How to be annoying on Facebook

As someone who does online marketing (and as a human being!) I’ve developed some strong opinions about social media—especially Facebook.

There are a lot of great uses for the website. But there are a lot of super annoying ways to use it as well.

Here’s a list of annoying things on Facebook that everyone needs to stop doing immediately.

“Buy from me!!”

Facebook is a great platform for selling and marketing things, whether it’s a specific product or you’re having a digital garage sale. But if you’re using Facebook to promote a business, please be professional!

Don’t be pushy. And check your spelling, please. When I see misspellings in someone’s post about a product they want me to buy, it looks like they don’t take it very seriously.

Fun fiascos

Do you know someone who has 4 different Facebook accounts, but all they’re using them for is FarmVille? I’m glad they’re having fun, but nobody needs that kind of clutter in their feed.

And what’s up with all the game requests? Let’s assume that if I wasn’t interested last month, I’m still not this month, and I won’t be next month.

Eww!

Bathroom selfies. I’m all for a fun selfie on a day when you look great, but if I can see your toilet in the background, you’re doing something wrong.

And nudity? I think that one’s pretty self-explanatory. But there are some things I just don’t need to see. Also, let’s remember that everything on the internet is permanent…

The algorithm

I know that the Facebook algorithm is very sophisticated and I’m sure the folks at Facebook have put a lot of time into it, but I wish it didn’t hide some people I actually want to see news from, and still show people that I’m not really that interested in.

A few final annoyances

Something that would end right away if I were the queen of Facebook: posts that try to scare you or guilt you into liking or sharing them.

Also, copying and pasting a status update isn’t going to change any of your privacy or security settings for Facebook, and if you want to get your kid a puppy, just get them a puppy! Don’t make them wait for you to get 1000 likes. That’s just cruel.

But that’s not all, folks!

As easy as it is to annoy your friends on Facebook (and I just gave you a whole list of ways to do it!), there are a lot of good uses for it. Some of my favorite ways to use it are:

• Keeping up with old friends.
• Connecting with new contacts, personal and professional.
• As a digital scrapbook—including that new restaurant that I loved from last year.
• Local buying and selling groups—way less creepy than Craigslist.
• Private groups for families and church groups.
• Promoting businesses and nonprofits in a non-annoying way.

I also love that Facebook is accessible for people at a variety of different ages. My parents are able to keep up with their grandkids in a way that would have been unthinkable twenty years ago, and I think that’s great. If you’re on Facebook, keep on sharing about those restaurants, articles, and opinions—just please don’t ask me to play FarmVille with you.