Are You Facebook-Friends With The Guy In The Flowered Thong?

Theo Bennett - February 10, 2009

In my last post, I chronicled my first seven days on Facebook.  Since that post I’ve added my profile photo and reached out to only two people to request their Facebook-friendship.   Both were old colleagues, who were suggested to me, and we also ran in the same social circles.   Even with that level of in-activity, I still acquired 70 friends in a month (And 14 pending.) 

One of the engaging components of Facebook is the ability to connect and stay in touch with most of the people that you’ve met.   This is also one of the worst features.

Remember that guy that wore the flowered thong to the beach party?  Guess what:  He wants to be your Facebook friend.   And your ex-girlfriend from High School: She’s here too and she wants to know how you’ve been.  What about all those nameless faces with whom you’ve crossed paths over the years?  Yep, they’ve “friended” you and can’t wait to re-live old times.

So choosing with whom to be connected can be a challenge and a barrier to making Facebook your friend.  Which invitations do you accept?  Does your landlord make the cut?  And do you want him to know about the “kegger” at your place this weekend? And that old high school girlfriend:  Didn’t you break up for a reason? As I recall, it was a bad breakup and she has a lot of dirt to scatter into your Facebook life.  But, that innocuous request and the “How have you been?” may prove too much for the social animal within you.  As for the rest:  Who are these people and why can’t you remember them?  Does anyone have any Ginkgo biloba?

We are all very inter-connected and Facebook helps prove that point on a global level more so than any other social networking site.   If you’re not yet a true-believer, read what happened this past weekend at London’s Liverpool Street Station.   With a simple post to his friends, a Londoner caused a mass gathering that shut down this critical hub in one of the great cities of the world.  From a marketer’s perspective: therein lies the power of Facebook.  Should you have the creativity to craft a well received campaign; it can quickly spread like wildfire through the parched kindling of Facebook profiles everywhere.

As for the guy in the flowered thong, reach out to me on Facebook and let me know if I should accept or ignore his request.