At yesterday's meeting...

We talked about using Facebook to find and recruit new members mostly because it's free, easy to use, the latest fad for youngsters and accessible to millions.  I did not express my concerns because it would have disrupted the conference.  For the record, I already have a Facebook account. Yesterday, we heard the pros of Facebook, not the cons. I do not endorse it for recruiting. Let me tell you why so you won't be surprised later.
 

I am a reserved, humble and happily married woman.  My family is precious to me, and I like to choose my friends (this will make more sense later).  I would never intentionally expose friends or family to people that did not respect their values and personal choices, or could potentially harm them in any way. Maybe I am an "old fart" for thinking this way. See for yourself.

Reason 1: Facebook is "broadcast" messaging communications. Meaning, when I write something on my page/wall everyone connected to me can see it. If 10,000 people are connected to me, they will all see the message to my friends and family. That could be embarrassing, creepy and risky to me, my family and my friends. 

If I was lonely or trying to sell something to people I didn't know, then Facebook would probably be the ideal place to "get out" and "find new leads". Seeking companionship, gathering sales leads and providing community service are uniquely different agendas.

In any case, I have to intentionally accept, reject or remove people.  There is no privacy unless I spend time learning and setting up Facebook privacy, which is constantly changing. Don’t assume everyone on Facebook cares.  They don’t.

Here's my story: Last year, my instructor told me to register on Facebook to get schedules and handouts from guest speakers.  The idea bothered me then, but it was a necessity, so I did it.  The last year has made me regret being on Facebook.

Reason 2: Immediately I started getting requests from people I did not know "to be a friend".  Traditionally "a friend is someone I actually know."   Let me explain this.

Every time someone already connected to me on Facebook, adds a new name to their Facebook, I get new people wanting to connect to me. One night I spent 3 hours rejecting 37 connections to people I had never met and had no idea of who they were.  I accepted 22 people and I am still rejecting requests from people connected to them.  This is not fun to me.  Maybe if I were a sales person it would be.

Some people are embarrassed when they get rejected.  That means Sertomans would have to "accept" every request "to be a friend", to prevent offending anyone.  Is that what we really want to do?  Image how vulnerable it makes Sertomans and their families? Forgive my honesty; I’m just a conscientious old fart.  We are like that sometimes. 

Facebook is work ...deciding who to be connected to is a personal decision.  Or, you can accept everyone as a friend and see how that social experiment turns out for you.  Most likely it will overwhelm you.  

Harvesting leads is an old predator’s game on the Internet; it is not the Sertoman culture I know.  If Sertoma initiates harvesting leads, there is no guarantee we will win at the end.  We could offend another organization.  Consider this: If names of Sertomans are published on Facebook, they may be aggressively recruited by other organizations. Why not? We gave them the information? It’s like inviting a vampire into your home.  Websites are safer for club members and their families.

I recently had to send a message to a family member stating “I'm not posting the names, telephone numbers or addresses of other family members on Facebook...everyone has the right to make that choice for themselves and to protect their privacy.”  The leads harvester was offended; other family members thanked me! 

Reason 3: When an invitation is declined on Facebook some people become persistent and bombard you with emails. Facebook has exposed me to several uncomfortable situations that were completely avoidable.

Reason 4: I have received requests from dating sites I never knew existed.  Facebook let them into my life. They act like they know me.  They tell other people they know me.  This makes me queasy in my gut. 

Reason 5: Prison inmates have called my home and charged the cost of calls to my number, even when "I refused the call". Now, I ask myself, what if one of them showed up at my front door?  Imagine "Hi, I'm Mike (or Betty Boop) from Facebook, can I come in?"  Well, the telephone isn’t much different. Is it?

Reason 6: Unauthorized charges were made to my cell phone. I didn’t even know it was possible until it happened. Naturally, I had to contact the cell phone company and reject the charges. It was annoying.

Reason 7: That second level of people on Facebook will call you, your family and friends and carry on conversations like they know you and them. Guess what? They do...because they watch your conversations on Facebook.  It’s creepy.  It’s not smart and it could put your family at risk.  When you talk about children and other family members in Facebook, you tell predators things they can use “to be a friend” to them.  It makes them approachable and their guards are down; they become vulnerable.  I am truly concerned about the safety of my family members and friends on Facebook, because of their openness.

Conclusion: Identity theft experts advise us not to put cell phone numbers, home telephone numbers, real addresses, travel plans and other personal information on anything circulating in Facebook. I don't put anything on Facebook.  In November, I will either get off Facebook or purge a lot of "unknown friends".

There are predators in Facebook.  Using it to recruit new members could be a mistake Sertoma may never recover from.   It could expose members to being exploited by people they don't know, as well as having their privacy violated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.   If Sertoma endorses Facebook, then we need a policy to prevent the members and connected participants from being exploited (by anyone and everyone).  

Who wants to spend hours rejecting connections to people they don't know?  I'm OK with being an "old fart" if it means keeping my personal integrity in tact and knowing the people that claim to know me. 

Popularity by Facebook numbers is not necessarily the best way to achieve our recruiting goals.  We need to spend some time thinking through this a little more.  Giving a direct "free" Facebook mailing list of my friends and family to someone I don't know bothers me. Sertoma can not control Facebook or how it changes.  Once the information is out there, we can not take it back.  I think senior members have raised legitimate concerns that need to be reconsidered.  They have merit. 

"Free" social networking has a price.  What is Sertoma’s core culture?   Where's the fire?  We have time to think this through.

Old farts are practical people with experience.  Some fads are not for everyone.  Facebook can be dangerous in the wrong hands. It can cause situations we don't want to encounter.  For someone in sales it can be a goldmine!  But, there is a price.  Let's be very clear about our objectives and the boundaries before initiating Facebook recruiting, so no one is surprised

Lavella Harrison