Posted on 02/01/2018 by siteadmin
Facebook – Love it or loathe it???
I have been thinking about the pros and cons of Facebook, the behaviours that people display and things people post for some time. My last blog triggered so much debate that I felt the need to explore this phenomenon.
My partner and I love Facebook – we post pictures from nights out, on holiday …. As well as lots of belly dance stuff. Belly dance is an integral part of my life so everything merges. I am passionate about it (some people would say obsessed) – as well as being my hobby, it is my full time job. Poor Stuart has a lot to put up with.
I use Facebook as a way to keep in touch with friends who I rarely see and as a promotional tool. I have several Facebook pages – my personal one, Farida Dance, Farida Adventures, JWAAD belly Dance Training. And then several groups for people interested in specific things: ‘Shimmy up North’, groups for my different classes, a Fantasia group. These have more interaction – a way for people to ask questions, share travel or accommodation.
We have just launched a new Farida Dance web site and a new Bellydance Now website. These are completely different businesses. Farida Dance is my business which has grown and diversified over the years. Christine (Lucretia Katt on FB) tends to manage this and the Farida FB pages. JWAAD is a company of which I am one of the directors. I am passionate about learning and personal development. In my opinion, JWAADs accredited courses are the best. Maybe I am biased and maybe I bang on about them …. But I am as entitled to my opinion as the next person. I manage this and the JWAAD FB page with contributions from others.
I see the Facebook phenomenon as more positive than negative ….. BUT I can see how it can undermine. Generally I post ‘good news’ – ‘feel good’ factor stories and pictures. I try to be considerate in my wording of posts – though sometimes I get it wrong. Facebook is so instant. There are times I have skimmed over something, commented on it, then realised I have slightly missed the point. Or if I had read all the other comments, I could have written a more informed reply. I try to take a step back and not comment straight away ….. or make sure I read everything first.
Many of us have access to FB on our phones …. making it even more instant. You can comment when out and about, you may have had a few drinks or maybe you have woken in the middle of the night and got into the habit of checking your phone. With rebuilding the websites the main aim was to make them mobile friendly as so many people live through their mobiles these days. How things have changed!
Sometimes people write posts when they are feeling down – and it is nice to see that generally folks get very supportive comments from the FB community when they are having a difficult time. I am quite a private person in this respect so tend not to ‘share’ the bad news in such a public domain. We are all different though and neither is right or wrong – it is just what is right for you as an individual.
Posts written in anger are possibly the most dangerous! I have been guilty – but try not to ‘post in anger’. Give yourself time to think things through. Sometimes a rant about general life is fine but if it is about individuals or situations or commenting on something you feel strongly about, think before you post. THINK: Is posting on FB the best way? Might a private message be a better way of dealing with it? Or even, heaven forbid, talk to the person.
The blog I wrote about ‘Haflas – Definition & Etiquette’, I wrote it on www.jwaadtraining.uk and thought it could be of interest to people so shared it on several FB groups. It generated a strong response where the person had misunderstood and thought we were advertising a course about hafla etiquette for which people would have to pay. No one is charging extra money – it was a discussion blog to raise awareness of issues and behavior that I had observed from going to many haflas. A prime example of not reading things closely before responding. It was great that many people commented on the post pointing this out. And lots of people commented adding their own experiences which has been very interesting to read. Though the JWAAD blogs will sometimes be about our accredited courses, they are more often information or discussion pieces. You can always subscribe to the blog on the web site and find out for yourself.
Written by Kay Taylor 02.01.2018