Facebook has been around for quite some time and we have all seen its growth from a small local network to a dominate figure in today’s internet. The diversity of members that use Facebook is staggering; people from all over the world are a part of it. So, how can us bloggers come to utilize this ever-growing social-networking giant?
Wired recently released an article titled Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network’s Plan to Dominate the Internet. This article clearly highlights the position in which Facebook has embedded itself; and proven to be one of the leading influences of today’s online market. Facebook rejected Google’s offer (speculation aside) and accepted Microsoft’s $240 million for only 1.6% in shares! Let’s be quite frank; not everyday do we see a company reject an offer by Google. More often than not; they are subject to the Giant Search Engine’s hunger for power.
There is no denial; that many people use Facebook. In fact 20% of ALL internet users have a registered account; that’s over 200 million users, and in which over half are very active. A public profile, as seen here, shows some very interesting facts and statistics about Facebook that really highlight the unprecedented growth in the last few years. Compared to many like; Myspace, Orkut and even Twitter – Facebook really covers a much wider scope and appeals to a much wider audience.
So, with all this hype around the social-networking giant – what’s in it for the bloggers? Well, honestly, there’s a lot. As we’ve covered several times here in Blogussion; Alex and I adapt a common belief that blogging is about building relationships, sharing knowledge and reaching out to people. This is exactly what Facebook will allow bloggers in general to do; much much largely but still personally.
If every blogger had an account dedicated for their blog – they could easily keep in direct touch with their blogging friends and partners. Theoretically; it can open up a whole new dimension of “hands-on” blogging, but as always with social media networks; your privacy can be quite easily disrupted. The information you choose to display to the public shouldn’t allow them to personally identify you; unless you prefer otherwise.
Even though, Blogussion doesn’t have a dedicated Facebook account – I can relate to my personal account. The way the system functions and the actual involvement of users around; allows Facebook to be one of the better social-networking websites on the internet.
Finally, do you have a Facebook account dedicated for your blog? When Alex returns from his vacation, we just might consider opening up for Blogussion ourselves! If that is the case to be; please share your blog’s Facebook account in the comments below 
The Discussion
Leave a Comment Read Again?Hi Janith, a typo (memebers) in this line…
“…The diversity of memebers that use Facebook is staggering…”
Let me put my thoughts on this. Though I respect the achievements by Mark Zuckerberg, I think Facebook is diminishing in strength, just like Myspace. A blog will be a very small setup to have any influence as a Facebook group or community. Unless you are as influential as Darren Rowse or John Chow, creating a community profile on Facebook will probably take a lot of effort to see it grow.
.-= Richael | Domain Marvelous´s last blog ..Domain Registration Length – Does it Matter? =-.
Thank You, Richael. I’ve changed the spelling accordingly. Can’t believe that looked over that
I wasn’t thinking the account to be that of an direct community. More-over allows blog administrators to really connect with their already following readers and talk to potential followers + partners. I understand your perspective, Richael and it’s a d*mn good one too!
I couldn’t agree more on your input about the failure of FB communities for bloggers unless your John Chow or Darren Rowse. However, I was referring to perhaps a personal account – just to get the community on your blog to get involved with you more
Hello Alex,
I have been a part of Facebook for awhile now.
I agree that FB is in A Global Giant in itself.
As for connecting with all the FB users as a blog,
Nah,Bloggers Blog & Vlog.
Great post and I will keep reading.
http://www.facebook.com/gary.parenti
.-= Gary Parenti´s last blog ..Co – Creator of Twitter – Biz Stone =-.
Gary this article not written by Janith not Alex.
Well I still need to arrange time for using Facebook for my blog. But I have booked my Facebook vanity URL for my blog.
Have a look: facebook.com/smartbloggerz
As I said; I Have to do lots of work in making up my facebook profile look good.
Oops a small mistake, please replace the 1st “not” with “is” .
Typhoon, I can’t access your FB account. Get a very ugly “Page Not Found” =[
Is it http://www.facebook.com/smartbloggerz?
Oops some problem in it. Will have to look in this matter
Gary; Alex is on vacation.
Thank you linking to your profile; hopefully get a few new friends through it.
I cannot see your profile since Ihaven’t added you; but do you use your account for personal use or is it a dedication to help promote your blog?
Unfortunately I didn’t write this awesome article! Thank Janith for sharing his godly Facebook knowledge.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..Big Changes Coming to Asnio + My Week Long Absence =-.
Facebook has always been a great networking tool… It’s something that I always utilize for my businesses and hopefully people would use it the same as well…
.-= Melvin´s last blog ..Is There Such A Thing As Overrated Blogs? =-.
