Update: Wow, never been in the Spotlight before. Thanks to whoever is responsible.
I posted this on Facebook yesterday, and thought I'd share it here in case it might be informative to some -- though many of you are probably more proficient on social media than I am.
Happy New Year, progressives. Let's not think about how much time you've wiled away on Facebook in 2012, let's concentrate how you can use that time just a little bit better in 2013. This has the great benefit of giving your FB time a real value for those groups or causes, and can thus lessen your guilt about "wasted" time spent here. Put the following suggestions into practice and you can legitimately call yourself a Facebook Activist.
Some of your favorite non-profit organizations and causes are on Facebook, trying very hard to make some headway against the site's increasing prefrence for favoring content that makes FB money. Please take a minute now to learn how to quickly and easily help those groups, and vow to take just a tiny bit of extra time and effort in 2013 to assist their work.
[Note: In this guide, I am only talking about functionality that works on Facebook Pages, not necessarily Groups or Profiles. Pages is the preferred format for organizations to use for their FB presence.]
LIKE the page - i.e. go to the page and hit the "Like" button at the top. This used to be call being a "fan" of the Page. Facebook Pages can be read whether you "like: them or not, but if you want to show support, that's the number one way to do so. The number of Likes a Page has collected gives it added oomph in Facebook world, for all the content that the Page produces. By liking the page, you are causing that Page's content to enter your news feed -- what you see in the middle column when you are logged in at facebook.com. However, if you want to like the Page, but not get it in your news feed, then after hitting the Like button, just hover your mouse over it again, and deselect "show in news feed."
Add a Page to "Interests Lists" -- One great way for users to see more of the content of their favorite pages in their news feed is to go to the top right of the page, click the little gear button, and select the option "add to interest lists." This gear button is level with the name of the page. This will ensure that more content from that page finds its way into your news feed so that you do not miss an update or announcement.
Like and Share the updates, links, photos et. al. posted on the Page when they appear on your news feed. Each time you hit Like under a status update, link or photo that comes from a Page, you are increasing that Page's FB power. Pages with more interactive followers mean the Page has more "reach" and impact, in other words, its content seen by more people. Facebook favors content from Pages that are producing more page views. So if you read an item, hit like, which takes practically no time or effort, or if you have 15 seconds, hit Share, and then Share Link in the popup window.
Comment on Page content - same deal - any interactivity with a Page's content gives that Page a little power boost. When you comment, you will get notifications of any successive comments on that content -- but you can "unfollow" by going to your notifications page.
I am the admin on a number of Facebook pages, so I can assure you that getting Page content seen by Facebook users is becoming more and more difficult. Obviously, Facebook wants to make money, but most of the organizations I work with are legitimate grassroots and cannot afford to pay to promote content on a regular basis. We depend on our Facebook friends to help us out by giving us as much free assistance on Facebook as the site allows. Unfortunately, most users just don't know how much they can help. But now, YOU do! Please find your favorite Pages and get active as a Facebook Activist in 2013.
Thanks and have a great 2013!
PS, if you are a progressive in Oklahoma like me, then subscribe to my "Oklahoma Progressive News" Interest List, in lieu of creating your own. Don't miss any updates from Oklahoma progressive organizations. Find it here: https://www.facebook.com/...