Linking Twitter & Facebook

I had this post ready to roll last week, and then Facebook makes some changes. Some like it the “new” Facebook, some hate it. It’s more like Twitter, but I just don’t see the point. Facebook is just different. So, most of this post is still valid. I’ll highlight what has changed.

I had a comment on my Facebook last night from a friend who had decided to drop me. Nothing personal, I’ve just been Tweeting way too much from #democampyeg! Last night’s Edmonton Democamp 6 was the last straw.

I’ve recently taken advantage of the ability to have my Tweets directed to my Facebook status. It has been good in that it’s allowed me to update Facebook more easily and often, thought it may be a little too often. I have noticed one or two friends dropping off since I’ve done this.

So, should I disconnect my Twitter feed from updating my Facebook status? I have an idea what some of my Edmonton Twitter friends will say.

Is the only option to disconnect the feed? Well, I looked at several options to cut down on my updates so I don’t upset my Facebook friends.

Cut the Twitter/Facebook link altogether

Upside: keep friends who don’t want to see my face in every one of their Facebook newsfeed stories (not that I blame them) from not wanting to be my friend. Downside: I update Facebook less. This also limits the conversations I’ve been having in Facebook.

Limit Twitter updates that go to Facebook

You might wonder how this can be done, but I have noticed that when you respond to another Twitter user, that doesn’t go to Facebook. Normally I respond a lot to other Twitterers. Social media is about the conversation, after all, which I do plenty of. When I attend an event like Edmonton Democamp 6 and Tweet all about it, most of that stuff goes to my Facebook status.

Friends adjust Facebook updates from me

This is the part that has changed. The original post section is left in italics, so you can see what might work again if Facebook changes their mind. Hey, it can happen. They’ve done it before!

The new option in Facebook is similar, but it seems to be an all or nothing approach. Mouse over an entry on your home tab. You’ll see an X in the upper right hand corner of the entry. Click it and you have the option to no longer see updates from that person. I prefer Facebook’s approach from before. It’s not perfect, but at least you can still see something.

The photos above show the process by which you can hide someone from your news feed. I added Jerry back to my feed. I am just using his feed as an example. It’s fairly straight forward to hide someone from your feed now, but if you’ve made a mistake, you can undo it right away.

Notice you also have an option to show your hidden Facebook friends as well so you can add them back into your news feed. If you scroll to the very bottom of the page you’ll see some text “show hidden posts” and “see hidden friends” just in case you’re not quick enough to catch these boxes as they pop up.

If you have some complaints from Facebook friends, let them know how they can adjust your feed so you can keep them happy.

This can be done. When you’re in your home window in Facebook, if you scroll all the way down to the bottom, you can find the “Options for newsfeed” link. Click on that and you will notice that you can see “more about these friends” or “less about these friends.” Seems like a good idea, but I would be willing to bet that most people don’t even know that exists. It also relies on people making the adjustment themselves. Not a bad option though. Less experienced users, of which there are many, would probably never figure this out.

If you mouse over a Facebook news feed story you’ll notice a pencil appear in the top right of the story. This gives you the option to see more or less about a person.

Twitter box

It used to be stuck in the Boxes tab along your menu bar, but now you can move it to the Wall tab. The problem is Facebook doesn’t allow it to move above some of your other boxes so people can actually see it. You have to look for it. You may as well not even have it. It also only shows the latest Tweet, so if you had something interesting about 10 Tweets ago, forget it.

Limit Facebook status updates friends see

This one is tougher than you might think. There’s no obvious way to do this. Facebook has so many ways to tweak your settings and they’re all over the page. In fact, on this note, Facebook is a disaster.

What Facebook needs is a way for you to be able to determine how many of your status updates go out. I could make it so certain friends can’t see my updates, but this isn’t ideal either.

I think the ideal solution is to be able to stop your status updates from being published but people can look at your profile to see what you’re up to. So the updates are essentially only being published on my page. This allows me to keep my Twitter link active and post away. Those who are interested will come to my page anyway.

Manage social media updates

This is a bit of a work around, but I thought I could post to ping.fm, which I have set to update my Twitter status, as well as Brightkite and Friendfeed. I could set it to update Facebook and Twitter, but cut the Twitter link to Facebook on the Twitter side. I would have to go in and post the occasional ping.fm update to make sure I’m updating periodically. I don’t use Ping.fm all that often, and it would be a hassle to go out and do it this way, even just to remember to do it.

Why bother?

I know some of you must be wondering, why? I think it’s important to manage your social media relationships just as you’d manage your real life relationships. No doubt there’s much crossover between the two.

I’ve decided to tackle the issue because if there’s one person who says something, you can bet there are a dozen others who aren’t. So, it’s incumbent on me to evaluate and adjust how I do things so I don’t make some people unhappy. I think it’s all part of getting along and I really do appreciate the feedback. If I’m doing something that upsets someone, I want to know. Yes, I know you can’t make everyone happy, but if there’s a minor change I can make to keep someone happy, what’s the big deal?

I’m focusing on personal relationships here, but I do have a lot of business contacts in my social media network too. If it was a client or potential client and you were doing something that upset them, don’t you think you’d want to know?

I would appreciate your suggestions on this. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s run across this issue. We’re breaking new ground on a regular basis with social media, so I think ironing out these kinds of issues to smooth out those relationships is important.

Alain Saffel