Confessions of a Facebook Reject!

Yes, it’s
true…I’ve joined the ranks of Facebook rejects. Amazingly, I still don’t know
why this happened. There could be any number of reasons from too many friends,
too many messages, too many invitations or being perceived as a spammer.

 Regardless
of the reason, the fact remains; I have to wait for the blessings from the Facebook Powers
that Be to have my member in good standing status reinstated.

Now mind
you, this is not an isolated situation. Countless others have gone through a
similar situation; patiently awaiting (well maybe not patiently) the Facebook
Heaven’s to open up and shine a light on them. Some gave up waiting and simply
put up a different page and profile.

Simple
solution for some, not so simple for others. Depending on the complexity and
reason for one’s involvement with Facebook determines what the best solution
is.

Since this
incident began I have given a lot of thought to what Social Networking really
means. In the truest sense it is about building a community; one in which
people want to be a part of our network.

Unfortunately,
this is not how many people are positioning their Social Network involvement. Lots
of people, myself included, have been guilty of going for quantity rather than
quality. It’s as if the Social Network demons take over our bodies and chant, “More,
more, more.”

What ends up
happening is we have a group of “friends” who could give a hoot about who we
are or what we are up to. On the other hand, if we have taken time to build an
incredibly solid group of friends they actually look forward to hearing from
us.

When I was a
child my father gave me some sage advice, “Virtually anything is okay in
moderation.” I wish I would have remembered this when I became a member of
Facebook. Moderation, moderation, moderation.

Hallelujah! I
have seen the light. I am saved from my own Social Networking demons. To the Powers that Be
I repent. I promise to behave myself from this point forward. Well, at least I
promise to be more discerning about who I accept into my network.

To help you
avoid experiencing the same experience as myself and countless others here are
a few recommendations on optimizing your Social Networking involvement.

1.    1. 
Determine why you are involved in a network. Based
on this, plan out what is your best approach and level of involvement.

2.      2.  Invite only those people you really want to be
connected with. When you send a friend’s invitation add a short note to the
request. Be sure not to use the exact same message with each request or you
will feel the Facebook Bolt of Lightning strike down on you.

3.       3. If you get an invitation from someone and there
is no personalization respond with a short message such as, “Thanks for your
invitation. I am curious as to why you would like me to add me to your group of
friends?”

 4. Sure it’s time consuming, but think of the number of people
who will simply delete your message because they could give two hoots about who
you are or what you have to say. Those who respond will likely be quality
friends.

4.    5. 
When you post an event and invite your current
friends (which you can invite up to 100 at a time) add a personal message in
the box provided. With the next 100 you invite change out the personal message.
Too many times with the same message is bound to get you ousted.

6. Avoid posting the same message on multiple
walls. Yup! You have to change out the wording on this too.

There is
more, lots more on why you can get booted off of Facebook, but this will give
you an idea of how insignificant the reasons can be.

The most
important lesson in all of this is take time to build a quality network (and
yes that means time) and you will likely minimize your chances of you joining
the ranks of Facebook Rejects.