Very glad to read in Business Week today that Facebook is planning to do an overhaul of the profile designs so as to reduce clutter and improve user experience. Most people have very long profile pages, and some have a variety of applications that can be distracting and annoying. Business Week predicts in this article that some of the profile content will be split into tabs. I think this would be cool as it would give individuals’ profile pages the feel of a personal website. In fact what would be great is if you could add one or two custom tabs of your own (of course these should be limited so as to avoid the ugliness of MySpace profiles).

Now… if only Facebook could pay attention to my wish list :)

Hey everyone,

So most of you probably have a Facebook account, but have you ever thought about whether one account is enough? Yeah, I know you’re probably thinking “is he crazy? I get enough pokes and vampire invitations already.” But hear me out.

Before they become habits, we all come to social networks with some type of agenda. In the case of Facebook, there are many reasons why people use it because although it began with students, its user base is continually expanding to the general population. Firstly, we use it to keep in touch with our current friends, relatives, and associates. Second, we use it to get back in touch with people with whom we lost touch. Third, we use it to network with professionals (i.e. people at work, people at school, people in the same field, people from the same discussion forum). Fourth, we use it to learn or teach about issues we consider important (e.g. Allow coloured profiles on Facebook, Don’t allow coloured profiles on Facebook, Leave Britney Alone, 1,000,000 Who Hate George W. Bush, etc.). There are other reasons as well.

Now, if you have one profile - and only one - it will be difficult for you to post images you want to share with friends, while you have professional associates on your Friends list. Likewise, if you’re in groups with strong political or religious motivations, it could have repercussions in your work or school situation.

I know that technically Facebook doesn’t allow or encourage multiple accounts, but I think it is essential. Here’s how I would go about it:

The Personal Account
Use this account for only your close friends, family, and people with whom you’ve grown up. People that you trust and who trust you. People who wouldn’t Photoshop your pictures and re-post them on Fark.com. This is the profile where you can relax a little bit.

The Professional Account
Use this account for your work associates, school non-friends and professors, and people to whom you’d like to show your most polished self. This one can have a more detailed “Career” section while not having to be filled with your favourite movies, books, etc. It’s a good idea to keep your profile on this one free from the clutter of applications like “Hot or Not” and “Pet Pupz” and instead make it look like a professional portfolio.

The Anonymous Account
Facebook doesn’t like anonymous accounts and they might try to stop you, but usually you can come up with a reasonable name that is totally anonymous. You can use this for activism. If there is a group that you want to join or start, but can’t be associated with, you can use this account. Some people might not like my suggestion here, but this is a really important tool for non-profits as well. Sometimes you want to promote a cause, but don’t necessarily want your organization to be responsible for the group. You can start a group with this account and still promote your cause and even indirectly promote your organization, but not be representing your organization. Note: in a legal sense, regardless of the name you choose, you are responsible for your actions and I do not suggest anyone to use this method for anything inappropriate or illegal. Use your head!

It’s important in the case of all three of the above to keep an eye on your privacy settings. Sometimes when you have your settings set too loosely, people can still see your profile although you’d prefer they didn’t. For example, when you send someone a message, they will be able to see, at the very minimum, your limited profile. So it’s a good idea to make sure you’re sending a message to a particular person from the appropriate account.

Fake Profiles for Spam
Be careful if you’re using an anonymous account. Only use it for good, and don’t get attached to it. If you use a fake profile for spam, that is EVIL! Don’t do it! You probably will get reported and it’s not good karma.

Source: JVManna on Flickr.

Next Up
Throughout the month of May (and some of June), I’ll be sharing my experience in the last two years with the following topics: “Facebook Marketing for Non-Profits” and “WordPress as a CMS” - Look out for it! If you have any questions for me you’d like answered, please post them in the comments or e-mail me: info [at] kulpreetsingh [dot] com.