...because I sure feel as if I am.

Okay, here's the thing - I HATE FACEBOOK. Okay, I said it. I hate it. I don't like MySpace, either... or any of those similar types of services within the social media realm. I don't use that word lightly, either. I have a serious loathing for just about all things Facebook related. It makes me want to , and

Don't get me wrong, I like Twitter, for example. LOVE Twitter. It's simple, easy and I get it. I like the idea of social media, but it seems to me that it's become an out of control party or complicated nonsense, and I'm just not a party person. I cannot stand it, mostly because I simply don't get why it's so essential from a business perspective.

That said, I do have a Facebook account. I only allow family and super close friends (that I know in person) to access it. But even with those few people, it's like a migraine headache and I don't use it much, if ever. I like opening up the Facebook status on my blackberry to see what my sisters and cousins are saying in their statuses (as if it were an alternate to twitter) but that's it. I don't care about their mafia wars, fan pages, angel grams, IQ quizzes or multiple groups that they've joined. Ugh... it's like 1995 all over again with people forwarding me every funny joke and chain mail they can find because they have an excuse to send an email. I love the people themselves... I just don't like what is does to them and the garbage it perpetuates. Does that make sense?

I understand and get the idea of LinkedIn and Active Rain... those have specific purposes for business and such and it doesn't get overly personal (usually). Not that I care about the personal... but when you give somebody access to Facebook, they can often see everything and it's a bit tooooo personal, I think. I can attest to that after seeing a certain set of photos on a cousin's page that made me go .

So yeah... today I have a potential client ask me about social media and I let them know that I'm comfortable with Twitter, but if they need Facebook management I can recommend some other VAs. When questioned a bit more, the PC said, "Wow, you really don't get web 2.0... I'm not sure this will work."

Oh, I get it... I'm one of the most technical savvy VAs out there. I just can't stand a certain portion (and sadly most popular) of social media. Is that really so bad?

My husband said my aversion is the Internet version of, "I don't do windows."

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Marian Harmon, Certified Virtual Assistant
www.crossmydesk.com

And interestingly enough, I do realize the many levels irony of my latest Tweet talking about Midol. Hee hee.

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Marian Harmon, Certified Virtual Assistant
www.crossmydesk.com

Hi Marian,

Have you considered opting for a Facebook Fan page for only business contacts?

You can keep your regular Facebook for your personal friends and family but the fan page can be only used for business; much like LinkedIn and ActiveRain. You can also set your privacy settings in your profile to allow only certain people to view specific aspects of your Facebook info.

Janine

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Janine Gregor, Your Virtual Wizard Sign-up Wizard'z Wordz, A Charming Newsletter

I do like Facebook BUT I don't like all the games and timewasting stuff there and I don't participate in any of it and ignore invitations to join in.

I use it to keep in touch with people, share photos and information, and read the status updates. So I use it as an extension of Twitter really. I don't have time for the mafia and farm stuff or pokes or whatever else. Even if it's one of my kids sending it to me. I just ignore it. You can choose to do that Marian.

I used to think Facebook was only for the younguns and it was only after the Pastor form my church in 2008 mentioned he was on it and happy to connect with anyone. I did have an account but rarely used it, but I connected with him and other friends from church.

Then late 2008 one of our daughters died. She and I had connected only weeks before and I feel it was meant to be. Because it turned out that FB was her address book - there was nothing else (except a few numbers on her cellphone) that led us to all her friends. I was able to post the funeral notice on her wall and keep her friends and our family updated with information. People wrote memorial notices and even now they write birthday messages and other things. We haven't taken her wall down (yet).

I dread to think what would have happened if I wasn't connected to her and if I knew nothing about Facebook. How would we have coped? And there were a lot of photos of her there that we didn't have copies of - we do now.

On the business side of things google Mari Smith. She's the who's who of Facebook in business and there is much I've learnt from her. Craig Cannings of VAClassroom runs courses too.

If you can get past the games thing and ignore the things you're not interested in, I think you might feel differently about it. For me, I'm just grateful it kept us in touch with a part of our daughter's life.

