No exaggeration here. You haven’t heard from me much this past week because yes, I was put in jail…Facebook jail. It is a real thing, and it was pretty much every bit of horrible as I could have expected. And, I never expected it. I didn’t even realize that it existed, but I sure do now. Thankfully, I wasn’t blocked from posting on my personal or business page, but I was blocked from interacting in any of my groups. And groups, well I am in a ton of them, for support and for sharing…so this straight up sucked.
What did I do that was so formidable? What type of bad behavior did I engage in that Mr. Zuckerberg and his algorithm thought was so horrendous? Well, here is what I did…apparently, I posted one of my articles in too many groups, too fast. The audacity of me! Can you believe that? Yep, that was my crime. I blame it on being somewhat newer to the world of blogging and not being completely apprised of all social media etiquette; but, a week-long restriction — I think this was slightly an extreme sentence.
Then again, there is etiquette. There is also an expectation to follow that etiquette and rules to enforce that etiquette, all of which are in place for a reason. However, I just don’t believe that I am the reason the rules are in place. Still, I should have researched the rules and followed them. Anyone that knows me knows that I am an extreme rule follower, and so for me this has been hard to swallow and somewhat like torture. For a week, I have felt like a chastised teen who has been grounded by my parents.
Ugh! Right? How embarrassing to even admit that a week away from Facebook had me going mad. But it did. What does that say about me? I don’t even want to know. I guess I can blame it on my love affair with Facebook.
But guess what?! After the first few days, there was actually a small sense of relief. I felt slightly less stressed and slightly more, shall I say, free? Yep. I was glued to my phone less, and you know who reaped the benefit of that — my children — and with my children happier, so was I.
Unfortunately for them, my jail sentence ended this morning and I am now free to obsess over Facebook again. However, my stint in the slammer did teach me a few things.
Here’s what I learned:
*If you are going to use a social media platform for support, to market yourself and/or share your content, make sure you do it in accordance with rules. Don’t know the rules? Seek them out, read them, and be sure to understand them.
*Don’t be embarrassed by your mistakes, and surely don’t let a mistake discourage you or stop you from proactively pursuing your dreams. Those that are successful didn’t get there from cowering in the corner, worrying about the possibility that they might mess up, or wallowing over the fact that they did.
*Sometimes, a situation you momentarily perceive as negative can really be a positive, if you choose to reap the benefits that can be found in between the lines.
* A brief restriction from something that you enjoy and that has been fruitful for you, really forces you to look to other avenues for satisfaction and success.
Overall, what I really got out of my week in Facebook jail is that I cannot and will not let small obstacles get in my way of my dream — my dream to empower, inspire, and entertain others, as well as myself and my children. What I really got out of my week in Facebook jail was understanding that I need to exemplify to my children the power of a positive attitude, and to move forward despite hurdles. What I really got out of my week in Facebook jail was a brief peek at life without access to every single aspect of social media (gasp!). And ultimately, what I really got out of my week in Facebook jail was more present moments with my family, and for that I am grateful.
Thankfully I was released this morning after serving out my sentence and abiding by the rules of my restriction. And I can whole-heartedly say that I am a more knowledgeable blogger now because of it, and I intend to be a more present mommy as well.
The truth is, there is obviously way more to life than Facebook, and way more to life than your work. “Living the dream” for me means having a steady work/life balance, and in my case I believe that the universe (alright, more like Mr. Zuckerberg) was telling me to “take a break”.
Well, Mark, messaged received.
But, please, please, I beg of you Facebook…please don’t put me back in jail…ever again. I don’t know that I could make it through a second time…
If by chance you are a fellow blogger who is reading this and now nervous that you may end up in Facebook jail…
You will want to check out this Magnetic Facebook Marketing Video Course, which includes an episode on activities that will get your Facebook account suspended and even banned for good. Additionally, it’s said to be super informative on how to successfully market your products and services on Facebook, all while staying on Facebook’s good side.
