I don’t use Linkedln because it bothers me that anyone can look up all of my information just because they are also signed up. (Just as FB has been used for cyberstalking, so can Linkedln, but Linkedln lends itself more easily to in-person stalking because of all the information the professional accounts contain). I created an account a few years ago, never went back in, and now can’t remember my log-in information to get in and remove my account. It’s not up to date anyway so I don’t sweat it.

In some ways, FB used to help with saving time when it came to social interactions because most of the people I want to sustain connections to as though we are close together in real time could be reached in one place at the same time. It is also easier and less time consuming than going from blog to blog to read up on what friends are up to and interested in.

However, FB keeps changing privacy policies so that even while offering more controls (only due to outrage on the part of users, lawsuits, and investigations by non-American governments), to access all of the privacy choices it takes increasing amounts of time to ferret them all out!

Also, because FB kept making changes without warning, privacy settings were undone multiple times without our knowledge, and when I would discover it, I would have to go back in and set them all over again. Now I don’t trust FB so I feel the need to take the time to recheck my privacy settings on a regular basis, which requires the time to go in deep with a lot of clicks to cover all the settings.

Then there’s the sense of over-saturation. Just the other day, my husband and I were discussing how we are feeling sick of FB now because its logo is Everywhere we go, even local small businesses like bars and diners-businesses with no retail departments so is a FB presence really necessary? Just seeing the logo absolutely everywhere on almost everything is a turn-off. After-awhile, it feels like a virus one can’t escape, like some horror sci-fi movie.

I think the crux of my problem when it comes to FB being a distraction and time waster is the email notification system. I recently decided to turn off the email notifications because no matter what business or project I logged on to take care of, I ended up going into FB to respond to posts and internal email messages from friends, to read updates from groups, and to read new comments from forums I’d been in to find answers to something.

My inability to ignore those email notifications creates ADD behaviors, where I start too many things and finish almost none of them. Sometimes, by the time I get off the computer I can’t even remember what I originally logged on to take care of, or if I do remember, I never got to it. The convenience of instant notifications from FB, and from my email programs in general, actually ends up bogging me down. Not that long ago, emails and people Could wait until I checked my emails for anything to respond to, just like we all managed to survive without cell phones providing others the ability to reach us anywhere at any hour. The human brain needs some space and cushioning from the steady barrage.

That ADD sort of behavior is the exact Opposite of the person I’ve been all of my life until the last 3 years or so, when my computer’s ability to do almost anything I need anywhere, accompanied by innumerable people, businesses, and interests breaking in to my work and focus really took hold.

As for a page created for you by FB, I wondered why I landed on pages like that. I’ve been annoyed by them when I clicked to one only to find nothing there. I didn’t realize it was FB creating them.

Such presumption on the part of FB is why I’ve started resenting it. Merely because it can, it does, without the permission of users and the subjects of pages. (How is FB financially rewarding you for using you to create a page about you? How are any of these data gathering companies compensating any of us for Our information that they sell in some form or another?)

I really dislike the lack of control over our own identities, data, and creations. And I resent using the aspects of FB that I enjoy but then having to constantly guard myself against its uninvited intrusions into my privacy.

I just clicked notify me of follow-up comments. lol

I have an account on Facebook, and on LinkedIn, and Twitter. I’ve had accounts in other places too.

What I’ve found, just for me, is that I’m a *Twitter* person. I hang out there and find a lot of satisfaction from my connections.

But even on Twitter I have 3 accounts – one is ‘me’, while another is for my MacTips and yet another for my dog websites.

I can’t sustain that, in fact, and am active only on @miraz. I simply send out weekly Tips updates and rare relevant tweets on MacTips, and am pretty well ignoring the dog-related account.

I just don’t feel ‘at home’ on Facebook. I don’t really get it and don’t care to participate in all the stuff you’ve mentioned above. It *is* right for some people though. For example, my partner enjoys interacting there. Again, I add 1 update per week to my MacTips Facebook page, when I publish a new Tip.

It’s much the same for me with LinkedIn.

I suspect that for a business person there are several factors to consider, just as there are when we ‘target’ certain groups of customers, and shape our business.

1] Does it feel ‘right’? Is it authentic and genuine for us? Twitter works for me. If I tried to really, deeply participate in Facebook I suspect I would come across as a bit false because I’m just not interested in it.

In real life I just don’t fit into ‘corporate’ culture. If I tried to go work for some Fortune 50 company I think we’d soon part ways. My ‘natural’ market is individuals, tiny businesses, community organisations.

2] Who and where are our customers? Are the customers you care about only hanging out on Facebook? Is that the only way you can reach them? How much do you need to participate to give those customers what they need?

As you point out, there’s a cost to you of using Facebook. Is there any evidence that suggests that’s the best way to spend your marketing funds (time)? The time you spend there is time you’re not reaching out to potential customers in other ways. Facebook’s international. Will ‘friending’ 1500 people in the UK, Australia, India really sell more helicopter rides or even more books? Will it sell more than your participation in Twitter achieves?

3] Who ‘controls’ your information? You ‘own’ your own websites. You have the text, the images etc totally under your control. If the hosting company disappeared overnight I presume you have good backups and could readily reinstate the sites on another host. You have total control over format and content.

When we put text and images into Facebook we have no control over them It’s not a hosting company; it’s a service. If they shut down tomorrow what do we have? Do we have lists of ‘friends’, or our messages, or our images? No. They determine what we can add and how we can add it.

When people Google on your search terms they’ll find your websites and your tweets.

If your editors want a book to ‘be’ on Facebook then let the publisher’s marketing department deal with that. Let them have a presence there and maintain it.

I think I’ve just spent a long time saying: if you don’t want to be on Facebook then don’t participate. If it doesn’t meet your strategic goals and provide personal satisfaction and enjoyment then don’t join in.

Spend your valuable time and effort in the places where it gives you real benefit, and leave behind the ‘popular’ places that don’t.

It’s interesting to get a positive view on Facebook. Most of my readers are more likely to share my views — in one way or another — on this. It’s good to get the other viewpoint. Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Your post has made me think and while I have some off-the-cuff responses I realise I need to ponder a bit more.

I hope I can comment with more depth later. But thanks for posting this.