Oh that’s good to hear, Melvin! Someone that has actually used FB to promote their business (or blog); how has it produced results? Is it worth the time to build up?
Hope you share with us some of the ups/downs of running a FB account for your website/blog
I have thought about opening a new account in Facebook, but I always kept tell myself is is necessary or do I just need to open a new group just for my readers and subscribers?
.-= The Bad Blogger´s last blog ..Did Michael Jackson Faked His Death ? =-.
I think facebook would only be potential if you have the time to socialize and make friends with people you dont know and covert them to your readers with pick up lines (I dont mean the lines you use on girls).
I haven’t used facebook to promote my blog, and I dont think I will since I believe that I’d be able to use the same time I would normally with facebook to promote my blog on another marketing method that works and brings in more results.
.-= I’m Abdul, the Internet Entrepreneur´s last blog ..Whats Going On! No Updates? =-.
The type of account you decide to open is totally upto you, but just my $0.02 would be; don’t limit the users that can join your network. The whole point of making a FB for your blog is to help users reach your content and share ideas. If you just limit the networking to your readers/subscribers you are totally ignoring many potential readers.
Yet again, it’s upto you – but in my opinion it would be best an “open” or “public” profile (just make sure you don’t release private details you might regret later on)
Hey Janith! I’ve been really surprised at how little bloggers use Facebook to promote their sites. As a marketing tool I think Facebook is much more effective for local businesses simply because people tend to only be friends with people they know. It’s much easier to spread the word about a local business amongst mostly local friends than it is for a website that appeals to people around the world. However, I still think it’s under-utilized.
I haven’t done much with my Facebook page other than create it (hypocritical, right?). But here it is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Collins-CO/JuniorBiz-LLC-Young-people-grownup-business/67932217649
Here’s my personal page: http://www.facebook.com/nicktart Befriend me!
.-= Nick Tart´s last blog ..How to Create a Contract with a Template =-.
Haha, I wouldn’t say hypocritical – you’ve done more than all of us combined! I’m just browsing your FB page at the moment; and I think it would be better if more and more bloggers and entrepreneurs start making dedicated FB accounts for their services.
I truly agree with your point on how business can benefit from the “word-of-mouth” and how Facebook can really help business explode in the local environment. IF used correctly; you can reach quite a considerable amount of people, relatively quickly. Have you seen any considerable benefits from using FB, Nick?
I’ve seen very little traffic from my Facebook page. Over the last month, only 35 of my 1225 visitors (3%) have come from Facebook. In fact, I’ve received more traffic from this site (41 visitors). But at the same time, I know there is a lot more I can do as far as actively recruiting fans to my page. I still recommend setting up a Blogussion Page. I’ll be your first fan! (if I’m quick enough)
.-= Nick Tart´s last blog ..How to Create a Contract with a Template =-.
Facebook is growing each and every day. Its getting bigger and stronger. Just read an article at Techcrunch about Facebook partnering with Aardvark. So ignoring Facebook undoubtedly will be a big mistake for any website, blogger or company. In my opinion, the idea of connecting to your readers through Facebook is good but you shouldn’t solely depend on it. One should try to get maximum exposure through different ways.
My facebook profile is
.-= Havoc Marketing´s last blog ..Content Goldmine – Original & Powerfully Profitable Content Generation Service =-.
Well said Havoc, that’s so true. Just because Facebook can be a potential traffic-generator for your site – you should never put all your eggs in the one basket. It’s absolutely critically you spend your time smartly on different ways of improving your site.
Having said that; connecting to your readers in such a direct way can be a turning point for almost any blog. However the success of that depends on how you approach building the account and how you decide to manage it
PS: I’ve deleted the two comments to clean up the area a bit; but please feel free to mention your FB account’s URL again in another comment.
http://www.facebook.com/havocmarketing
I’d never thought about creating a Facebook account for my blog. My blog is just a personal one though and I don’t think there would be enough of a following to utilise it effectively.
Also, I’m a little lazy and don’t think I could be bothered to logout and back in to each account.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..Weekend Round-Up 7/04 =-.
I think if we ever made a Facebook account, Janith would have to manage it! I signed up for an account just to see what was up and have no idea how to use it.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..Big Changes Coming to Asnio + My Week Long Absence =-.
Yes, I also use Facebook and I have created a group there too to keep in touch with my readers and others. Quite funnily, I actually have 2 different types of community on Facebook and on my blog…
.-= Nicolas Prudhon´s last blog ..Beware of the Authority Loophole =-.
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