Colleen's (and occasionally, Joe's) Blog

Unfortunately I'm too connected to disconnect.

Us too Cameron.  However, we are only using Facebook for friends and community.  Generally, little to no real estate is mentioned.

I read the bold type. Not sure how it effects me. I'm too old to find another way.

There are some people that are very invested in Facebok. My Facebook is sporadic and primarily used for personal updates. This is a great reminder.

The problem with this post is inherent in the article it cites.  Dan Yoder writes and I quote,

"I'd like to encourage you to do the same. This is part altruism and part selfish. The altruism part is that I think Facebook, as a company, is unethical. The selfish part is that I'd like my own social network to migrate away from Facebook so that I'm not missing anything. In any event, here's my "Top Ten" reasons for why you should join me and others and delete your account."

Is Dan Yoder ethical?  I don't know.  Right now, there seems to be no clean hands here.  For the time being I will leave my account with Facebook.

Since they say in July they will start charging to use Facebook we will see how popular it is then.

I don't have any plans to stop using Facebook, but if they start charging for it, that's when I'll think about giving it up.

My FB is on the verge of being deleted, so thanks for the link.  If I don't get around to it right away, I will definitely be out by the time there is a fee.  It's junk and I don't like using it anyway.

I have not had any problems, and fun to catch up with friends from school, and past clients

There was life before facebook and there will be life after facebook. There will always be the next facebook.

Thanks for the information! I have not had any problems, that I know about.

All really good comments folks.  Thanks for the visit and comments. 

As much as I do not like some of the items listed in the Newsweek article, Facebook is certainly a cool tool to keep in touch with friends and family.  Last night our son and friends were in an accident where the car was totaled but no one was seriously hurt.  We posted a picture of the totaled car, along with a renewed thankfulness for Mothers Day, and scores of folks got the news within minutes.  All thanks to Facebook.

Glad to hear your son and his friends are okay!

Damed if you do and damed if you don't.  I think it is here to stay.  And so am I, even though I am not on it constantly.

I agree Marcia, "dammed if you do and dammed if you don't!"  :)

I somehow think that no matter what, Facebook is here to stay.  I use it sporadically and not for business but if they start charging, then I think it will cease having the value it's had to now.

Thanks Lora,

Facebook is here to stay, no doubt.

Thanks for the link!  Interesting read.  Didn't convince me to delete my account, but good things to be aware of. I do agree that there have been some decisions made that I find a little shady.  Zuckerberg taking a huge personal payout on the last round of financing for one.  But I think some of this comes from being such a young CEO. 

I think we have give up certain things we would like, when something is free.  Basically, Facebook is providing us with all these wonderful ways to connect and share with each other (and generate business!).  They are a business, they have to make money somehow.  And if mining user data will help them do that, and keep the site free, then that is what will happen.  I would take a lot more offense to the points mentioned in the article if I were paying Facebook some type of subscription fee. 

If they push the limits too far and the changes start outweighing the benefits, then people will leave and force FB to make changes. But today, the benefits still seem to be far outweighing the 'costs'. 

Thanks Sara.  As real estate agents, I think we've kinda given up on having personal information kept private.  Howerver, the privacy issue has our children (we have 5) second guessing what they should do.

I can't abandon my animals and crops on Farmville!

Wesley Your farm has lost value, Small farms in America have had a tuff row to hoe for several years. Sell off the equipment, rent what's left and/or apply for government sub's. . November price of corn not that promising. Cattle has a strong hold in the market will continue till 2012 That is your farm and market report... Cornfield County, KORN news Reporter Randy "With all the News that's  worth reporting".

We have had great success with attracting new clients through facebook. We will continue to use it for personal and business purposes.  So glad to hear that no one was seriously injured in the car accident!

@Randy,

Funny!  :)

@Lexi,

I agree.  I think Facebook is a necessary evil in today's real estate marketplace.  In fact, I attended a webinar today where the speaker's opinion was that Facebook will overtake Google for market-share.  Probably a far reach, but Facebook is definitely here to stay and needs to be paid attention to.

I'm not deleting Facebook. I find it's great for staying in touch with clients as well as friends and family. There is no privacy anymore, not when you're in this business! We work with some of our clients for months on end. They end up, no matter how hard we try for them not to, seeing the good, the bad and the ugly sides of what we do. Why fight a personal relationship with your clients? It's important, to me anyway, for clients to feel safe and comfortable with their Realtor. We're helping them achieve a dream in most cases. Have 2 Facebook accounts, one for client/community and the other for farming or whatever. On the other hand, if they start charging, I'm out! LOL! We pay enough to be Realtors as it is!

When I was a kid (35 years ago) I remember hearing about how "Chain letters" were illegal, then.....I received one in my mailbox.   I think I sent it on ahead to the next lucky recipient (please don't turn me in)

All kinds of crazy things have happened with "regular mail": illegal drugs in the mail, bombs sent in the mail, anthrax sent in the mail. For the most part the US postal service has done a-lot more good than bad and society depends on the mail system. I am sure that some extremists have opted out of regular mail, but isn't that response a little over the top?

Some people refuse to ride in cars and rely on horse & buggy.