Agnieszka Tennant Nails Aggressive Facebook Networker/Self-Promoters

Glenn Lucke's picture
Submitted by Glenn Lucke on Wed, 10/03/2007 - 23:27

Tennant, who writes for Christianity Today, nails it on the topic of those who use Facebook to self-promote. In the process, she nails some "Mover".  I feel badly for "Mover" because if he reads this, he'll likely need to change his Facebook profile...she quotes from it.

As I watch more and more of the Facebook phenomenon, I've (thankfully) seen only a few instances of what she is describing. It's been puzzling to me when people that I don't know, or met once some time ago, "friend" me on Facebook.  However, maybe some of the more distant friends that I've invited to be Facebook friends think the same thing about me.

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We've started using Facebook

Thu, 10/04/2007 - 06:35 — Mark Upton (not verified)

We've started using Facebook as an extremely helpful way to both keep up with our young congregation and let them know a little bit more about ourselves as well.
One thing I noticed when I joined is that Facebook offers to contact everyone in your Contact list and invite them to be your friend. For me this meant that I inadvertently invited some very casual business relationships to be my friend. I've also been on the receiving end of a few of these invites. This may explain some of your distant past friend invites.
I'm not sure I see the problem with someone choosing to use Facebook for virtual networking around a shared interest instead of merely using it for networking real-life relationships. Isn't that what a blog is doing?

Mark, These are good

Thu, 10/04/2007 - 08:22 — GL (not verified)

Mark,
These are good qualification questions to ask. I avoided being very particular in my post, but part of my personal answer to your question would be: I'm talking about people I don't remember at all, and when I query, they bring up a one time meeting, in a different city, years ago. As in, one conversation. That strikes me as an odd basis to invite me to be one's friend on Facebook.
You bring up Facebook's nifty software that can issue invitations to everyone in one's contact list. I purposefully eschewed that because it seemed likely (all but guaranteed) that one incident acquaintances would be invited to be my Facebook friends. The software allows a user to de-select contacts from the overall contact list, but it would have taken a lot of time to do so (lots of people in my contact list).
Lastly, the comparison to a blog. Facebook seems different from a blog because a blog is actually open to be seen and read. Facebook allows one to be open (I leave my profile open, but I set the news feed to NOTHING), but mostly what I see are closed profiles. In other words, most people only allow their Facebook friends to see their profile on Facebook.
Thus, a user like Agnieszka has a closed profile (I saw her on a friend's friend list, and her profile is definitely closed) and the only way "in" is to send her an invitation. I infer that her objection is that someone would attempt to "friend her" without any knowledge of her.
You ask if it's okay to network virtually. I think so, but I also recognize that many people seems to view their Facebook accounts as private. Given that reality, it seems wise and loving to assume that I should not seek to "friend" someone whom I don't know or barely know.
One via media might be through "groups". If two strangers, especially if they have one or more mutual friends, are in the same group (I'm in a John Frame group, and a "I See Chiasms" group), then that seems like a legit risk.
Naturally, all that I've said is not a matter of truth and falsehood, but of wisdom that is highly conditioned by my upbringing and current social context. What is wise in one milieu is sometimes nonsensical in another. All to say, perhaps my take is only relevant to my social circle.

Glenn just invited me to be

Thu, 10/04/2007 - 12:27 — Mark Upton (not verified)

Glenn just invited me to be his Facebook friend.

I dont use my facebook

Sun, 10/07/2007 - 14:00 — Roger (not verified)

I dont use my facebook account, but I do use my linkedin. It sounds to me like they are trying to apply linkedin ethics to facebook.
On linkedin any appoved link or connection has an implicit amount of trust. You are essentially endorsing them. With facebook, I see it more like myspace. A bunch of yokels trying to link to as many people in the world as possible.
Here's an article titled "Why Apply Different Rules of Connecting on LinkedIn?" http://www.linkedintelligence.com/why-apply-different-rules-of-connectin...