Facebook, Friends, and the Future

You could always add a second Facebook personal page. You'd have to get another email address, but then you could theoretically get up to 10,000 friends.

Ed,

Facebook fan pages are really community gathering points. I know that people interact with you on your Facebook wall/profile, but that's really designed to be a one-on-one interaction where other people can then join in the conversation (to view or participate).

Fan pages give people to gather together in community to discuss things that they share in common.

To me, you should definitely do both. I wouldn't think you'd necessarily need to check the fan page with as much frequency as you do your personal profile/wall (since the conversations there are largely 'about' you, not necessarily 'to' you), but it would be good to drop in regularly to see what people are discussing & join in the fray.

My humble 2 cents,

Chris

Matt,

Facebook says you are not supposed to do that.

And, for that matter, it does create another page without a unified conversation.

Ed

Ask all 5000 to re-sign as your friend to continue, due to your dilemma. Some may inevitably drop off. But eventually you will end up with the same problem again.

Chris,

I actaully cannot see any fan pages (because I cannot "add" anyone, including fan pages). But, I was under the impression that the "wall posts" are the same on a fan page.

No?

Ed

Hey Ed,

What about Option 4?

1. Keep your current FB account
2. Start a fan page and invite everyone on your current FB account to also follow you there.
3. Grow the fan page.
4. Make the current FB account a little more personal in nature.
5. Get comfortable with the fact that you just have fans! ;)

That double connection point won't hurt will it?

FWIW,

Kerry

I am comfortable with option 4, but upon what basis do I let people be my personal friend vs. a "fan" page friend?

Take you, for example. We know each other and are friend. Mainly, we have done a little work together and then interacted on line. We are friends, but I don't think we would consider each other "hang out" friends even though we know each other. We are ministry friends.

So, which account do you get? And, how do I decide without offending people?

Ed

Dr. Ed,

I count it a privilege to be one of the lucky 5K to be your friend on FB :) May I use your post and comments section and subsequent 'solution' in a paper I am presenting at the Evangelical Philosophical Society Annual meeting in November? It works rather well for my topic.

Roger

Roger, that depends on the topic of the paper.

;-)

Ed,

Guess it's been awhile since I've been on any of the fan pages I've added (shame on me) :-)

Yes, looks like it is set-up the same. Used to be more of a discussion board/forum set-up.

Now I see more of the dilemma.

I'd have to agree with Kerry. Best scenario would be to use the fan page as a 'public' Facebook account, invite people over there, explain that you're going to use your main FB account for more personal, then "de-friend" people there.

You can set-up friend lists for various scenarios if you want... one for colleagues, one for good friends, one for family. Then you can set-up security to limit what each group can see/do.

To me, it's a major faux pax for Facebook to only let you have 5000 friends.

Chris

IMO, the people who are already "friends" on FB would just remain "friends." That way you don't offend anyone.

Moving forward, anyone wanting to be your "friend" will need to do so through your fan page, which I'm certain, you will work hard to make friendly. ;) That way, we're all friends!

What about also doing a bizarre thing like dumping all existing friends from your personal account (including mine) and offering an exclusive eBook for the 1st 5,000 who sign up within say 72 hours? Might generate some great interest. That would give some newbies an opportunity to jump in but might also cause your publisher to faint!

Just a few thoughts.

You are a good friend, Kerry. ;-)

Hahahaha. Thanks, Ed. I'm honored!

Hi Ed,
I just recently joined facebook and was fortunate enought to be added as one of your friends. I have been on a steep learning curve as I discover the different uses for the various social networks. I find facebook to be more personal and allows me an opportunity to connect with family, friends and those who want to connect on a deeper level. Twitter has been a place where I can connect with individuals of common interest but who do not necessarily want as deep a connection (though I have added some to my facebook account). The point is that I would agree with Chris's last comment. If you are wanting to share your thoughts with people put them onto a fan page. If you want more interaction and do not mind less depth use twitter. For those that you want to have a deeper connection the idea of setting-up friend lists is ideal. If you start inviting people over to your fan page, with an explanation, I believe many would do that voluntarily. Hope this helps.

Paper Topic: "Social Ethics For A Social Network: An UnApologetic Presence On Facebook." Basically, I look at what is acceptable ethics on social networks and how I arrive at my conclusion. Since you are a prominent figure in SBC and other circles, your work and name would bring attention to the subject matter. Being an SBCer myself, I'll make sure you are presented in a positive light.

Roger Sharp
Confident Christianity
Home Church: Nassau Bay Baptist, Houston.

Not to burst any ego bubble in which you may be living, but I am guessing there are a couple of thousand people on your frineds list who only requested because you were 'suggested' to them by a truefriend/fan/follower. There are (relatively speaking), only a handful of people who truly interact with you. SO, maybe you should do some research, or find someone in the research field, who could help you out (LOL). Figure out who is truly active... say over the last 3 months. Keep them, and casually dump the rest. If someone is only a 'suggested friend', they probably won't even know they have been dropped. If they truly keep up with you, they will know pretty quick, and can re-request.

