It took me some time to get the hang of Facebook, but I came around to actually liking it (it’s my second favorite social network after Twitter of course) earlier this year after having my account for several years. The feature that I enjoy most about Facebook is the fact that it actually connects you with people that you know, have known, worked with, gone to high school with, college with, grad school with, etc. etc. It’s like a network of your own network and therefore, must more close knit than say a Twitter or a Myspace. But here lately, I have been finding that I have been getting several friend requests from people that I have never seen or heard of in my life. Now while there is no law against requesting someone that you don’t actually know, I thought the point of Facebook was to connect you to those that you have some type of connection with. Not just random people who look at your profile, see that you look somewhat decent, and want to get to know you better (i.e. Crackspace).
I have accepted a few requests of those I don’t actually know, but only after I’ve seen that they are actually friends with friends that I am friends with. But the random friend requests from complete strangers gets a permanent side eye until further notice.
What’s your take? To friend or not to friend, that is the question. I am curious as to what your answers will be.
Good Topic! Oh no I definitely stay weary of strangers lol. To me FB is more personable, and the majority of ppl who use it post information in which we'd deem personal outside of Facebook. Like photos, demographic info, employment etc. I actually have friends who post their phone numbers and addresses on there pages which I find a bit creepy unless you're comfortable sharing that kind of info with ALL of your FB friends.
Even as far as connecting w/ ppl I've met through twitter or other social networks, I have to admit @ first I was skeptical but I finally got over my apprehensiveness lol. But, like all things you still have to be mindful that its not really a good idea to accept EVERY request you get b/c online even if you know someone you really don't KNOW them lol if that makes sense.
As for the random requests from strangers or ppl I've never interacted with…nah I'll pass lol. The ignore button is my friend!
Excellent post.
I have two Facebook pages. One is for The Luvologist where I add everyone. And the other is my personal page where I am very selective as to who I add.
I created the 'personal' page because I found I was reconnecting with a lot of peeps I went to school with or worked with in the past. For most I didn't want them to connect with the other side of me.
It's been a good solution for me.
I do not accept FR from anyone that I dont know. Now if they know people that I know then I will accept them, but if Idont know you and you dont know my friends then I dont need to know you either. I like have Facebook full of people that I havent seen in years and now we get to talk to each other on a regular bases thanks to Facebook.
I only accept FR from people I know personally. My FB is the only personal page I have and I want to keep it that way.
What a fantastic topic, i had never really thought about accepting friends request all the requests i have had have been from other bookworms like myself or from authors who are friends with the authors i am already friends with.
I have requested to become friends with others that don't know me such as authors of books i like to read & i have to say it is great when they accept you. I still go into shock everytime i see an update from Linwood Barcley or Tom Clancy.
So if i get a friends request i will check to see if they are friends with people i know or if i have similar interests such as a love of reading or are people i chat with on twitter. If they don't fall into any of these catagories then i would be wary of adding them, if i did and they turned out not to be such a nice person then i would definetly remove them.
Thanks for blogging about this topic it has really made me think about adding people
Donna xx (@Coistycat)
Good topic. I usually don't accept friend requests from people I don't know. Sometimes I'll get requests from people who I played b-ball against in school years ago, some of whom I don't remember or have an ongoing relationship. I give those folks limited access to my personal information by using the privacy controls. People who I work with are also put into a separate privacy category, unless we have an established friendship. Also, ex-girlfriends are completely excluded, regardless of our amount of mutual friends.
No I don't. I only have a personal FB account and have to tell people who "find" me all the time I don't add folks I don't know.
I add people to my FB but I recently started a personal FB account for my friends that are used to the gutta me. Lol. Notorious Spinks, my alter ego tries to hold it in. Hehehe.
Great post Cubicle Chick! Hope youre feeling better.
My 2 cents: If your page is used as a Marketing or Networking Tool, then its probably ok to add everyone- as long as you're strictly posting info about your business, product etc…If your page is personal, I wouldn't add everyone. I do NOT want everyone knowing where I work, or having access to pictures of my friends and family etc…Of course I've only been on facebook for about 48 hours, so what do I know? lol…I sort of avoided it up until a few days ago because I was concerned about "Strangers/Lurkers", but so far, so good 🙂
Only from people I know or know someone I know. With that said I have not issues removing them as friends if necessary!
I only accept friends that i actually know. BUT, i only post happy, simple things on FB. I post more freely on twitter and accept just about anyone there. I think it's because I have a dummy name on twitter and my real name on FB.