Some other options to check out:
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Facebook Marketing
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Hi! Thanks for sharing your experience. How many Facebook groups is too many to share in (and in what period of time)? I’m trying to find the rules on this so I make sure I don’t break them, since I do share my content in a lot of groups.
Hi, Sapna! Thanks for commenting and for the question. Facebook is really elusive about answering this question. You cannot find a direct answer anywhere, so I am kind of simply going by some other people’s blog posts on their experience with this. Additionally, instead of sharing the same article in all my groups each day, I plan to try to share the same one in only a few and some other ones in some of the other groups, in hopes that will be okay. I am also allowing more time to pass in between each post. Before, I was rushing to get my articles up and posted before my kiddies woke up, so it was an honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. I hope my experience and info helps you!
This is the first time I have heard of such a thing. Thanks so much!
Thanks for commenting, Latha! I hope you never encounter it! 🙂
I think the key to sharing in Facebook is to share your post in a group and then spend some time reading and sharing other people’s posts before moving off to drop a link in another group.
Hi, Jennifer! Yes, I totally agree with you that blogger (and really just kind person) etiquette is to read and share other people’s content and I make sure that I do plenty of that! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
WOW. I did not know this was a thing! Weird. I actually scaled back on the number of groups I’m in (and will likely do another scale back in the next few week). I probably share content in 5-8 groups — and most weeks, I’m promoting my latest post. Hope that’s within “reasonable use” guidelines…
Hi, Abbi! Thanks for commenting and for the share. Yes, I agree with the scaling back. I plan to do the same. I think your plan is a smart one… I put out a new piece of content daily, so I was always promoting my same “latest” post, and I think that was part of the problem, but if you are only in under 10 groups and sharing your latest, I think you will be fine. Good luck! Thanks again for taking the time to comment and share!
I was wondering where you were, lady! Welcome back from the clink!
Thank you, Becca! Oh, I miss you ladies so! 🙂
Oh my gosh! I am so glad you survived FB jail and lived to tell the tale. I am going to check out the resources you gave. Thanks so much for sharing…stay on the straight and narrow 😉
Thanks so much for the comment, Susanne! I will tell you…it was touch and go there for a bit. I wasn’t sure I would make it through, but I did!! I will try to stay out! 🙂
Wow, I didn’t know this could happen. I’m glad you’re out of jail!
Yup! Totally a real thing. Glad I am out too! 🙂
OMG! I didn’t know that THAT is a reason to be blogged! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Oh my gosh, that what’s gonna happen with share fridays where we got a lot of our sharing then aaaaahh!!
Right?! Thanks for commenting, Jen! 🙂
Oh wow, who knew about this… certainly not me. Now I`m glad for the heads-up and the informational video is a big help! Thanks.
Hi, Gayle! Thanks for the comment and I am glad you found the post and the video to be informative! Thanks again for commenting!
Wow, I did not know there were such restrictions – you must have been really fast 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experience
Hi, Christina! Thanks for commenting. I was not apprised of the rules and restrictions either. I was going super fast because in all honesty, I was trying to post each morning before my children woke up. So, I did have good intentions, but obviously was still breaking the rules. Lesson learned! Thanks again for commenting. 🙂
So happy I never ended up in Facebook jail. There were times when I was close though. This is so useful for new blogger, I’m definitely going to be sharing.
Thanks for commenting, Kellyn! I appreciate you taking the time to comment and for sharing! 🙂
Love your writing style. I’m also obsessed with being in Facebook groups and never leave groups because I have FOMO, so I sympathize. I’m guessing the rule is there to stop automatic spamming, which kind of makes sense. I think it’s a compliment, you shared so much so fast they thought you were cheating 🙂
Thank you so very much for your extremely kind words. I so appreciate your appreciation for my writing style! I totally hear you on this. See, my quick posting, was more out of my desire to get all of my “work” and posting done, prior to my kiddos waking up and/or trying to fit as much posting in as I could while one child was napping and the other was occupied. I had good intentions, but obviously still messed up! Thanks though for helping me feel better about my stint in the slammer! LOL!