I'm On Facebook, So Now What?

I've been a member of Facebook.com for a few months now.  Everyone who is anyone in genealogy declares social networking the future and there's been a mad rush of genealogists to the site.  I figured since Facebook was the next big thing, I would dive in and see what it was all about (please, don't throw anything at me because my opinion strays from conventional thinking). 

I've got a friends list populated mostly by people I've interacted with through blogging.  I haven't done any "cold call" requests for friends because I wouldn't walk up to any stranger on the street and ask if they would be my friend - people would think I was nuts if I did that.  Try it...go out on the street and ask the first stranger you see if he/or she wants to be your friend.  This is one of many creepy concepts.

I'm in this weird Circle of Trust thing that really makes no sense to me - I've hit the "completely trust" button on everyone who comes up so I'm probably messing up the point of the application...and I will continue to "completely trust" everyone.  Every now and then I get an email from the Circle of Trust application telling me something and I crack up because it sounds so serious.  This is also a creepy thing.

Click here to subscribe to Genealogy Reviews Online

I've joined the We're Related application, but haven't found anything useful - probably because I don't focus my research on family trees.  I guess my opinion of this application is the same one I have for Geni.com, FamilyLink.com and the other genealogy social networking sites - I have no interest right now in using them.  All I want are more and more documents and indexes online...I don't care about family trees...I just want the documents...is that too much to ask? 

I've installed my RSS feed in my profile, but I'm assuming most of my friends list people already visit my blog occasionally.  I've become a fan of various genealogy blogs...so far they are all blogs I already read on a daily basis.  I've seen others become fans of books, movies and many other things.  I've become a fan of the Denver Broncos and saw Randy Seaver is a fan of the San Diego Chargers (I won't hold this against him though). 

I've joined Megan Smolenyak's Unclaimed Persons Group and the cases are interesting, but I just haven't had time to participate.  I've written on my "Wall" and always read what others are writing.  I've read about who on my friends list are becoming friends with others...I tell ya, Megan is a friend making machine!  I read about others playing the various game applications, but haven't loaded any of those yet.  I've done some searching for family members, but I've had no real luck on my main surname list.  Oh, I almost forgot...I've declared I'm half Italian, and part Irish, Scotish, and German in another little application on the site.  I didn't include that I may be descendant from a Holy Warrior because it wasn't one of the choices offered.

I've done all these things and I'm still scratching my head and saying "huh?"  I assume a lot of the genealogy types really like Facebook because many appear very active and there's been a genealogist stampede to the site.  I don't know...my brain has always been a little slow, and I do have stubborn tendencies, but I'm just not getting it.  In fact parts of the site, like that Circle of Trust thing, kinda creep me out.  I kind of have fun people watching, and could probably be entertained by some of the little applications, but I'm just not feeling it yet.  Maybe it's good for genealogy business networking and people who are really into building family trees, but so far I haven't found any useful angle for me.  I guess I might as well stick with it...everyone else is there.

Comments

[Tim Agazio]

Welcome Bill! Now you too can spend all your time playing with Facebook like the rest of us.

Tim

[Bill West]

Tim.
As you know by now,I gave in. We'll see how this works out.
Bill

[Tim Agazio]

Thomas,

I agree, Facebook is a good place for marketing our blogs. Just by placing my blog's feed in my Facebook profile my numbers have gone up. I've been rather conservitive about asking for friends, but if I change that I may get more visitors to my blog.

Congrats on finding a cousin! So you've been bought on Facebook?? I haven't seen that application...it sounds stranger than the Circle of Trust!

Thanks for visiting and for the comment.

Tim

[Tim Agazio]

Dean,

Thanks for the very helpful comment...there's lots of good advice in here and I appreciate the effort you put into writing it.

Thanks for visiting!

Tim

[Tim Agazio]

Schelly,

Meeting just once cousin like that makes joining Facebook worthwhile...congrats! You are right, it is like learning a different language. Like you, I'm going to stick with it and see how it goes.

I appreciate you visiting and leaving a comment!

Tim

[Schelly Talalay Dardashti]

Hi, Tim
A good post.
I've been wrangling with this for a few days, trying to learn an entirely new "language." Trying to understand the possibilities.

On the other hand, today I did find a new cousin (from Russia and Belarus) living in Berlin. This was quite a shock - albeit a happy one! She was thrilled and so was I.

