I flunked Facebook
It is hard for me to share this with the public but I flunked Facebook. I have tried to get it but it just isn’t working for me. I had this epiphany when my son and my sister-in-law both found me on facebook and wanted to be my friend.
They found me two years after I opened my account and one week after I had accidentally announced a change in marital status. My husband found out about the marriage through another social network and it was news to him. I only know 25% of my Facebook friends and honestly have no idea who the rest or them are. I have 120 unanswered messages in Facebook too, which is an improvement over my personal worst of 189 messages.
Every agent should have a Facebook account
I believe that every agent should have a Facebook account so I am keeping mine. If it disappeared I wouldn’t be too concerned. I have had some interesting conversations with Brain Brady on this topic. Brian is what I would call a Facebook pro it is important to him for his business and personal life and even for having conversations at 4:00 a.m. about facebook with people like me. He will be the first to tell everyone that facebook is the place to be.
I introduced Brian to flickr about a year ago and I see he still has not uploaded any photos. I keep telling him that if he wants an online presence he needs to go to flickr. The advice I am giving him is bad and we both know it. He does not excel at flickr in fact he flunked just like I flunked Facebook. If he really tried I know he could take great photos but that isn’t what he wants to do and he doesn’t need to. If I tried harder I would get better results with Facebook but for me it is like skiing uphill alone. Flickr is more like riding the chair lift up with friends and laughing all the way.
Photos on Facebook
Brian suggested that I post my photos on Facebook. He thinks that people will enjoy them. People do enjoy them but Facebook isn’t a good place to post urban landscapes pictures of historic buildings, or the river at night. It is the best place to post pictures of people. Especially people who have Facebook accounts and are friends. Those are the photos that people enjoy the most.
On flickr the photos of friends and family don’t seem to start conversations the way they do on facebook. They don’t get much traffic at all. My flickr buddies tolerate them and occasionally my closer friends will comment.
Which social network works the best for you?
Both social networks have a purpose and they have value. For me flickr has more value than Facebook. I love being on flickr. I have met people through it, gone places, made friends and have even gotten some business because of it. For Brian Facebook is the place to be and his flickr account is kind of pathetic looking (sorry Brian but it could go on the flickr wall of shame)
Even though I hang my head in shame over my messy often neglected Facebook account I have learned from it. What I have learned is to play to my strengths.
Before getting all excited about a social network and spending a ton of time on it lurk, kick the tires, and be prepared to move on. Social networks are tools on the internet. It is the social nad the network part that are important, the ability to meet people and make meaningful connections. What works for me might not work for you.
