Personal Information to Put on Facebook
This post is meant to give an overview of some ideas to consider when filling in your Facebook Profile. How much personal information should you put one your profile? Of course the answer will vary depending on the individual but please remember there are online predators and disclose only what you want EVERYONE to know. The following are some tips you might want to consider:
- In the basic part of your profile, you are allowed to include such things as your hometown, your children and their names, your birth date, who you are interested in networking with, etc. For personal reasons, I chose to put that I have children but not to disclose their names. I revealed the city I live in (for networking reasons) although I would never consider listing my home address. My birth date is shown but not the year I was born (often people take me for younger than I am and I would just as soon leave it that way). As I have mentioned before, keep away from political and religious views if possible – those subjects are extremely controversial and, in many fields of business, could harm you more than help you.
- In the personal section, you might want to include such things as activities you are involved in, books you enjoy reading, hobbies, etc. Remember, as this is a social media site, the above mentioned areas could be valuable in helping you connect with others – think of this in the same way as meeting someone at a gathering – what would you discuss? If you see yourself as an industry expert, consider adding book titles you think might be of interest to potential clients.
- Facebook really gives you control over what is seen in the education/work section. All you have to do is click on the little lock that is found on the right hand side of the category you are entering. A drop box will appear asking you who you want to see what you have filled in. Be very careful about entering information that could compromise your privacy. Last fall, my second son sent me two pictures of my oldest granddaughter being crowned at a pageant. My first inclination was to post both pictures as she is a lovely young lady, and I am very proud of her. However, I then noticed that one picture included her name and school. Needless to say, that particular one was left off the site – she is too precious to me to take any chances on her safety.
- The education/work section can be a wonderful tool for getting back in touch with people from your past. Facebook is very good about tracking what you have entered and letting you know about people you might want to reconnect with. In fact , I am now back in contact with people I lost touch with years ago.
Remember, you never know where your next business will come from. So take advantage of the online tools that will help you.
Thanks for posting this, It’s just what I was looking for on bing. I’d much rather hear opinions from an individual, rather than a corporate site, that’s why I like blogs so much. Thanks!
I am delighted to hear that you could use the information. That is exactly what I want my posts to do. Learning Social Media can be pretty overwhelming (I know from first hand experience) so my goal is to give people just enough in each post to make so they don’t have to sort through a lot of info they don’t need at the time.