Personal or Business Account with Facebook?

[erikdiamond]

Hi,

I have personal facebook account. And I just started an interactive design freelancing business that have facebook link. Do you think its okay to link my site to my personal facebook or should I create a new facebook account with my business name?

Your thought?

Erik Diamond

[mmj]

I think you definitely should not link your business related link to your personal Facebook.

If it were me I would reconsider doing anything business-related on Facebook, as I don't think it's the kind of place for it.

To me, Facebook is for personal friends, not business contacts. I do not pursue any business relationships on Facebook and if people who are not personal friends try to connect with me there I prefer to decline, if I can do so politely - just emailing me is probably more appropriate and if they want to social network they can link read my blog or even find me on LinkedIn. I don't want to read about people's business on Facebook, it's personal, but I am usually happy to subscribe to people's blogs instead.

[erikdiamond]

I think you definitely should not link your business related link to your personal Facebook.

Thank you. I was wondering because I notice some designers have links from their online portfolio to facebook, twitter, myspace, blogger, youtube, flicker, etc. etc. I wondered why? I realize that some people have add blogs on their site, but I am not that great writer to add a blog on my site.

Your thought?

Erik

[webinnosales]

As my experience buddy, I really don't want to associate my personal facebook account to my work but I can't help it because our client saw my account and add me and they sometimes prefer to contact me through it as easy as they want..Now I really don't mind as long as me and my client doesn't experience any problem..

[mmj]

Thank you. I was wondering because I notice some designers have links from their online portfolio to facebook, twitter, myspace, blogger, youtube, flicker, etc. etc. I wondered why?

I'd say they have probably set up MySpace/Facebook/Twitter accounts for business purposes, which a lot of people do (for better or worse). They probably keep personal stuff off that account though, or carefully control who puts what on their profile.

[mmj]

As my experience buddy, I really don't want to associate my personal facebook account to my work but I can't help it because our client saw my account and add me and they sometimes prefer to contact me through it as easy as they want..Now I really don't mind as long as me and my client doesn't experience any problem..

I guess you could,

• set up a second Facebook account for business purposes
• or direct them to your blog/LinkedIn/etc instead

If you are close friends with the client then I guess having them on your personal facebook might be okay - sounds like you are pretty comfortable with it.

[rose195]

Hello.

This is a serious issue for anyone applying for a job or pitching a business idea. Drawing on what I’ve read here and there and various conversations, there seem to be at least two trains of thought:
a) if you want to impress anyone over, say 25 or max 30, as a potential employer or business client, you should be very careful about what you put on the web, even in “walled gardens” such as Facebook;
b) if you are being interviewed or checked out for a business venture by anyone 25 or under, they are still close enough to the “idiot” stage and understand social networking natively, so that they can make the distinction between you then and you now.

Problem with (a) is it does not solve the question of what’s out there now. My advice to people is to do some *serious* SEO and social networking so that what is about you on p 1 of Google is what you want to be there – responsible citizen, great business associate, project this and project that, etc etc. First impressions and all that. Basically, what people are likely to find about me on Google is a combo of what I want them to find and what I’m ok about them finding. Fortunately the web wasn’t around when I was younger and more idiotic than now.

[devAngel]

i prefer to have a separate account on facebook...personal should not be associated with business profile if you want to have a more corporate appeal

[rypher21]

i have different accounts for that...

[zipperz]

I am really careful what I attach my real name to. A lot of times I read a newspaper article about someone and the reporter posts all the dirt they can get off of facebook or myspace on them.
You just never know when that info will be twisted around and used against you.

Employers, judges, disgruntled x wives/husbands ect you just never know when someone might get some info and use it the wrong way to harm you.

That's why I have avatars like zipperz.