Why I Still Love Facebook (And a Few Etiquette Pointers)

Yep. Today, I'm going to blog about facebook. It's a different topic than normal, but there's so much hype about all the changes, I had to touch on it.

So many disgruntled posts have resounded a distaste for change in the past week. But I have to say, I look forward to the new time line feature. I can't wait to try it out. And I don't mind change, as long as it's good. Even if it's often.

Why do I love Facebook, regardless of the numerous times they've revamped and remodeled? Here are my thoughts on this subject:

1. I'm a scrapbook lover. I love memories. I love keeping them. I love writing them down, attaching photographs to them, and setting them on a shelf for future perusal and reflection. You can imagine the joy of hearing Facebook will be incorporating a "scrapbook style" time line format to my profile page. Yay!

2. I love glossy magazines. I love two page spreads. My local radio station discussed the new Facebook time line this morning. They mentioned it resembles the layout of a magazine. Double Yay!


3. It's a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, still. I know this is the reason most people signed up for a Facebook account in the first place. My suggestion? If this is still the reason you want a Facebook account, keep it simple and use it only for this purpose. Then you won't have to worry about who sees what. Delete everyone on your friends list except family and close friends, if you're really worried about it.


4. It's a great way to network. I hear a lot of complaining about how much people can see and what they can find out about you. I love that my colleagues can get a glimpse of who I am and what I do with my life. Why? Because I want them to know me. I want them to see that I know a lot of people. I want them to see that a lot of people love me. I want them to see that I care about my family, friends, my career, my passions, my church. Because that truly is what I am about. And I love seeing these things about them, too.


5. It's a great way to communicate and get the word out about what I support. If I don't want someone to know about it, I shouldn't say it. It's online. People can find it, if they want to. If I'm not willing to stand behind what I post, I shouldn't post it. And if I need to share something with a friend, I should do it via email or a Facebook message, not post it to my wall so everyone can see my private conversation. Easy enough.


6. Who doesn't love looking at everyone's pictures? Please keep them clean. And if someone doesn't like it when you post a picture of them sleeping with drool coming out of their mouth, please be kind enough to take it down. It says you care about them and their image. I always make sure photos of others are discreet. I wouldn't want someone else to embarrass me, so I try not to embarrass them.


7. The groups. I have found such wonderful fellowship on Facebook! Just a few of my favorites: Moms Together, CWAHM (Christian Work at Home Moms), Christian Books.


8. Promotion and Encouragement. I know a lot of people hate how others use Facebook as a place to rant and complain. You know what I do? I shut them off. I stop their posts from appearing on my page. It's simple enough to do. Occasionally, I've had to un-friend someone because I disagreed wholeheartedly with what they posted. Oh well. Life goes on. 

I receive a lot of encouragement and support from fellow Facebook users. We like to share each others' blog posts, insights, etc. I'm always looking for things to share that come from my friends. They've got great things to say, and I bet they'll help others, so I re-post them to my wall.


9. I don't know about you, but I love hearing "Happy Birthday" from hundreds of friends. I don't have the time (I wish I did) to send out birthday cards to everyone I know and love each year. Facebook makes it so easy to wish them happy birthdays and say something special about them. And it's easy to remember when their birthdays are - it lets you know!


10. It's free. How many things are free these days? I appreciate having a place to fellowship with my friends and family and not having to pay exorbitant fees for its service.


I can appreciate the changes Facebook is making. Our world is constantly changing. It's constantly developing. As a writer, I am constantly trying to keep my blog current, looking its best, offering a new look. I change my background template to reflect the seasons. I want it to be fresh. I don't want it to grow stagnant, because you wouldn't keep coming back if I said or did the same thing over and over again. Why should Facebook be any different? There's enough competition out there. It's important to keep a business new and exciting. Or customers would walk away. Right?


So tell me, what do you think of Facebook's recent and upcoming changes? Does it bother you? Or do you look forward to it? And while you're at it, show a little love. What is it you love about Facebook that keeps you checking your wall every hour? I'd love to know!