Lessons from Facebook

As the owner of a mediation firm, I am always looking for new ways to market my business. I have recently been reading the book, 33 Million People in the Room by Juliette Powell. In the book, Ms. Powell encourages the use of social networks to expand the reach of your business and details the pros and cons of the most popular networks.

If you are reading this, you already know that I have a blog and am a devotee of Twitter. After reading the book, I wanted to delve a little deeper into the world of social media...this weekend I took the plunge. I joined Facebook. Some of you are probably thinking, so what? Everyone, including my mother and grandmother are on Facebook! You're right, since joining, I have re-acquainting myself with friends and associates from years gone by. I am also making new friends that share my interests.

For me, Facebook represented a point of no return; the end of innocence. Once you enter, you are officially trapped in the Matrix and can never return home to Kansas. In one sense I was totally right. Since joining, I have been a little obsessed with it. My heart quickens with excitement from every notification buzz of my blackberry. When my husband asked me to run an errand with him, I declined in favor of building my Facebook page.

I have to confess that I was also overly dramatic about the evils of Facebook. I was really concerned about having too much personal information on the web. There was no need for all the worry, there are a lot of privacy controls on Facebook. Ms. Powell was correct, it is a great way to expand your network. But I am glad that I took the time to learn a little about the network prior to joining. Once I joined I had a clear vision of what I wanted to accomplish on Facebook rather than just aimlessly posting random musings.

What does this all mean? Ever so often I need my world to be challenged in order to grow. Growth takes many forms: a book with new ideas, connecting with friends or meeting new friends, or making mistakes. Whatever the form, growth is ultimately good. I gain a new perspective on myself and the world around me.

I spend a lot of time trying to convince businesses of the value of utilizing mediation. Once I cross the information hurdle with a new business, they find that mediation is a useful tool to resolve corporate conflicts. Though I work hard to get others to expand their horizons, I was unwilling to expand my own. By opening myself to Facebook, I had the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.