Circle of Trust sounds like a creepy reality show!

It will definitely take some time to get a handle on all of this. "Huh?" seems to be my reaction after reading the various help sections.

[Dean Richardson]

Tim:

I applaud you for giving Facebook a try. It's obvious from the comments to your post that your observations (discomfort with certain applications, doubts about FB's usefulness) ring true to many of your readers. I have a few suggestions that might help those who are considering joining Facebook and want to avoid some of the negative experiences you and others have mentioned:

1) Facebook is, first a foremost, "a social utility that connects you with the people around you". It's not genealogy-specific, or specific around any niche interest, other than mutual shared experiences (primarily school). So I'd adjust my expectations accordingly.

I've heard of at least one genealogy-specific social networking site in recent weeks (www.ancestralspace.com). You might find you feel a lot more comfortable in a 'walled garden' that only walls in fellow genealogists.

2) Facebook doesn't yet have an easy way to distinguish between different places on the spectrum from "casual acquaintance" to "best friend". But Facebook etiquette does *not* require you to accept every friend request. I suggest you only accept friend requests from people you already know outside of Facebook, at least to begin with. Keep your circle of friends small, close, and highly selective. That will increase the site's short-term value for you.

Longer term, consider reaching out in transparent ways to others to whom you have something to offer. This is classic "Networking 101" stuff... but I've found it serves me well, whether on Facebook or LinkedIn.

3) The applications offered by Facebook platform developers are (obviously) designed to make money (primarily through some sort of advertising delivery model.) The majority aren't succeeding yet. About the only thing most of them do well is collect information you volunteer and share it with others. If this isn't what you want (i.e., if you're primarily after documents and indexes, like Tim) then you're probably best not to install any of them, unless they come specifically recommended by a fellow genealogist.

4) If you don't accept every friend request, and don't install much in the way of applications, is there still a point to using Facebook at all?

Absolutely. It still does well what it claims to do well -- it connects you with the people around you (who you choose to let it connect you with). It gives you a window into your "friends'" lives and allow you to open a similar window into your life to the extent you want to.

But if you're considering joining it in hopes that it will become your latest and greatest new genealogy research tool, you will undoubtedly be disappointed.

[Thomas MacEntee]

Hey Tim - great post. I agree with much of what you say about facebook as with some of the others. And it can be as much of a distraction as anything else if you allow it to be.

At first I did find it confusing and I was accepting and sending Zen stuff, Plants, and Circle of Trust. I found out that I had also been "bought" which is one application that was just too weird.

So right now I just ignore all requests for anything that isn't genealogy or family history oriented. Also, if I install an Application that I don't feel comfortable with, I just remove it.

To me, as a genea-blogger I see it as another venue for marketing my blog, getting others involved carnivals or other blogging events, etc. I have used it to seek out far-flung relations and heretofore unknown cousins and it has worked most of the time. I found 1st cousins from Post Falls, Idaho that I never even knew about.

I half expect that by the end of the summer the entire FB thing, like any new toy, will wither and die among genea-bloggers. I also use WeRelate but its popularity and ability to reach out to others pales in comparison to facebook.

Cheers!

[Tim Agazio]

Kathryn,

I think our blogs are the best social networking thing...and like you said, safer too. I'm going to keep playing around with it...if nothing else, it sometimes provides a little amusement.

Tim

[Kathryn]

I am soooo glad I waited about FB. I can appreciate genea-bloggers wanting to have their own social circle but I think the risk of having other unwanted "friends" seeing my personal info is creepy. At least on my blog, I know I'm in control.

[Tim Agazio]

George: I'm surprised people feel the same way as I do...but what did I do when I got home from work? I logged on to FB and checked out my circle of trust...only 6 people think I'm trustworthy...

Denise: I've visited Werelate.org, but just haven't gotten around to writing about it...You mean people send you virtual plants on FB? I haven't received anything like that...probably due to my trustworthy status...

Tim

[Denise Olson]

While I'm not ready to write off Facebook completely, as a genealogy networking platform I'm not impressed. I think WeRelate (http://www.werelate.org) and Diigo (http://www.diigo.com) have great socializing features while providing other useful functions - and way fewer distractions. If I receive another virtual plant, I think I will scream!

