Facebook Friends Lists Remind Me of Planning Wedding and Party Music

by Robbie Schlosser · 5 comments

Thanks in advance for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas. I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation. Tell me what you think, and I'll reply. Promise.
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A few years back, Facebook distractions were killing me.

But I didn’t know about Facebook Friends Lists.

Here’s my problem, and maybe yours, too: Facebook’s format littered my home page — particularly my “News Feed” — with posts from every friend, and it was simply too distracting.

Some people seemed to welcome these Facebook distractions, but I didn’t.

Please don’t get me wrong — I really like Facebook. It’s amazing and brings wonderful benefits — breaking news, fresh ideas, and deeper personal and professional updates from my Facebook friends.

For me, and maybe you, too, I love how Facebook lets me, in just a few focused moments, track the personal and professional doings of those friends I regularly work and network with.

People use Facebook many different ways.  For me, it is primarily a business tool.  I’m less interested in all the daily doings of friends I seldom, if ever, work with.

Being self-employed, my business looms large in my thinking.  Taking care of business effectively and efficiently — that’s my focus on Facebook.

In contrast, I’ve found that nourishing personal contacts is best done face-to-face, and less well by telephone, email, or on Facebook.

A few years ago, some of my friends were so adept at the “Hey Dude, Way Cool!” kind of comment, that I would lose focus while reading my page.

So I urged everyone: Please keep your posts concise and interesting, and they will hold my attention.  Otherwise, I’m gone.

Then I discovered Facebook Friends Lists.  I began to focus on tracking mainly my business associates and a few selected friends.

And avoided most of those irrelevant, uninteresting “Oh, My Gosh!” posts from displaying in my News Feed.

See how Facebook advises using Friends Lists.  Learn how to focus your own News Feed.  You can find dozens of similar tutorials online.

Set up one or two lists of your own.  Go ahead!  Do it!

By the way, I’m not saying all those Facebook distractions are worthless — just that they’re not helpful to me right now.  For me, life’s too short to become distracted when it’s time to work.”

I firmly believe that a healthy view of life’s “big picture” requires our curiosity and playfulness, as well as hard work.  But I’m glad I can choose when to relax my focus.  THAT’s “Way Cool!”.

Now, why do these Facebook distractions remind me of planning wedding and party music?  It’s about FOCUS.  People who plan any celebration have to think of lots of details.  About everything, including their music.

Without focus, the overwhelming number of details can hinder our progress.  They become distracting.

So when I help people plan the music for their weddings or parties, I urge them to focus.  Begin simple and avoid distractions.

Here’s a planning tip:  When you begin, focus on just a few features for the event, like the main highlight, your guest of honor, or the overall mood you’d like.

Face it — your planning process will occasionally become overwhelming.  When that happens, FOCUS and remember how nice it felt when you eliminated those distractions with Facebook Friends Lists.

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The Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.

In the meantime, please join our Magnolia Jazz Band fans on Facebook.  You’ll receive daily tips for planning wedding and party music and get reminders for our public events.

Thanks for reading my blog. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here.  Please write me a little COMMENT and continue this conversation.  I’ll reply to you, and so will others who share your interest.  You’ll make new connections.

Do you know a friend who needs help selecting wedding or party music?  Do them a favor. Please SHARE this article.  Or POST in on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.  And if you find this blog useful, please LIKE it, TWEET it, and SUBSCRIBE for more of my thoughts.  Use those cute little icons below.



Thanks for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here. Got one or two? I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation -- I'll reply. Promise.

By the way, does a friend need help selecting wedding or party music? Do them a favor: EMAIL this article, or SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.

And if you find my blog useful, please LIKE it, TWEET it, and SUBSCRIBE for more ideas. Use those cute little icons below.

Meanwhile, the Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.

How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.

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Stacie Tamaki

It sounds like you would like to see a "personal" or "professional" box that a poster selects before they publish a comment and the reader could select to receive one or the other or both? I understand your pov but I think it will be difficult to get people to adhere to that type of implementation even if FB does create it.

Or maybe not.

Either way for now it sounds like you are using the only tool at your disposal and I'm sure people understand why you are choosing to do so. I guess for me it just doesn't bother me that there's a lot of fluff that gets posted. I find some of it amusing and/or interesting. And when you work a lot (probably too much) I think it's nice when others mix a little pleasure in with business and I get to enjoy it 🙂

The only thing I really wish Facebook would change when it comes to the newsfeed is a single option to deselect all updates for every trivia and game application that is offered on the site instead of making me "opt out" of them each time they show up on my home page.

Tara

Interesting thoughts about managing FB. I use FB to stay in touch with my friends, most of whom are far away, but even with that sometimes I skim past loads of stuff.
Tara recently posted..Todays Theme: The Kindness of StrangersMy Profile

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks Tara.
I think you’re in good company. I understand the Facebook was originally devised for social contacts. Only later did people figure out ways to do business there. For now, that’s where I’m at.
Do you enjoy skimming through loads of stuff?
Robbie Schlosser recently posted..Cocktail Hour Music — How to Choose a Song List for a Wedding or a PartyMy Profile

Tara

There are days when I love it, there are days when I want to hide everyone!
Tara recently posted..Todays Theme: The Kindness of StrangersMy Profile

Robbie Schlosser

Yep! I sure know that feeling… 🙂
Robbie Schlosser recently posted..What Stubby Kaye Taught Me about Wedding Music and Party MusicMy Profile

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