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The “Only If We’re Offline Friends” Rule

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Christine

I'm a geek with a love for all things tech. I'm also an online business consultant with expertise in SEO, SMM, and digital marketing strategies.

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12 Comments

  1. 1

    ZLoether

    I completely understand where you’re coming from. This is the rule I’ve lived by since I joined Facebook back in 2005. Of course, I’m sure I get way fewer requests form people I don’t know than you do, Gina.

  2. 2

    Christopher Browne

    Seems pretty understandable to me.

    I turn down a lot of LinkedIn requests, on much the same basis. If I haven’t met them in “meatspace,” it’s rather a reach to say that I “would endorse them professionally.”

    Linking too promiscuously has its problems. I don’t think any of the systems have this quite right… As individuals, we exist in a number of roles, often including:

    – Direct family unit
    – Broader family relations
    – Employment environment
    – Professional associations
    – Multiple sometimes-intersecting sets of friends

    There are different kinds and levels of intimacy that are appropriate for each. There are more recent kinds of relationships that get more abstruse:

    – People I play some online games with
    – People whose blogs I might read

    Social networking updates often run pretty slipshod across all those kinds of relationships.

  3. 3

    Isaiah J Roberts

    Good for you Gina! I generally approve most friend requests on FB specifically to share blogs/bits of writing I do. I still need to find an equilibrium there… Basically, I try to keep my private life separate from my online life, aside from a few hilarious anecdotes I share back and forth 😉

    Isaiah Roberts

  4. 4

    mikecarlucci.me/

    This is exactly why Facebook should give users greater control over who can and who can’t see updates. Lists aren’t really enough. Something like Gmail filters, in reverse, would be really cool. Based on the content only the people you intend to see a post about, for example, seeing a movie on the weekend but everyone else would only see the latest book you found that was cool or your latest blog post.

  5. 5

    Jeremy Couch

    I accept everyone that doesn’t look like a scam artist but hide them in the feed so that it’s essentially the same as them following me on buzz or twitter. The one thing I wish facebook would do is force friend requests to include a personal message. I never request someone that I don’t personally know without introducing myself, but I recieve many without an explanation.

  6. 6

    google.com/profiles/ki…

    I understand where you are coming from, I will admit though when I follow someone and I am not followed back some where inside me is a 6 year old who gave out a valentine and didn’t get one back, the six year old inside me wants to cry

  7. 7

    Dom

    This is exactly the right way to handle it. Not only to protect your privacy, but it also makes the likes of Facebook much more useful and fun if you’re only seeing updates from people you care about – and you feel more free to make updates yourself because it’s semi-private.

    One of the things that’s always urked me a bit about Leo’s attitude to Facebook as this his experience is entirely one sided, so he’s never seen how different it is when it’s just a group of people you know, rather than random fans.

  8. 8

    Rodrigo Ghedin

    I used to do this — refuse all people I really don’t know in “real world”. But I noticed this act limit discussions, so, I created a list for unknow/readers on Facebook and, since then, I add those people on it. Thanks to Facebook privacy controls, I’m able to avoid unknown people who’s my friend (that sounds weird) to access personal content.

    []’s!

  9. 9

    Walter van den Broek

    Could you direct me or tell me how to make my Facebook page open to the public, and keep the personal profile offline-friends-only.
    Thnx Walter

  10. 10

    Sterlingwit

    Speaking of twit, there is a new android app which will give you the *live* audio feed form twit

    http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.TwitForAndroid

    (As opposed to the mediafly apps which only gives you the podcasts)

  11. 11

    Arturo Mijangos Soto

    I have an addition restriction, I don’t accept friend requests from people I’m currently working. No because I don’t befriend them, it’s just less complicated. I share pictures I take directly from my computer, I send stuff via email or other forms.

    So maybe i’m weird, but it’s worked for me.

  12. 12

    Jeremy

    Just had to laugh as I saw this post come up in google reader. Just recently I opened latitude on Android, and guess who came up as a suggested friend.

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