Why I love facebook

Facebook....

Let me tell you a little something about facebook. She's quite a little mistress, facebook she is.

My interest in facebook (FB) began innocent enough. I wanted to make some $$. Really. I read on a photography group, that one of the best ways to get in contact with all the seniors/students in your area, is to add them to one of the social networking sites like myspace or FB. I already had a myspace page, but honestly, didn't like it all that much. Myspace feels like a huge website full of tiny websites from 1997. srsly.

So I thought I'd try out this "facebook" thing that people kept talking about.

It was easy to set up my profile, and add a few photos. I found a couple students in the area and then it just blossomed from there. Once you find a couple "friends", facebook suggests more friends for you. Obvious friends. Like more seniors and more students in the area. Soon I had 100 "friends" that I didn't know!

I was still pretty bored, but I would diligently add a few photos once in a while, so that students might remember that crazy chick from FB when it was time to pick their senior photographer.

Then something happened.

Someone from high school found me. No, not here in town, but from my days of big fluffy hair and borderline mullets with blue eyeshadow and twisted sister playing lightly in the background.

Those people.

So that same process I had used to find most of the seniors here in town, worked for most of my classmates. Soon I had added at least 1/2 of the "kids" I went to school with... and their siblings... oh, and then the people I used to chat with when I did Body for Life, and a teddy bear artist from when I used to do that, and a couple friends from my old IRC #England channel days, and my sister, my cousin I haven't seen in 10 years, and my kids, and Gene's kids! and before you knew it, I had this one place that I could go to where I could quickly see what everyone was up to and how everyone was.

One thing I've started doing, is when I get an inquiry, or book a bride, I add her, and her fiance, and I feel like I really get to know them by seeing their pics every day, by seeing where they are going on their bachelorette parties, learning their friends names... I think we end up being closer, and I gain not only a client, but a friend.

If I ever thought "I wonder how Jim is doing", I can just go pop over to his page and see. BTW, Jim was my best friend my Jr year. Long story, and we haven't seen each other in 21 years! It was so good to reconnect and find my old friend. (Heck, Jim is even sending some work my way through his business... I'll share when it's done!)

Repeat that 200 times.

In the end, a few things have happened:

• I didn't make a lot of money/get a lot of jobs off those original seniors
• I reconnected with many old friends, and became actual friends with just acquaintances from high school.
• I actually started getting work from friends of friends when they would see my photos, so even tho I intended to "sell" myself to some kids, I still did, but I did it through the back door.
• I found a whole new group of people, that fell in love with my work, not just because they were my friends either.

One of the coolest things that happened, is that my class has really bonded back together. We had about 55 that graduated my year, and of that, about 25-30 are friends on FB. Soon we had an impromptu twenty ONE year class reunion, and have decided that it will be an annual event. Sadly I didn't get to go, but it was nice to know that they are all there any time I want to.

So, if you're considering a social networking group, if you want to stay in contact with your family and friends from all over the world, of course I'm going to recommend FB. Want a friend?

Click here and add me!

Lana Cease's Profile

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Heck, be sure to tell me who you are if I don't know you LOL.

PS. Tanner made the above avatar for his facebook page. It made me belly laugh so I had to share.