According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, “UnFriend” is the word of the year for 2009. And I am going to need to use it this year.
With the growth of social networking, I am finding it increasingly difficult to separate business connections and personal connections. As social networking continues to grow, I’m sure many of you are facing (or has already faced) the same dilemma.
Initially, I used to get many “friend” requests from old friends and lost contacts. However, as I’ve been increasing my online presence through blogging and “Twittering”, I’ve been seeing more and more friend requests from people I don’t know personally.
For the record – I think this is a GREAT thing as I really like connecting with new people. I’ve created great friendships and found great business partners with people I have never met physically. But at the same time, I’m now finding it difficult to see the feeds and updates of my “real” friends as opposed to my virtual friends on Facebook.
You see, I used to add all Facebook friend requests (except for the obvious spammers) but I would use the “Limited Profile” feature for people that I have not met in person. But now, as I am approaching 1,000 friends on Facebook, this method is no longer feasible.
This has led me to the “Great UnFriend” exercise for 2010. I need to set some guidelines for who I add as a friend and how to manage other virtual connections. I also need to remove contacts that were previously added that do not meet these guidelines.
I apologize if this affects you. Its nothing personal, I still want to connect with you but in way that is more practical. I’m sure many people can relate to this exercise as quite a necessity.
Here’s what I’ve come up with…
Connect Rules for Facebook and LinkedIn – I will only add people with whom:
1. I have met personally
2. I have communicated with on Skype or email
3. I have been introduced to or is recommended by an existing friend
For all other requests, we can still connect:
1. On Twitter – http://twitter.com/brianwong
2. On Facebook Public Page – http://facebook.brianwong.com
3. On my Blog by subscribing and commenting at http://brianwong.com/blog
Do you have rules and guidelines for who you add as friends on Facebook?
Technorati Tags: facebook, linkedin, twitter, unfriend
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Leave A Reply (8 comments So Far)
Richie
862 days ago
Very true Brian.
I have been very strict with my facebook profile. Close friends only for my private profile and the rest goes to my fanpage (which is mostly business related, although I do have some close friends who I have a business relationship as well).
Close friends is pretty similar to your description. I have met them or have connected with them through another close friend.
One of the main reasons I do this is that I want to avoid promoting products, articles etc to my friends that they probably aren't really interested in.
People join my fanpage because they are interested in hearing more about what our business can offer.
Brian Wong
862 days ago
Yes. Its amazing how far Facebook and Twitter have both come. It was hard to see how to manage all this in the beginning. But hey, that's how we learn right. This will probably have to change again in another year or two haha!
Shan
861 days ago
I totally agree. Understandable. Initially I also had this “unbiased”, “no-discrimmination” policy of accepting friends until wierd profiles started flowing in. There's still a list awaiting me to accept or ignore. Not an easy job to filter, really.
Lee
482 days ago
Hi, Brian. Just wanted to let you know your Facebook link at the end of your post is actually the same as your Twitter link. I tried to go to your FB page to friend you. (JK) Thanks for the helpful article, I’m still learning how to use Twitter and FB to advantage.
Brian Wong
482 days ago
Oops. Just fixed it. Thanks for noticing.
Mathilde Kjaergaard Jakobsen
428 days ago
Hi Brian,
What are your criteria to connect on LinkedIn?
I found your work very interesting and was wondering, if you would be interested in helping me to answer a few questions to be used in my bachelor thesis about “how to create value through actively utilizing your network”.
I’m writing about EGN Singapore, a company specialized in professional networking, learning and knowledge sharing for top executives in Singapore (CEOs, CFOs and Directors) (http://sg.egnnet.com/) – maybe this could be an interesting forum for you to gain exposure?
I hope you will look positive at my request for the mutual benefit for both of us. Please add me on linkedIn or contact me per mail to begin our corporation.
I look forward to hearing from you
Best wishes,
Mathilde Kjaergaard Jakobsen
philippines
419 days ago
in my case i used two accounts on every social networking sites. one is personal and the other was for marketing. maybe that’s one thiing i can suggest to everyone.