One element of Facebook I’ve never been a “Fan” of (pardon the pun) is the perceived politics that come with “Friending”.

Flashbacks of High School popularity and posturing enter the online world of relationships.  <Insert self-doubt here>.

Should I reach out to someone I may have “sort of” known in my “former life”? Will they remember me? Will they just ignore my request? Should I ignore their request? Why are they connected with so-and-so and not with me?

And now, as businesses begin to emerge on Facebook and business connections are now becoming online “friends” where do we draw the line as to who to “friend” and who to “ignore”?

Is it possible to “friend” someone without allowing them access to all your personal files?

Yes.

Simply create a list of people you wish to have limited access to all your information. (i.e. Business only).

1) Click on your “Friends” link.  In the top right hand side is the “Create a List” link.

2) Add the business connections, (and anyone else you’d like to give limited access to)  into that list.

3) Click on the links for your Privacy Settings > Profile Information area and in the drop down menu for each area (i.e. Photos, and/or Status) you want to keep private, choose “Custom”.

4) Choose “Only Friends” EXCEPT “Business Only” Group List.

And voila! You’re free to “Friend” at will.

Keep me posted how well this works for you or if you require any assistance setting it up.

Leslie: leslie@punchmedia.ca

P.S. You can also preview your profile using a specific business connection’s name to do some Quality Assurance.

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Facebook List and Privacy

Facebook Lists and Privacy Settings

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About Leslie Hughes

Leslie Hughes is a LinkedIn Optimization Specialist, Professor of Social Media, Corporate Trainer, Principal of PUNCH!media and author of “CREATE. CONNECT. CONVERT” Leslie was called a "Social Media Guru" by CBC Radio and was featured on CTV’s “The Social” discussing how to manage your digital identity. Leslie has been working in digital marketing since 1997 and founded PUNCH!media in 2009. PUNCH!media clients include Investment Planning Counsel, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and TVO. PUNCH!media's goal is to empower through education and help executives gain confidence in their online presence so you convert higher-paying clients. www.punchmedia.ca

5 Comments

  1. […] If you only want SOME of your friends to see this information (i.e. keeping business friends separate from personal friends), then be sure to segment your Friends into lists and set your privacy options to “Custom”. If you haven’t done this yet, there is a brief tutorial on the PUNCH!media blog here: […]



  2. Michael Bernardo on May 12, 2010 at 2:38 pm

    Thanks for the tip. However, I think I’m going blind. I just created my “Business Only” list and added people to it. How do I display this list now?



    • punchmedia on May 12, 2010 at 9:33 pm

      Hi Michael,

      You should see the list itself beneath your “Friends” link in the left hand navigation bar.

      To change the settings to OMIT them from your status updates, photos etc.

      1. Go to the “Privacy Settings”
      2. Click on the appropriate link (i.e Personal Information and Posts)
      3. Click on “Posts by Me”
      4. Click on the drop-down menu for Custom
      It will say, make this visible to these people. (I have “Only Friends”).
      5. In the “Hide from” field, once you begin typing the name of your Business List, it should appear by default.
      6. Save your setting and then repeat for every area you want to separate business from personal.

      Let me know how it goes, Michael!



  3. […] up lists to keep my personal comments and information separate from my professional connections (click here for the tutorial). I keep this content separate because I don’t think my business connections are interested […]



  4. […] There are also ways to separate your business friends so they don’t see all your personal information (covered here) […]