown is on… =-.
Sandy said, October 5th, 2009 at 10:48 am
I really love Facebook. Does it waste loads of my time? yes! Even though I have reconnected with lots of old friends (both good and bad)I find that I end up using it to communicate daily with my current group of friends and family. It has actually made some of my friendships stronger. Because now we know what we’re doing daily rather than once a week phone calls. It’s great for getting people’s opinions, organizing nights out, and we’ve even started a book club. I find that every morning before I start work, I check and update my facebook profile. It is highly addictive. That’s why we call it crackbook. Once you’re on, you can’t go back. I love it.
Dianna said, October 5th, 2009 at 10:55 am
I have a Facebook and never use it. I really liked it when I signed up a long time ago and it was only for students. I found a lot of people from high school, but now that anyone and everyone can join I don’t like it at all. It used to be a simple way to connect with friends, but now it’s full of applications, games, forwards, etc. The only reason I have not deleted mine is it’s a way for old school mates to find me.
.-= Dianna´s last blog ..26 Months =-.
Marie-Christine said, October 5th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Wow, my comment will be a short one
I’m on FB, I like it, even though it can be time consuming (but it really isn’t that much for me).
But most importantly, I’d LOVE to see you on Facebook!!!! (you could see LOTS of pictures of my kitties, and travels, and cupcakes…….. haha! Best argument ever!)
Marie-Christine said, October 5th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Oh! And I Love Love Love that picture of you and Minden! THAT would make a GREAT facebook profile picture! Ha!
Ann D said, October 5th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I neglect FB for weeks at a time — and then feel guilty when I log in. I definitely fail at FB.
.-= Ann D´s last blog ..The Mother of All Parenting Blogs: Reader Survey Results =-.
Dina said, October 5th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I love Facebook but do not spend too much time on there. I like to keep in touch with lots of people. I do not spend any time on all those applications they have. I like to post pictures and check out my friends pictures.
It’s up to you but I would love to have you as my friend of facebook too!
.-= Dina´s last blog ..Threadless Tshirt Giveaway at jaypeeonline.net =-.
DaniGirl said, October 5th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I read your post and the comments with interest, especially Henry’s. I have had a FB account for ages but almost never use it… and yet, I have been wondering if I should set up a blog fan page. I think I’ll hold off for now, as the blog itself and the pictures and the etsy account and twitter and e-mail and, you know, the whole life off the computer thing, keep me busy enough. Interesting conversation, though!
petitegourmand said, October 5th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I say- Nay.
I’m with you on the time suck thing- who needs yet another distraction?
I’m not on facebook but big daddy is- so if I’m curious about someone I just have him look them up for me- other wise I’m pretty content with just having a blog.
I’m still not even on twitter…very old school around here.
now..where did I put my sony walkman?..
Alicia said, October 5th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I’m on Facebook but only check it about once a week or so. I also only accept friends that I know in real life or work with because I am funny about privacy.
Goofball said, October 5th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I’m on FB all the time and I love it as a tool to stay in touch with far away friends. I update my status, share pictures, read what my friends are up to, comment, chat, …
Yet it does generate unwanted friend invites, updates you don’t want, invitations for the most possible stupid quizzes etc…It takes time to get the security privacy & notification settings just as you wish (lots of flexibility there though)…if those are not as you want it becomes a pain.
So you must only do it if you want it.
.-= Goofball´s last blog ..You have to fry it very hard so you get a korstje =-.
Teena in Toronto said, October 5th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I love FB for keeping in touch with people and seeing what everyone is up to via their status.
It’s what you want it to be. I play Scrabble with Gord but that’s it for the games (they can be addicted!).
And I agree that that would be a fab profile pic
Even Minden could have his own page!
.-= Teena in Toronto´s last blog ..Fencing at the 46th Governor Generals =-.
FPIESmommy said, October 5th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I don’t know if I have an answer to help you. I am on facebook, but I don’t really post anything on it…I do check it every few days to see what people are up to (i.e. friends I don’t see often, old school mates, etc.). I spend so much other time online (work, blog, twitter – which I like WAYYY better than facebook, shutterfly) that I can’t be bothered to update my status and post pics on facebook. I am also a bit shy about my blog on it (I don’t really know why….).
@seemasugandh said, October 6th, 2009 at 12:21 am
I just read a t-shirt “I’m a big deal on Facebook”… lol
I’m http://www.facebook.com/sugandh
I only recommend it for being able to email someone privately… I’ve made a few contacts I would not have otherwise made. It’s a huge time suck if you want to do it right (like anything) and really connect with people… but depending on your goals it may be worth it and even (gasp) fun. lol
Loved all your “GAH!”-ing. Makes me think of Billy and the Boingers or Calvin & Hobbes…
xo Have a fabulous day!
Post Sc
@seemasugandh said, October 6th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Post Script: fabulous Breast Cancer Awareness Free Music Download in honor of my mom, written for my mom, by my sister at http://www.TinaSugandh.com
It’s called “Snake Charmer” and cancer plays the snake… gives me goosebumps just typing this.
xo
Lori L. said, October 6th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Nay! It bugs me. I deactivated my account, and then reactivated it when I got my Blackberry Storm because I wanted to try the app. I must say that it is neat for keeping in touch with distant family… but that is about it in my opinion.
kgirl said, October 6th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Love it. Use it. It used to be kind of hip to not be on FB, but now it’s kind of like there is no point in not being on it, because EVERYBODY is on it.
So just be on it. Block everything from everybody if you want, but to me, it’s like twitter – I don’t need to collect friends. I’m friends with people I actually like, so if anybody blocks me, they get dumped.
I’m fickle.
.-= kgirl´s last blog ..Top Ten Tuesday: I Love PVR =-.
Loukia said, October 6th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Hmmm… I think if you haven’t joined Facebook yet… don’t do it! You will be sucked in, and you’ll spend far too much time on it! I’m pretty active on Facebook, still, talking to friends, commenting on pictures, etc. And with Twitter now, well, it’s a lot of wasted time!
.-= Loukia´s last blog ..Excitement. Panic. Realization. Calmness. =-.
Lindsey said, October 6th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
No no no no no no no no and no Missy! You, step away from the computer. Go spend time with your hubby. You are way too busy to add ONE MORE THING!! Once you’re not so busy (ha!), join it if you like. I love it for keeping in touch with all my friends and old boyfriends. Tee!
Daethian said, October 15th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I joined facebook in 2007 then promptly got annoyed with the nonstop apps, snowball throwing, vampires and kisses and disabled the account. About a month ago I reactivated it. I don’t love it, I don’t really use it but it’s there and people I went to school are finding me. Some of them I wish hadn’t. I know what you mean though. I have SEVERAL blogs as well as Twitter and all this other shit. Its too much to keep up with and sometimes I think about deleting it all.
.-= Daethian´s last blog ..I want to change my name =-.
Rocio Enmon said, February 13th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
My friends and I mostly think of Facebook as a “time vampire” and the silly tag-you’re-it games played on Facebook is the glaring proof.
Numbers Millers the Mafia Wars Cheats Guy said, February 13th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
I am so tempted to delete everyone who plays this stuff..it consumes my whole page and I am sure I miss updates I really care about…you should be able to turn off all updates from games..
club penguin said, February 27th, 2010 at 2:39 am
Thanks for the post. love the site!