Back in September I posted a blog about Facebook and my recent changes in how I manage my Facebook friends. Click here to read said entry.
To recap, here are the three new things I’ve been doing on Facebook in an effort to improve the experience and reduce the time-suck factor:
1) I may not accept your friend request.
2) As soon as I accept your friend request, I will most likely un-follow you.
3) When I get a notification that’s it’s your birthday, I may un-friend you.
As a result, my Facebook experience has improved vastly. Here’s the official report…
By not accepting everyone’s Friend Request it’s like the pressure is off me, if that makes any sense. I feel less desperate, less network-y. Basically, I have made a conscious effort for Facebook to be more of the social network that it was originally intended to be. Don’t get me wrong; I still use Facebook every day as a marketing tool for both my voiceover business and my comic book, but like I said in the aforementioned blog entry, if you want to connect on Facebook and I don’t know you please Like my business page.
Now that I follow a lot less Facebook friends, my News Feed is much more pleasant. I’m far more likely to see content that I actually want to see and engage with. On top of that, now that I’m more discriminating about whose Friend Requests I accept, I’m more likely to follow them which refreshes my News Feed.
Un-friending people on their birthday seemed a bit cold at first, but now I look forward to it! There are some people whom I’ve been Facebook friends with since 2009 and didn’t have single correspondence with.
TIP OF THE WEEK
When I started this experiment about six months ago, I had 2,175 Facebook friends. As of this writing I have 1,987 and my Facebook experience is clearly the better for it. My goal is to get down to around 1,000 friends by the end of the year.
You may ask; why bother? Social media in general and Facebook in particular are potentially wonderful tools for entrepreneurs like voice talents. Most often they devolve into messy, unproductive experiences where hours go by in your valued workday and you wonder what the hell happened.
If you are going to use social media in an attempt to further your career you need to learn how they work, why they work, and how you can get the most out of them. Candy Crush and cat-memes; you’re not helping!
NEWS AND NOTES!
My next Edge Studio Business and Money 201 Webinar will be Thursday, Febuary 18 @8:00 PM EST. The subject, “Rates, Negotiating, and Billing”. We’re gonna talk about how to set your price and keep your spine straight. Click Here to sign up!
Agent 1.22 will be on the radio! I and co-creator Angelo Panetta will be on the Erosion Factory Radio Show talking about our comic book. It tapes this week and I’ll let you know when it airs.
VOAtlanta (March 4-6) is only a few weeks away! There are a few slots left in my XSession: The Voiceover Business And How To Act Like One. Also, I will be moderating an audio book panel featuring Scott Brick. Go to www.VOAtlanta.me to register.
HAPPY HAPPYS!
Happy Chocolate Mint Day and Ice Cream For Breakfast Day! My favorite kind of ice cream is chocolate chip mint so I appreciate the synergy of these here holidays.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
From my village to yours; this is Tom Dheere, GKN News…
Tom Dheere is a 20-year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a coach at Edge Studio, voiceover business consultant known as the Voice Over Strategist, and is currently writing & producing the comic book “Agent 1.22”.