I was ask the other day, why don’t I have a ton of friends on Facebook like they do? I told them I keep my friends list down to the people I really do want to stay friends with, this includes family members, old school friends, and a few marketers I have an actual relationship with, I’ve decided to remove friends based on the following five criteria.
If the people are not known to me (i.e., people I don’t really know, have never met, or haven’t some kind of personal relationship with), I remove them, or never friend them using the following criteria:
- People who spam me. “This is a BIG ONE” specifically, people who constantly send me fan requests, group join requests, event invites, or friend suggestions, or people who post blatantly promotional or self-interested messages on my wall — and that is only if I don’t know the person making the suggestion in the first place. I not only ignore their requests but also remove these people as friends after a few of these.
- People who push their applications to me. I block those outright. I click on the application name, then “block application” on the left-hand side of the page. I may also block the people who send them because they have a tendency to be app junkies. (No more “Mafia Wars,” “Farmville,” or “Chinese Astrology” notifications.)
- People with fake names or business names. I see a lot of friends whose profile names are businesses, websites, or brands. Remember, Facebook profiles are not to be used for commercial purposes. Needless to say, I don’t believe “ABC Marketing, Inc.” can be single or married, male or female, a republican or a democrat, or 35 years old and a graduate of my high school.
- People with fake profile pictures. In my opinion is, if you can’t put a real picture of a real person on your personal profile, then what are you hiding? If you have to hide behind some logo, cartoon character, or a shot of some product you’re selling, to me it means you’re not willing to connect with the people you befriend.
- And this one I’m just starting… People whose friends are people I wish to distance myself from. In other words, in their friends lists are people I prefer not to be associated with. If any of the above criteria are not met, I then check out who their friends are. If there’s anyone in that list I don’t like, and if I don’t know them personally, they’re going to be axed.
Above all, I’m not on Facebook to give customer support or free advice, or to do any networking. (Sure, I do network. But it’s not my primary focus, on my personal area of Facebook.) So I also remove friends who send me a direct message in some obvious attempt to extract free advice from me, if it gets out of hand.
Yes, I’m very selective with who I hang around with. But I don’t spend endless hours scouring my friend list searching for anyone who meets any of the above criteria. I only apply it to friends who happen to spam me and to those who try to add me as a friend.
Incidentally, when adding friends I prefer and particularly approve those who add a small message with their friend request. They’re making an effort in introducing themselves to me, and in sharing some commonality or reason why we should be friends.
Bottom line, I’m very protective of my time, my reputation, and my integrity!
Until next time,
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