Facebook - Like It...Or Not

"Nothing stays the same...and that includes Facebook! Even with all the changes & things 'we' can find wrong with the site, though, I'm happy to be there, most days; the good still outweighs the 'bad'. That being said, higher-ups need to listen to those who got them where they are and find a happy balance between their desire to make money, while allowing us access to more of the personal posts we enjoyed seeing for so long. It would be wise for them to remember their reason for being in the first place ~ the initial 'connections' with others that made the site what it is...was.

Their excessive ads, bogus fake news stories, incessant marketing links and all those birthday notices clogging up the newsfeed don't float my boat, but I simply adore my community of artists & collectors and friends & family from all over the world! The rekindling of childhood friendships, family connections and creative interaction with kindred spirits & amazing artists is, for me, priceless. Fb knows this is true of most members, and is 'banking' on the fact that I/we will not dump our accounts altogether after the time & effort we put into gathering friends, managing our 'Timelines', updating our 'Photo Albums' and all the posting-sharing-commenting! Whew. I must say, though, it's getting pretty tiresome sorting through all their 'stuff' to find posts worth my while.

It used to be quite simple to purge the feed [and friend's list] of junk ~ anything or anyone untoward, ads & such, those who only post politics or people who consistently share pics of their pets, family & what they're having for dinner, lol. That meant, when we did choose to scroll thru our feeds, we'd see posts that sparked the creative spirit, spurred the imagination, made us think and sometimes laugh-out-loud. The thing that bothers me most is the fact that only about 10% of our friends even get to see our posts! If you pay to play you may, or may not, get more bang for your buck. I will try that once to see if it actually works in bringing more viewers to my art-photography links. I'll let you know!

Sales? There've been a few, but then again too few to mention. Ever the optimist, I do hold out hope that will change. If selling my art & photography was the main objective & motivation to be on Facebook, however, I'd be sorely disappointed...and frustrated. I know a lot of artists are on-site only to sell their work, creating a single artist's page and hammering away with the image posts & links. Others have two separate accounts ~ personal & business. I keep it simple with just a personal page. Not sure how viable a tool of the trade Fb really is; I've heard conflicting reports. But, like I said, it's been awfully slow going. If the end result is that I gain new fans worldwide and more family & friends get to know me & my work better, their friends, too, then fabulous; I can 'work' with that. The precious time spent 'connecting' and forming a supportive community, people from all walks of life, whose work & lives I also appreciate, will be my reward. If it translates to sales, bravo!

To attract friends, I keep my 'Timeline' clutter-free, creative & entertaining. Translation: only my posts appear! Rarely, do I share other's links or photos and, then, only if a catastrophe like Harvey or a friend needing help in some way. I also vary my posts, from art & photography to me, myself & I, which seems to keep people coming back for more. Variety if the spice! I avoid anyone who allows all those birthday wishes, 'thanks for the request' notices & repetitive posting of the same photo on their Timelines. That means they don't manage their page[s] well... or their 'time'. Some artists like joining groups, but I've found only a couple I liked and neither amounted to much, except extra views & likes. I hardly interact in those anymore. I DO support people, though, both here & there, but don't let anyone post on my pages. I remain diligent in sharing my FAA group & contests there, though. The trick is to do it in a way that doesn't 'seem' like I'm trying to get anyone to buy something, but rather to 'enjoy' it. Like I said above, only a handful of our 'friends' actually get to see our posts...and then it's a toss up as to IF they see them in their feed since most people don't hang there for too long, or at all, and less so these days than before. I also notice the same people liking, commenting & sharing my posts over & over. Interesting. Makes me wonder if those 100 are the ONLY ones seeing anything?

I'm not a 'twit'terer, don't use Instagram or other apps, play games or hang out & chat. Never was or will be on another social media site, except for FAA; I guess I can call it that! So, Fb, such as it is, matters to me. Not an addiction, like some claim, just a way to pass a little time, share my work & a little bit of me. I check in once or twice a day, do what I need, and am able to stay on top of things. I figure 'if YOU are not active, you won't get much action'! That only stands to reason. Most of us live much larger lives than spending our days on Fb or other social media sites. Happy to say, I get a LOT of 'love' from my 3,150+ friends...and that's good enough. Liking someone & their work is better than the alternative.

New thing [for me!] this week is, despite having over 3-thousand [well-vetted & connected] friends, Fb is telling me to add MORE friends IF I want to see MORE posts in my newsfeed! Huh? My feed simply stops within a minute or two, after I rid it of 'trash', with a note from them saying, 'If you want to see more posts, add more friends'. That stinks, as I already have a LOT of friends, active ones, and rarely see a thing from them, which means I have to go to their Timelines to do so. Thanks all the same, but I am content with the number of friends I have. If I want to add more, I will. So, today, Fb is on my 'blank' list. Actually spent over 15 minutes cleaning the clutter [crap!] from my newsfeed earlier in order to enjoy something personal from friends & family. I'll have to do it all over again the next time I visit, so enough already Fb with what YOU want me to see! The more you control things, the less I want to be there. Sigh.

More about friends ~ it's true that some people accept any & all friend's requests, but it's super important, I think, to check everyone asking for your friendship as closely as possible! They will be seeing all your info...and you will be getting their posts in your feed, unless you 'unfollow' them, which makes me wonder what's the point of accepting them in the first place, except to pad your list? Kinda rude. I have turned down more requests than I've accepted during the time I've been on-site...and am even pickier now, if possible. Maybe this is more true for women!? If I had allowed everyone access, I'd have reached maximum capacity in my 1st year of membership and missed the chance to 'meet' some fabulous people. I like to keep my options open. There are a lot of weirdos out there, though, so make sure you use of all the 'privacy' settings available, including 'blocking', if needs be. At least that's something within our control!

I sure hope the site is paying attention and doesn't let greed completely cloud their senses. If not, their 'baby' could simply implode, self-destruct, poof ~ 'here today, gone tomorrow'. And, that's not something I would like to see happen.

Feel free to join me there while you still can. If you do, please 'enjoy' my painting 'Aria' [above] when you visit my Timeline. It's my cover photo."


~ Brooks Leath Garten Hauschild