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Kathie M. Thomas, VA Coach
A Clayton's Secretary, VA Blog

Kathie, I'm sorry for your loss. I've seen a couple of people who have used Facebook and MySpace to stay connected with loved ones after they've passed and I think it's a very sweet idea.

Personally, the people in my network have used Facebook a couple of times to let us all know when one of our friends have passed and to just keep us up to date on events or happenings in our circle. It's much easier and quicker to post something on Facebook than to try to remember who needs to know and contact a few and have them pass it on (very old school...lol). Whereas before, it might take a while for the news to get around, now it only takes a minute or two. It's the whole 1 to many idea. Gotta love it just for that .


Marian, I feel the same way about all of the Facebook "garbage" and I don't hang out there very much at all. I have notices that come into my email letting me know when someone writes on my wall or has sent me a message and then I'll go in to see what's going on. But I do love it for reconnecting me to sooooo many of my OLD friends...people I've lost touch with over the years. I'm the same way about my personal email address (Yahoo). I can't even remember the last time I checked it. Again, well meaning friends can get to be a bit annoying with all the jokes and chain letters and such. I finally created a "professional" account that only a very small select few are aware of and know NOT to give my address out (i.e. my mom and a couple of friends that double as clients. Same with Twitter. Most people know that I'm on Twitter, but I don't invite any personal friends to "meet" me there and probably wouldn't follow them if they were on Twitter because I try to use it on a more professional level and don't want it cluttered with a bunch of personal tweets (although I do have a couple of "guilty pleasures" that I do like to follow ).

I haven't even gone the Facebook route on a professional level, but some people seem to find value in it. Rather than giving clients the wrong idea about your lack of knowledge or interest regarding social media (as you said it's not that you can't, it's more that you won't), maybe you could at least learn more about how to use it from a business perspective so that you could at least provide the service to clients who want that or be able to explain it to them and then let them know it's not something you care to get into but you can outsource it to another VA.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase

Marian,

I use Facebook not only for myself but some of my clients who seem to be interested in using it more. If you learn that the IGNORE and HIDE button are your friends, it makes it much easier. You can also set up lists to get information from only those sources. My friends and fans know that I do not do the games and quizzes so even if they send they will get ignored. Most have stopped sending and I hide the app from my stream so I do not see the updates.

Social media is not for everyone and each person will find which benefits them most, however I think that all VA's should at least be familiar with the different venues. This way if you have a client or PC you can offer what you know and refer the rest by stating "I am familiar with Facebook but do not offer that as a service, I have a few colleagues I can recommend".

Also, by connecting with old schoolmates and acquaintances I have managed to get several local leads. Two turned out to be per project clients and I am talking to another so do not discount the networking factor as well. I have also given several leads for those in my circle looking for services and products.

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Lee Drozak - My Office Assistant
Your Virtual Business Office, now offering Virtual Event Services

Hi Marian,
I feel your pain! I was feeling guilty about hating Facebook because I understand it can be an excellent source for leads. An article written by Diana Hathaway Timmons helped me realize that I don't need to love all of the social media sites. Diana makes an important point that my personality may not be a good match for some of the sites. I hope you find this article to be as helpful to you as it was to me.

http://biznik.com/articles/5-ways-to...getting-soaked

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Lillian Hoyer

Although Facebook does have it's pros and cons, there are ways that you can make it work for you effectively. This link here explains how to turn off the spam and filter through the garbage that comes through and make it work from a marketing perspective. http://outdoormediaresources.com/200...your-business/

Lily,
This is an excellent article with some great tips on making Facebook a more enjoyable experience. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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Lillian Hoyer

Marian, you ARE certainly not alone. I absolutely love facebook, HATE, HATE, HATE Myspace. I think you simply have to find the realm that works for you. For instance I also don't care for Twitter; even though I do "follow" people on LinkedIn. I am learning how to make a fan page for my business, but just because I had positive exeriences with LinkedIn when I was jobhunting, will probably focus my attention there.

Caroline