Since I was able to sign up on facebook I have always though it to be a wonderful thing. Over they years I have been able to connect with some old friends, meet some new people, share photos with family and enhance real life relationships.
And yes, while it is a great tool to use, you can have too much of a good thing. Recent conversations have revealed a theme among those I have talked to in regards to their use of facebook.
“I can’t go ten minutes without checking facebook”
“I’m on facebook all the time. It’s on my phone, computer”
“If I get another request to join a mafia, or build a farm, or answer a question, I’ll scream”
“There are too many emails and notifications, I can’t keep up with it all”
For many, facebook has gone from being a blessing, to being a burden.
So what do you do? Well, first of all you can delete your profile, delete your photos and disappear off facebook forever.
But before you do that here are a few suggestions of some other ways you can use it and enjoy it again.
1. Hide Stuff- The next time someone asks you to return their lost cow, or join a mafia, block that application. Hover over the post on your wall, and an “X” will appear in the right hand corner. Click on that “X” and you will have three options: Hide that post, hide that person, and hide all from that application. After a few weeks you’ll begin to clear the clutter from your wall and see only the updates from those you want.
2. Make Lists - Go to your friends page and click “Edit Friends” You will have the option to create friends lists. Create a few lists to group your contacts into. Here are mine:
Family- If they are related this is where the go.
Friends- These are people I would still be in contact with if the internet died and I had to use other means to communicate. Like.. say talking face to face, or on the phone.
Aquaintances - If you are in this group, I know you, I’ve met you, but we really don’t talk or hang out much.
Associates – These are people who I work with on a yearly basis. Includes those in my work place, contacts I use on a regular basis for work related, or music ministry related purposes.
Church- Working at a church, and being in charge of communications I built a group for all my church facebook friends.
You may have more lists, you may have just a few. I know someone who made two lists… 1. People I like, 2. People I added just to be nice.
Then in your newsfeed click most recent, and then select the drop down. You can then choose the friend list you would like to see.
3. Turn Off Notifications- You do not need to get an email or text message every time someone rights on your wall, invites you to join a group or sends you a message. Go to “Account Settings” and then “Notifications” then uncheck a lot of boxes. I unchecked just about everything except when I am tagged in photos and some weekly updates for ads, birthdays etc.
This will allow you to go to facebook when you want to, not have it constantly draw you in.
(You will also need to turn off notifications on your mobile facebook program of choice if installed on your phone)
4. Take a Weekly Break - Consider a facebook free friday, or other day of your choosing. Commit to not use facebook for a complete 24 hour period every week.
5. Separate Personal and Business – When I started with facebook I had one personal page. I used that page as a way to connect with not only personal friends and family, but music ministry contacts from camps and concerts. Every camp I would go to I would accept 50 to 100 friend requests from those I had met. Now some of them, some of you, are great friends, but some only joined to keep up with my music ministry. So I created the Russell Martin music facebook page.
If I had it to do over again I would direct almost everyone to the music facebook page. This would keep my personal facebook much cleaner. If you have a business, or blog, or are part of an organization consider setting up a page for that. That way you can keep your personal site manageable, and those who want to keep up with your business don’t have to see 100 photos of your newborn child, or puppy dogs.
These are just a few of my suggestions. There are so many good things about facebook, but so many ways it can be controlling. Hopefully these tips may help you to keep in touch with those you want, without being overwhelmed.
Do you have a tip on how you have helped tame facebook? Share it in the comments below. Or share it with me on twitter.com/rgmmusic. You can also join my facebook page www.facebook.com/russellmartinmusic
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