It's a bit of a keeping up with the Joneses thing, especially for FEAT and AR - I have separate pages for both. It just isn't cool not to have social media representation. I look forward to the days when social media is no longer 'in'. (wishful thinking?)
What I appreciate about FB are links to good resources like adventure sport videos; I am happy for my 'friends' when I read of their recent sporting (and other) accomplishments (but I do not care to follow your daily training log); I enjoy captioned photos (not too many of them - just the best selection) from a recent holiday / adventure / race; and other miscellaneous odds. It is also a super platform to keep occasional contact with people; I find it especially useful for people I've met through adventure races abroad.
There are a few things about FB that drives me completely insane...
- People who post multiple status updates daily: Arrrggghhhh... I dabble in Twitter (for AR and FEAT) and some peeps have Twitter and FB linked so you get a double-dose of the breakdown of their day. If you post many updates I've probably hidden you on FB or unfollowed you on Twitter - or both. I do not need to know what is happening in your life step-by-step during the day. Indeed, to paraphrase a comment I saw on the web, FB is the 'externalising of one's thoughts and imagining that others care to ponder them'. Status updates are more effective when they're informative and beneficial to your friends.
- Quotes as status updates - what's with the posting of quotes by famous and not-so-famous people? If one friend posted a quote here and there it would be fine; but when many friends post quotes daily - it's a bit overkill. There are hundreds of quote-resource websites; if I wanted to read quotes, I'd go there. FB should be about YOU, not quote-a-day.
- Photos posted without captions. How about a bit of who, where, when?
- Attention-seeking status updates that beg you to enquire further or express sympathy. Like... "I've had such a bad day" or "Just got back from the doctor". Phleezzzee! Your post is written inviting and expecting 'friends' to ask, "Ag shame, what happened?" or "Oh no, I hope you're ok. Get well soon". As a comment on the web about FB psychology says, "It’s as if we are reaching out to the world, trying to quench that ever-present thirst for attention and sense of importance". 99% of the time I do not respond to any of these; not because I don't care but because I'm not a fish that needs to be lured. If you have something to say, say it - like, "Just got back to the doctor after having three stitches on my elbow - I came off my bike this morning; nothing serious".
The approach I've taken to social media is to make any updates or tweets informative - about a run/race/place (past, present or future) or share a FEAT video. I don't (and won't) share what I had for lunch or my frustration at standing in a queue in the post office.
2 comments:
Excellent stuff Lisa especially from a personal perspective. Unfortunately however, from a business perspective, more is "better" as you'll reach more people more often and then they'll eventually think about you. I don't post much on my personal page, but I try to post as much as possible on my "business" pages.
Heya Sean, you're 100% correct.People join a business page because they want content from the company (but there is a limit to how much 'more' is acceptable - but I guess each person has their own limit of what they deem is acceptable).
On the other hand you are 'friends' with people for many reasons but not to follow their day step by step. It really just gets to be too much. Recently I've been turning people off left, right and centre because of this.
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