[George Geder]

Hello Tim,

I just spent most of the morning wrangling with FaceBook; having the same feelings as you! LOL

All the genealogists and family historians are there so it must be the 'hippest place in town'.

Survey Says: Circle of Trust is creepy!

Peace,
"Guided by the Ancestors"

[Tim Agazio]

Jasia, Becky, Laura, Tammy, Bill

Wow, I've never had this many people agree with me on anything at the same time...ever! When I watch the activity on Facebook it looks like everyone is happy, happy, happy...I thought I was the only one thinking un-facebook thoughts...

I'm glad I'm not alone.

Tim

[Jasia]

We're on the same track when it comes to FB, Tim. I don't see any genealogical use for it. I'm not even comfortable with the just plain social uses for it. And I have to admit that much of it seems creepy to me too.

I got involved with FB without realizing I was "creating an FB page". I thought I was just registering to view the page of someone that invited me to see their page. The next thing I knew my email box was full of people wanting to be my "friend". I was flattered so I went ahead and agreed before understanding what FB was really about. Now I have all these "friends" who aren't really my friends, many of whom I've never even heard of before. I don't feel comfortable socializing or sharing my personal life like I might have with a small group of the geneabloggers who I think of as real friends because everything I do or write or join is broadcast to this whole network of people including complete strangers that I've allow to be my "friends". But I don't feel comfortable "un-friending" people I don't know well either because I don't want to hurt their feelings.

I've tried becoming private (turning off the defaults that allow broadcasting of everything) but there are still some things that you can't turn off. I don't know about you but I think it's kinda creepy that total strangers know every move I make. So I've pretty much stopped interacting on FB and just occasionally view the pages of some of my blogger buddies. I think maybe I'm just too private a person to appreciate FB.

Like you, I'm still there because the other geneabloggers are. But I can't figure out a good genealogical use for FB or a way to make it work within my comfort zone.

[Becky Wiseman]

Tim, I totally agree with everything you said! I saw that "Circle of Trust" thing on some profiles and said "Huh?" If you have accepted someone as a "friend" you then have to designate (or not) someone as a "trusted friend". facebook is full of redundancy. There is also the "Blog Network" thing. I guess as a genea-blogger it's a bit different than "normal" people, since right now most (all ?) of my "friends" are also genea-bloggers. Not that I don't have other friends, its just that they aren't on facebook and most likely never will be. LOL. It has been interesting finding out a bit more about some of the genea-bloggers by "lurking" around their profiles, and it is fun to do that when I don't feel like doing other things that I should really be doing. Maybe someone can come up with a term for that activity like fM's husband did with blodging!

[Laura Womack]

I'm with you. I just don't get it, especially the friend part. I thought if I kept trying to use Facebook it might get more people to read my blog. My posts also appear on my Facebook profile but my daughter mentioned something about copyrights and who sees my profile anyway since I have no friends??? Since no one really reads my blog, I don't feel right asking other bloggers to be my friend, etc. Reminds me too much of junior high. I AM thinking about creating a ____ Family Group but I'll save that for a blog post. I'll probably be the only member for years to come.

[Tammy]

I'm with you, I just can't seem to figure it out but my 17 year old can. Guess you have to be a teen to figure it out. I'm with you Ruth it should be a safe place to contact people without spamming.

[Tim Agazio]

Ruth,

Hmmm...a mind reading application on Facebook...maybe we can make some money on that one!!...they probably already have it though.

I do agree with your safe environment comment...ok...there's something in the plus column.

Tim

[Bill West]

Hey Tim,
I've avoided the stampede. I have enough on my hands with my Blogger site and too much time
already invested in it to move all the content
or neglect posting there in favor of Facebook
or MySpace before that.

Guess at 60 I'm just an old fuddy duddy set in my ways.

[Ruth Stephens]

You know, you stated exactly how I feel about Facebook and genealogy. Are you a mind-reader, or is this a Facebook application? :)
Anyway, I'm with you. I joined because it's supposed to be helpful to genealogy, but I don't get it, either. And that Circle of Trust thing is creepy!
What I like about the Facebook concept is having the ability to contact all these other researcher in a "safe environment". By that I mean that if I contact someone on my Friends list, then hopefully that person will know that I am ok and that this communication is about genealogy and not a spam attempt or a virus or something equally not good.