School me on the Facebook

[9mmfan]

So my wife and I recently bought a house and moved to a new town. I have resisted the Facebook for many years. In order to keep up with my friends, and possibly promote a later personal business (on a Page separate from the Profile I would create in the meantime) I have been considering moving into the late 20th century in regards to social media. Can any of you give me some pointers, and/or reasons why I should make this step? I am not a child, and I know that this seems like a decision I should be able to make on my own. However, I have made this a point of pride, and my bull-headedness in this arena could use a fire lit under my behind. Pros/cons, just telling me to man up and do it, whatever. Like I said, I have resisted, and need some persuasion. Or to be dissuaded. Or just make fun, whatever makes you happy. Thanks.

[Wodathunkit]

Find a local kid and tell them you want to do this, he/she can have you up and running in about 30 minutes. Then ask them to be your social media guru and hire them (they'd do it for free or close to it) then get a twitter account going.

[Songbird]

Find a local kid and tell them you want to do this, he/she can have you up and running in about 30 minutes. Then ask them to be your social media guru and hire them (they'd do it for free or close to it) then get a twitter account going.

This is a great idea! I learn things from my students all the time. Facebook is a great tool, and just like anything else it can be abused. It's a wonderful way to communicate with friends and family you might otherwise go years without talking to. It's a great prayer network. If someone I'm "friends" with gets caught up in drama or something offensive to me, I delete them. Simple.

[C-dub]

I use it to keep up with my family and some friends. I have it set so that only people I have "friended" can see what is on my page. If you start using it to promote a personal business you might want to set up two separate FB accounts. One for you and one for the business so that you may keep your personal page locked up tight and the business page that is a little more open and public friendly.

[chasfm11]

Everyone has their own approach to Facebook. Here are my suggestions

1. Carefully manage your profile (most kids don't) about who can see what.

2. Don't post future events, especially with locations. Everything that goes on my FB is in the past.

3. Understand that pictures from smart phones that you post on FB CAN have GPS information and FB will use it.

4. You will get to use the "Like" button and to cross post things you see. Be prepared that some of your friends will not appreciate your Likes or cross posts. They will un-friend you. In a face to face relationship, you may never had told them about how you feel on a specific topic but they will see your likes and dislikes on FB. You might want to use that knowledge as guidance when you consider using the Like button or commenting on some else's post. Being un-friended just goes with the turf. I've un-friended others who got carried away with what they posted.

In some ways, FB works like this forum. You can get into heated debates on another person's post. There are trolls that will pick those kinds of arguments. FB does moderate some things but it is a lot more open than here.

That's my $.02 worth.

[StewNTexas]

What is this new device of which you speak?

[MamaK]

Everyone has their own approach to Facebook. Here are my suggestions

1. Carefully manage your profile (most kids don't) about who can see what.

2. Don't post future events, especially with locations. Everything that goes on my FB is in the past.

3. Understand that pictures from smart phones that you post on FB CAN have GPS information and FB will use it.

4. You will get to use the "Like" button and to cross post things you see. Be prepared that some of your friends will not appreciate your Likes or cross posts. They will un-friend you. In a face to face relationship, you may never had told them about how you feel on a specific topic but they will see your likes and dislikes on FB. You might want to use that knowledge as guidance when you consider using the Like button or commenting on some else's post. Being un-friended just goes with the turf. I've un-friended others who got carried away with what they posted.

In some ways, FB works like this forum. You can get into heated debates on another person's post. There are trolls that will pick those kinds of arguments. FB does moderate some things but it is a lot more open than here.

That's my $.02 worth.

I'll add .03 cents so we can give him a nickles worth of "teh interwebz" schooling

when you make a business page keep it professional and I would suggest making it so only you and your chosen administrators can post. One of my husbands friends security sites turned into a frat party partially due to one of the wives posting a bunch of non-work related meme's (essentially obnoxious spam that had nothing to do with selling classes or securing security contracts)

It's true that friends may get upset by your "likes" and vice versa. The internet kind of reinforces a false sense of anonymity (you really aren't. Facebook is a great tool for social engineering...so remember that when someone posts something about finding your exotic dancer name by giving up your birthdate, street where you grew up etc..)

Don't click on anything that says something like "OMG look what they are saying about you" or suggest that by clicking on the link you'll see something gross or rare like spiders under someones skin (its a phishing link)

Lock up your personal site.

[The Annoyed Man]

I use it to keep up with my family and some friends. I have it set so that only people I have "friended" can see what is on my page. If you start using it to promote a personal business you might want to set up two separate FB accounts. One for you and one for the business so that you may keep your personal page locked up tight and the business page that is a little more open and public friendly.

You don't need to create a separate account. I have two business pages which I created using my personal account.

However, I am currently 12 stepping Facebook. Of course, I'm considering 12 stepping this forum. Facebook is not that useful if all you do is check up on your friends every 2 or 3 months, and it is an addiction if you check up them every day. I'd almost say it's a giant waste of time.....but I have to Facebook my sponsor to check and see if that's true.....

[MamaK]

I use it to keep up with my family and some friends. I have it set so that only people I have "friended" can see what is on my page. If you start using it to promote a personal business you might want to set up two separate FB accounts. One for you and one for the business so that you may keep your personal page locked up tight and the business page that is a little more open and public friendly.

You don't need to create a separate account. I have two business pages which I created using my personal account.

However, I am currently 12 stepping Facebook. Of course, I'm considering 12 stepping this forum. Facebook is not that useful if all you do is check up on your friends every 2 or 3 months, and it is an addiction if you check up them every day. I'd almost say it's a giant waste of time.....but I have to Facebook my sponsor to check and see if that's true.....

