A couple weeks ago when I received a friend request from one of my ex's moms, it really hit me. Just about everyone is on Facebook these days. Our bosses, our favorite magazines, our favorite bands, our best friends, our eighth grade crushes, and yes, even some of our parents.
It was with this in mind that Robert Rhu, Elizabeth Lovett and Angie Mock developed their debut eBook, Your Little Black Facebook (LBFB). If Facebook is overflowing with eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, why not tap into that resource and use it as one of the largest FREE online dating websites out there?
Wait. Facebook. Online dating? What? No. Never.
That's what went through my head anyway.
Facebook's for keeping in touch with friends of lifetimes past and present, for broadcasting to the world through hundreds of photos (and maybe a video ... or five) what you did on your latest vacation, and for stalking all those guys and gals you meet on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. (You know you do it.)
But see, that's exactly the position LBFB takes. You're already connected to hundreds of people, all of whom are also connected to several hunderd more people, and their friends are connected ... you can see how easily the web of connection sprawls. You're already poking around, checking out your friends' cute single friends and seeing if that guy from last night has a public or private profile. What if you have a friend, or a friend of a friend, who knows him?
... Any of this sound familiar?
Even for the total Facebook novice, LBFB is a manual of helpful hints and requisite reminders for putting your best face forward and managing what your profile says about you.
Intuitively organized -- from profile creation and pictures to status updates, games and even breaking up -- and sprinkled with anecdotes of real-life horror stories and there's-no-way-that-ever-happened (but they really did!) fairy tales, LBFB is an extremely fast, easy read that covers the essentials for being proactive in including FB in your romantic adventures, as drama-free as possible.
While the book's main takeaways -- organized in the form of Dos and Don'ts, "Kisses of Truth," and points to remember -- all feel like common sense, they're the most important elements to walk away remembering. Smart people make stupid decisions, especially on Facebook, where you can hide your face behind the mask of the Internet and embrace your cyber courage.
Every aspect, every extreme example (do young professionals still create photo albums named "Partying my ass offffffff!"?) they discuss may not necessarily apply to you, and you may not agree with every tidbit of advice and wisdom they communicate, but someone out there needed it to save them from a friend request fail or from one-too-many quiz invites, and you never know when you, too, may forget to listen to your intuition and need it, too.
Putting aside my initial qualms and judgments about how you can simultaneously use FB as a professional and personal tool, LBFB reminds you that, regardless, your online image is in your own hands. What you do with it, is up to you.