Facebook: The Rules of Posting
A few days ago a Facebook friend of mine posed a question: “Curious question, Facebook world - how do you decide what's worthy of a post on Facebook? I find it very interesting the wide swath of sharing. How do you decide what to post?”
This got me thinking, as I actually am pretty selective about what I post these days. I remembered a funny video my friend posted a long time ago. Enjoy.
I will readily admit to having been the publicly emotional girl quite a lot in my past. I think I’ve improved upon this. I try to keep posts simple, and if any of them are vague, it’s deliberately so as I don't like to get too personal on Facebook. I also used to check-in at the gym every day when I first started getting into fitness; it was more of a way to keep me accountable and help me keep track of my visits. But I realized it bugged people, and I don’t do that anymore. So I hope I no longer fall into any of those categories in the video because they all irritate me to no end.
I suppose I should now answer my friend’s question and give some general rules about how I decide what to post.
1. Moderation
Moderation is my number one rule when it comes to posting on Facebook. Basically I try really hard not to do too much of anything. Do I share photos from Instagram? Sometimes. Do I share all of them? No. Did I check-in at the gym every day for a while? Yes. Do I do that anymore? No. I sometimes share recipes and things, but not always. I suppose I just try to gauge the frequency of my posts. I try to do this on Instagram too—not post too much of any one type of thing (*cough*selfies*cough*). You know those, “Dear ______,” status updates aimed at inanimate objects, or events? It gets annoying when you post too many of those. Basically I feel that anything too formulaic or similar too often is obnoxious. Moderation in all things. Too many memes, too many videos, too much politics, too much religion, or too much of anything is a no-go.
**Disclaimer** I am in a fitness challenge on Instagram right now and will probably be very annoying in that regard for the rest of the month. I also share my blog link when I post because I want people to read it. #shamelesswriter
2. Good News
I think good news deserves to be shared. If you got a new car, a new job, are expecting a baby, got engaged, or something else, that is Facebook Feed-worthy. I think positive posts are good, but in following rule #1, they shouldn’t be posted so often to make everyone annoyed at your perfect life, no matter how optimistic you aim to be. It’s just the “in-your-face”ness of it, you know? We don't care that every day "is the best day of your life!" Post good things, in good measure.
3. Bad News
Forrest Gump in all his wisdom reminded us that “it happens.” Life sometimes gets hard, and we need support. And one of the beauties of Facebook is the support and shared experience we can get there. Now, if you’re a negative Nancy, or ask for prayers multiple times a day, or only talk about all of the unlucky things that happened to you, I’ll probably unsubscribe from your updates. I know. #soharsh
4. Funny Stuff
I guess this goes along with good news, but not all good news is funny. When there’s a legitimately funny video or meme, I’ll share it. But I always follow rule #1 when doing so. I don’t share every funny video or pictures I see. I also try to forewarn about any offensiveness, since I have some sensitive friends.
5. Original Things
If something is “going around,” and like three people have posted it within a day or two, I usually don’t repost it. I figure everyone has probably already seen it like I have. It had better be pretty awesome for me to repost something that’s been going around, because, come on, I don’t want anyone to miss out on awesomeness. Especially if it's one of my original thoughts that also happens to be awesome.
I think I’ll stop at five rules of thumb. That’s pretty much how I determine what I post. Never too much of anything (or too often), be it good news, bad news, or funny stuff. They seem to be good rules, as I seem to get pretty positive feedback on a lot of my posts. I wonder if I would get the same amount of positive feedback if I didn't follow rule #1. Thoughts?
This got me thinking, as I actually am pretty selective about what I post these days. I remembered a funny video my friend posted a long time ago. Enjoy.
I will readily admit to having been the publicly emotional girl quite a lot in my past. I think I’ve improved upon this. I try to keep posts simple, and if any of them are vague, it’s deliberately so as I don't like to get too personal on Facebook. I also used to check-in at the gym every day when I first started getting into fitness; it was more of a way to keep me accountable and help me keep track of my visits. But I realized it bugged people, and I don’t do that anymore. So I hope I no longer fall into any of those categories in the video because they all irritate me to no end.
I suppose I should now answer my friend’s question and give some general rules about how I decide what to post.
1. Moderation
Moderation is my number one rule when it comes to posting on Facebook. Basically I try really hard not to do too much of anything. Do I share photos from Instagram? Sometimes. Do I share all of them? No. Did I check-in at the gym every day for a while? Yes. Do I do that anymore? No. I sometimes share recipes and things, but not always. I suppose I just try to gauge the frequency of my posts. I try to do this on Instagram too—not post too much of any one type of thing (*cough*selfies*cough*). You know those, “Dear ______,” status updates aimed at inanimate objects, or events? It gets annoying when you post too many of those. Basically I feel that anything too formulaic or similar too often is obnoxious. Moderation in all things. Too many memes, too many videos, too much politics, too much religion, or too much of anything is a no-go.
**Disclaimer** I am in a fitness challenge on Instagram right now and will probably be very annoying in that regard for the rest of the month. I also share my blog link when I post because I want people to read it. #shamelesswriter
2. Good News
I think good news deserves to be shared. If you got a new car, a new job, are expecting a baby, got engaged, or something else, that is Facebook Feed-worthy. I think positive posts are good, but in following rule #1, they shouldn’t be posted so often to make everyone annoyed at your perfect life, no matter how optimistic you aim to be. It’s just the “in-your-face”ness of it, you know? We don't care that every day "is the best day of your life!" Post good things, in good measure.
3. Bad News
Forrest Gump in all his wisdom reminded us that “it happens.” Life sometimes gets hard, and we need support. And one of the beauties of Facebook is the support and shared experience we can get there. Now, if you’re a negative Nancy, or ask for prayers multiple times a day, or only talk about all of the unlucky things that happened to you, I’ll probably unsubscribe from your updates. I know. #soharsh
4. Funny Stuff
I guess this goes along with good news, but not all good news is funny. When there’s a legitimately funny video or meme, I’ll share it. But I always follow rule #1 when doing so. I don’t share every funny video or pictures I see. I also try to forewarn about any offensiveness, since I have some sensitive friends.
5. Original Things
If something is “going around,” and like three people have posted it within a day or two, I usually don’t repost it. I figure everyone has probably already seen it like I have. It had better be pretty awesome for me to repost something that’s been going around, because, come on, I don’t want anyone to miss out on awesomeness. Especially if it's one of my original thoughts that also happens to be awesome.
I think I’ll stop at five rules of thumb. That’s pretty much how I determine what I post. Never too much of anything (or too often), be it good news, bad news, or funny stuff. They seem to be good rules, as I seem to get pretty positive feedback on a lot of my posts. I wonder if I would get the same amount of positive feedback if I didn't follow rule #1. Thoughts?
Comments