If you want to really gain notoriety about your business, the "free" interwebzway would be to create a website (say on weebly) and submit it to a bunch of FREE search engines (not the ones that require your to pay) and make sure you have a boatload of meta tags so anytime someone googles "gun show" it will point back to 'The Annoyed Man' (as an example). If you do this in excess it can become a "google bomb". http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/ ... bombs.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
another method to google bomb yourself into a top search by bombarding google with a search phrase like "Annoyed Man beat Chuck Norris" (you obviously will need assistance with this)

You could also make a youtube video type infomercial (less is more. dont try to be funny. Use microsoft moviemaker to edit it, its free and easy to use. have a title, say what you offer, add contact information, end with credits.)

Use Twitter to announce your classes and increase your visibility. Advertise on Craigslist. (all of it will also help pop you up on search engines.) Add yourself to Yelp. I would suggest to not limit yourself to facebook, and that if you use the internet for marketing set aside a day to do it. Set up a blog - don't go overboard with it, keep it professional. (its great for visibility)

You can set up a free business line through SendHub. Also if you wanted to take credit and debit cards through an Iphone or an Ipad you can get a "square" (the product is free as is the account but you do pay a small charge per use that is deducted from the charge - the money will go into your bank account.)

[gthaustex]

Perhaps it's just me. The only one in my family that doesn't do Facebook. I figure some things are too personal to post and other things people simply don't care about by and large. As mentioned above, I know some people who post to FB every few minutes about everything....seemingly an addiction of sorts.

[9mmfan]

Thanks for in tips and info. Fortunately, I don't have to find a local kid (I haven't lived here very long, don't need a creepy rep), as my wife is on the FB, and can show me the ropes. It just might be easier to keep up with my friends than random texts. I wouldn't have time to update it constantly. Thought I would ask you guys, cause people that I know in the flesh and blood world would ask if I was on it, prompting me to respond "do you even know me?" And when they would discuss their FB friends, I would snarkily reply that so-and-so was my real friend. So I'm expecting a lot of flak. Mostly good natured, but nonetheless. Wow. It's a wonder I have any friends at all...
Thanks again.

[The Annoyed Man]

I use it to keep up with my family and some friends. I have it set so that only people I have "friended" can see what is on my page. If you start using it to promote a personal business you might want to set up two separate FB accounts. One for you and one for the business so that you may keep your personal page locked up tight and the business page that is a little more open and public friendly.

You don't need to create a separate account. I have two business pages which I created using my personal account.

However, I am currently 12 stepping Facebook. Of course, I'm considering 12 stepping this forum. Facebook is not that useful if all you do is check up on your friends every 2 or 3 months, and it is an addiction if you check up them every day. I'd almost say it's a giant waste of time.....but I have to Facebook my sponsor to check and see if that's true.....

If you want to really gain notoriety about your business, the "free" interwebzway would be to create a website (say on weebly) and submit it to a bunch of FREE search engines (not the ones that require your to pay) and make sure you have a boatload of meta tags so anytime someone googles "gun show" it will point back to 'The Annoyed Man' (as an example). If you do this in excess it can become a "google bomb". http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/ ... bombs.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
another method to google bomb yourself into a top search by bombarding google with a search phrase like "Annoyed Man beat Chuck Norris" (you obviously will need assistance with this)

You could also make a youtube video type infomercial (less is more. dont try to be funny. Use microsoft moviemaker to edit it, its free and easy to use. have a title, say what you offer, add contact information, end with credits.)

Use Twitter to announce your classes and increase your visibility. Advertise on Craigslist. (all of it will also help pop you up on search engines.) Add yourself to Yelp. I would suggest to not limit yourself to facebook, and that if you use the internet for marketing set aside a day to do it. Set up a blog - don't go overboard with it, keep it professional. (its great for visibility)

You can set up a free business line through SendHub. Also if you wanted to take credit and debit cards through an Iphone or an Ipad you can get a "square" (the product is free as is the account but you do pay a small charge per use that is deducted from the charge - the money will go into your bank account.)

MamaK, I own a website design/hosting business and take care of all that stuff as a matter of routine with my clients. My two FB business "fan pages" exist primarily for one reason: as examples to my clients of what they can do with FB as adjuncts to their real website needs. All of my credit card processing needs—with one exception—are handled through my merchant processing account, and consist almost entirely of monthly webhosting charges which are setup to automatically debit my client's card on the same day each month. The exception is that I do have a Square swiper to use whenever I'm teaching a Basic Handgun class, because that's usually more convenient for both me and my customers.

I have the full CS6 hallelujah package, and can do videos using Adobe Premier Pro.

[MamaK]

I have the full CS6 hallelujah package, and can do videos using Adobe Premier Pro.

I am jealous and green with nerd envy.

we need an emote for bowing down.......

[RX8er]

I have the full CS6 hallelujah package, and can do videos using Adobe Premier Pro.

I am jealous and green with nerd envy.

we need an emote for bowing down.......

Yep, that's when you know he's in for real. The_Busy_Mom and I are going to hire him for our website stuff. There are a couple other gurus on TexasCHL as well.

[MamaK]

I have the full CS6 hallelujah package, and can do videos using Adobe Premier Pro.

I am jealous and green with nerd envy.

we need an emote for bowing down.......

Yep, that's when you know he's in for real. The_Busy_Mom and I are going to hire him for our website stuff. There are a couple other gurus on TexasCHL as well.

It's a bit expensive for me, so I stick with my elements. The software is just amazing, the cost is intimidating but for a web design professional, it's worthwhile (and what you should expect them to utilize).

sorry for the derail.