Controlling Facebook Noise

While the number of users and the time spent on Facebook is only increasing, I still hear friends talk about too much noise on Facebook.  

• "I don't need to hear what every friend is doing today."
• "It's too much of a distraction."
• "I only really want to hear about a handful of friends."

I coudn't agree more.  It has been fun to reconnect with old friends.  Certain stories and updates are compelling and I'm pleasantly surprised to have online discussions from people I never thought I'd talk to again.  But as family life gets busier and my hobbies demand more of my quality time, I find myself needing to prioritize how I stay connected on Facebook.

Why Facebook?  I have found that Facebook does everything I want as a communication platform.  I can:

• update my daily (and hourly) status 
• import my blog ('notes' on Facebook)
• share news stories
• see what friends are doing and reading
• share pictures

This post isn't about why you should be on Facebook.  It's about why you should stay on Facebook if you want to have an online presence without all the noise.

The only requirement on your part is the following: being able to honestly determine who's on your Short List.

Here's how it works.  Click on HOME which takes you to your news feed.  On the left hand side you'll see your lists of categories, technically called Lists.  At the bottom click "more."  Then your whole set of lists is displayed, and now at the bottom you can click CREATE NEW LIST.

A new window will open and first you should give your list a name (Inner Circle, Real Friends, Cool People, Jet Setters).  Then you can click on any of your friends (groups are also listed and available) to add them to this group.  That's it!  

To make this feature really work, you'll have to rearrange the list to the top so that Facebook reads it first - one less click when you login.  To do this you'll have to expand your lists again (click MORE at the bottom).  Now all your lists will have three horizontal lines at the right and you'll have the ability to drag your new list to the top (you can also arrange any list if you want to prioritize).  

So my newest list ("Inner Circle") is at the top, and right under that is my NEWS FEED.  Now when I login, my homepage only lists the news of my Inner Circle list.  If I have more time, I can click on NEWS FEED and I get every update from every friend.

Will this help?  Are you able to determine your Short List?  Your Inner Circle? 

I truly wish everyone was on Facebook because I think it's a very powerful way to keep in touch and share stories.  Don't ask if you're on my Short List.  Please feel free to reference this article to friends who are want Facebook to be more efficient.