This may sound too 'Survivor-ish', but it may be an extender option. If you dumped me, I would pick up on it rather quickly, and re-submit a friend request.

Honestly, I am on a few 'fan pages' and I don't stay connected with them. Doesn't mean it is a bad idea.. but the 'personal' environment definitely takes a hit. I would probably join your fan page... but I would not be in the loop, because they aren't as easy to follow.

Another option is to get all of your present friends to write you a note to tell why they want to stay connected. Give a time frame... (1 month). Those who give a legitimate 'follower' response stay on board. Those who do not respond, get cut. This may weed it out by a few thousand.

My $.02 :)

David,

I didn't think I was living in an ego bubble. ;-)

Ed

Hi Ed,
As I am not "famous" and don't have these 5,000 friend issues, I'm going to have to ask you a question.

Do you use Facebook AT ALL to interact with family or close friends? Do you ever post personal photos, for instance?

Because here's my perspective as a "regular person." I use Facebook to spend time with people I've actually spent significant time with ... family and people I consider close enough friends that I would post family photos that they could see. If I want updates on what a "famous" person is doing, I prefer Twitter. Or Facebook Fan pages are fine. If I want to say more to this theoretical "famous" person, I might comment on their blog. Or, you know, something.

So, if you WANT personal conversation on Facebook, I like Option 4, especially if you take the time to clean out your "private" page and then can use it for more meaningful conversation. If you had a note there that directed people you've never shared a meal with or washed a car with (or whatever your criteria is) to sign up for your fan page, then why would people be insulted? They can come wash your car if they want to be your Facebook friend.

Your publisher should love the idea of giving away book chapters or something to folks who sign up on your Fan Page.

That's why I am here bro. LOL...

Actually that was 'bubble envy' lashing out. ;)

Very simple. You make several pages on facebook and put your friends in the categories based on the quality their friendship is. You could have bronze, silver, gold and platinum friends. You only check the platinum page. This gives the rest of us something to shoot for.

Just a thought.

I just think it's pretty phenomenally ironic that this post backs up to your last post with the same number involved!

There aren't too many church sanctuaries, apparently, that you could fill with your Facebook friends. :)

Ed, I don't know why you should be squeamish about people being your "fan" if you are comfortable with Facebook's idea of them being your "friend". Obviously we have at work a broader semantic range than most of the history of the church would be comfortable with-- but it is the language at work on that particular social network.

In short: don't sweat the label, and do what it takes to continue to use Facebook as the networking tool that it is.

A wise man once said, "it's critical to pay attention to how you're using your time..."(Stetzer, Planting Missional Churches,100)
Therefore, don't use two accounts, JMO.

I heard someone discussing this and they had all their friends moved to their fan page. Perhaps Facebook would do this for you?

Ed,

There isn't a "good" answer. The sensible thing seems to be to leave the 5,000 alone, do the fan page, and not worry about it. I certainly want to stay on the "Friends" list, and think that dumping everybody and re-enlisting might help, but somebody's going to get left out that way, so.....

Anything else seems to entail a lot of work for you, which oughtn't to be.

A celebrity friend of mine had both a friend page and an official fan page. He eventually did away entirely with the friend page and now has only the official fan page (maybe two) on Facebook. It works well for him along w/Twitter.

Hey Ed,

I feel like this is my fault--I was the 5000th person to become your friend! Sorry.

I befriended you not because I know you or you know me (which I think is a prerequisite for friendship!). I requested friendship because I wanted to keep up with your thoughts and research in a more personal way than what is posted on your blog.

Should you open a fan page, I'd happily switch to a fan and drop you as a friend (not because I don't like you, though)--so long as you keep your fan page communication up to date.

So I'll switch from being your last friend to being your number 1 fan!!

Lord bless and thanks for your work!

Glad the tomb is empty!
Jeff

Ed,

I just wanted to drop in here and let you know that I plan to be offended no matter what you decide.

Carry on.

:-)

Well, I do understand your problem with the word fan. But it seems that facebook is forcing us all to use that word. If you really hate it you could always start a group I have "friends of adrianwarnock.com" just in case I ever get to that dizzy number of friends myself. But, a major draw back is you cant pull content in from outside facebook automatically with a group. You can message all your contacts at once tho, something I found very helpful when doing things like choosing book covers and titles. I think the fan page combines the benefits of groups and personal pages in one.

Facebook also has groups that link to your personal page - if you did a group instead of a fan page, that may work differently and keep you connected via the personal page and the group page. Just an idea - another two cents - you'll have a dollar soon. :)

Ed...
I am both your (ministry) friend on facebook and a follower on Twitter. For those of us in that category (we're not personal friends, but as a pastor I find it helpful to hear from you), the Twitter connection may be sufficient. Assuming you are "following" me too, then I can always DM you on Twitter. I'm not sure how many would fall into that category and no, it's not the same, but it could work.

Option 1 or two.

I think you should drop off of facebook altogether and stick with twitter and your blog page.

My main reason for saying this is it will be one less medium you have to check everyday. More time can then be devoted to your blog posts and tweets!

How in the world do you ever get any work done or have time with your family with all this twittering, Facebooking, and blogging?

Auction off your "friend" spots.

Sounds like you have a mega-facebook wall problem. hmmmm.
Your facebook community is too big--no one can really get to know each other--people can just check your page when they want to with no real commitment or contributing by serving in community. Sure add some other venues or sites so your can replicate yourself. :)))))

I say hold out. Facebook has changed dozens of times in the past few years. I am willing to bet that sooner or later they will change the limit if it looks like they are losing users because of it.

In the meantime keep tweeting and talking to your 5000 friends

I seem to remember that from one of my techy podcast one of the minor web celebs got facebook to bulk move everyone over to the "fan page". This seems like the best solution. A fan page behaves in a similar way to a normal page and if facebook would help you do that then I suspect most of your "friends" wouldn't notice.

Since your publisher is a go getter I suggest you have them start to find the person at facebook who can make that happen, like I said I know they have done it for others.

Create an Ed Stetzer II facebook account.

Someone several comments back said that some people would voluntarily drop off the list. I like the idea of resigning friends on the list after you explain on facebook why the need is out there. Some who never read/contribute may decide to opt out. They may not, but there is only one way to find out.

Meanwhile, don't let the "fan" term bother you. Perhaps you are fans of them!

See you from a pew this morning; thanks again, ever-so-much!

Go with option 2. There's nothing wrong with a fan page. You can still interact. Josh Harris and Mark Driscoll have done it, and it seems to work just as well as a personal profile page.

FAN page - it's not that you are glory seeking, but just up against a brick wall.

We promise we won't worship you... seriously.. no kidding. :-)

Dr. Stetzer, IMHO you should go ahead with the "fan" page as your main facebook page and keep your personal page strictly for family or people with whom you interact outside of ministry on a daily (or mostly daily) basis. Keep that profile as private as possible so that searches drive people to your fan page.

We've never met (and who knows if we ever will) but I know enough about you to know that because it's called a "fan" page you wouldn't see it as an idolatrous kind of situation where people are looking to you in overarching awe. Sure, some people may approach the page that way but most people who know of you without knowing you would know that you wouldn't take that page out of the context it's in...namely, Facebook gave you no choice but to set up your public personal page in that manner.

Ed,
Love you man. It seems to me you are concerned with the word fan. I appreciate your humility. The reality is you don't have 5000 friends. No one can keep that many relationships going. So I'd say don't let one word keep you from inspiring more people to plant missional churches.

Make a new profile. quit using the old one. Make one announcement. All your real friends will follow and the ones that don't really care won't.

Wondering if I should auction my friendship with you to the highest bidder and give the proceeds to some worthy missional cause...or just spend it in Hawaii.

Perhaps you could get some tech savy person to build you something on your blogsite that mimics what you like about the facebook account. You might not have as much traffic as the fb account, but it would allow for more "personal" interaction with those who are more interested and willing to visit your site.

I also agree with Kerry's first comment.

If it makes you feel any better about the "fan" thing, I'm on the English (pirate) setting rather than English (US) and "becoming a fan" in pirate is "show ye pride", so right there, if I add your page, I'm humbled by my need to repent. ;) :D

I bet you could find some other people with the same problem and make the ask again.
Personally, though its just a word, that the word is "Fan" bothers me. Plus, it sounds like it removes or lessens the relational aspect of Facebook.
Seriously ... you gotta make the ask more than once ;)

Pastor Ed,
Angela and I are both Friends.
We love keeping up with your happenings.
We consider you a former boss,friend, and mentor.
GOD used you so well through your Marriage Series way back at Emerson to solidify our marriage.
But Angela being the good submissive SBC wife she is (NOT, its must the Mercer University in her), has agreed to not follow you personally, but wants and will continue through me. Only if it helps you!!!!
How many other husband/wife friends follow you?
That alone could free up lots of space.
It would also cause husbands and wives to spend time together finding out what happened in Stetzersville today!
Praise GOD, this is a great testimony to Him, and a good problem to have!
We LOVE and Pray for you, your family, and GOD's plan for you daily!

Ed...

I think you are over thinking it and also trying to control things you can't control. You have fans, you have followers, you have friends and you probably have a few folks who can't stand you.

I need your updates...you provide great resources and links.

Keep your account...get a fan page...move on...you have more important things to fret over.