private Archives - Angela Crocker

Delete Unused Facebook Groups

03.18.2016 by Angela Crocker // Leave a Comment

Digital Cleanse Day 18:

Delete Unused Facebook Groups

Do you know how to delete unused Facebook groups? Its a handy skill if you, like me, have some old groups lingering on your profile.

Facebook groups are a great tool for connecting with people with common interests. There are three kinds of groups public, private and secret. Public groups are visible to anyone on Facebook including the posts and member list. In private groups, the member list is visible to all Facebook users but the posts with the group are for group members only. Both public and private groups turn up in search. Secret groups are hidden. Only members can see the membership list and posts. Secret groups do not show up in search.

You’ve Been Added to a Group

Many people are frustrated because any Facebook friend can add you to a group. This is fine if you’re interested in the topic. Unfortunately, a lot of “added to group” moments feel like a full case of spam just arrived on your doorstep.

Groups You’re In

If you are a member of a group that no longer interests you, you can leave the group. To leave, do this:

Go to the home page for the group.
Hover over the “Joined” button.
Click “Leave Group” from the drop-down menu.
A pop-up will ask you if you want to leave the group.
If you are sure, click “Leave Group”

That’s it. You’re outta there! Phew!

Groups You Manage

If you are a group admin, leaving is a slightly more complicated process. To leave, do this:

Go to the home page for the group.
Hover over the “Joined” button.
Click “Leave Group” from the drop-down menu.
A pop-up will ask you if you want to give up your admin privileges and leave the group.
TIP: You have the option to assign another admin before you leave the group. See below.
If you are sure, click “Leave Group”

To Assign a New Admin

In a Facebook group, you can assign a new admin for a group:

Go to the members list.
Find the member(s) you wish to make admin.
Click the gear icon.
Click “Make Admin” on the drop-down menu.
A pop-up will ask for confirmation.
If you are sure, click “Make Admin”.

To Close a Facebook Group

If you are the admin for a Facebook group, you can delete the group. Follow these steps:

Go to the member list.
Click on the gear icon for one member.
Click “Remove from Group”.
A pop-up will appear asking if you are sure. Click “Confirm”.
Repeat steps 2 – 4 for each group member.
When only the admin (that’s you) remains, go to the group’s home page.
Hover over “Joined”.
Click “Leave Group” from the drop-down menu.
A pop-up appears to confirm you want to leave and delete the group.
If you’re sure, click “leave and delete”.
Note: All group posts will also be deleted.

Done and Done

That’s it you’re done. Lather, rinse and repeat for each surplus group you belong to or admin. And enjoy a little less clutter when you next log-in to Facebook.

More on the 30 day #digitalcleanse tomorrow. Hope to see you then!

(If you missed yesterday’s installment, take a couple extra minutes to explore Don’t Walk and Text. For links to the complete Digital Cleanse series, click here.)

Figure Out Your 3P

03.14.2016 by Angela Crocker // Leave a Comment

Digital Cleanse Day 14:

Figure Out Your 3P

Your 3P is my solution to one of the most common social media objections. People worry about sharing too much online and the resulting loss of privacy. I understand the concern.

If you’re using social media in your private life, nothing obligates you to share on a social network. What stays offline, stays private. It’s your choice to share with family and friends or to interact with others who share your hobby. What you share is your choice. However, if you are using social networks for business purposes, you’re going to have to share something. I recommend you divide yourself into three parts, your 3P. These parts are professional, personal and private.

Professional

Your professional part is fully public. You share expertise, experience, anecdotes, details about your job and information about any products or services you work with. Sharing about your professional life can help your brand with sales and marketing. It can also position you for your next job or entrepreneurial venture. What you share publicly helps establish credibility, cultivate a network and demonstrate authority.

Personal

To be successful online in business, you also need to share another part of yourself that I call the personal part, the next third of your 3P. Your personal part might include a love of hockey, a passion for rescue dogs and commitment to tennis. This is the part that humanizes you. It makes you a complete person not just a selling machine. It allows you to establish rapport and garner trust.

You share to find mutual interests as a lead into in-depth conversations. Your willingness to share more than just sales messages and marketing banter make you a whole person. This is really important. Who you are and how you related to people has to be more than shop talk. You can’t be all about business all the time.

Through your online posts, comments and interactions you must blend your professional part with your personal part. Remember this is SOCIAL networking, even if it’s conducted digitally, you are still interacting with real people. The personal things you share can make it more enjoyable to do business together.

Private

The private part of yourself stays offline. You decide to keep details of your hemorrhoids, money troubles and off-color humor private. Politics and religion are often kept private, too, just like at a dinner party with the extended family. If you’re not sure what to keep private, ask yourself two questions:

What do you want to hide from your Mom?
What would embarrass you if it appeared on the front page of a newspaper?

The answers to those two questions make up your private life. If you want to keep it private, keep it offline. You choose. If you don’t share it, it’s not online. You are in control. (Well, almost in control. Remember that others can quote your contentious comments and share photos or videos of other embarrassing moments.)

Divide and Blend

How to express the divide and the blend between the professional, personal and private parts of your life, is entirely up to you. Every person’s answer will be unique. As an example, here’s a snapshot of my 3P breakdown:

Professional: communicator, writer, instructional designer, teacher, speaker
Personal: parent, home owner, Star Wars fan, doodles with fine art supplies
Private: asthmatic, struggled with postpartum depression
[Although, I have now made these private parts into personal parts in the interests of illustrating the 3P.]

Share only what you’re comfortable sharing. Don’t create an artificial self online. I’d rather you shared a minimal amount and were true to yourself. Faking it will not get you anywhere online or in life. Authenticity is the nobler path.

More on the 30 day #digitalcleanse tomorrow. Hope to see you then!

(If you missed yesterday’s installment, take a couple extra minutes to explore Schedule Digital Tasks and Digital Fun. For links to the complete Digital Cleanse series, click here.)

Offensive or Sexist Posts: What to Do?

04.01.2011 by Angela Crocker // 4 Comments

Heather Kleim from Epic Empire Designs asks:

If someone you follow posts something incredibly offensive & sexist, do you comment? One of the people I follow (a Vancouver news-type tweeter, talking about events and buzz in the city) posted something that infuriated me and was incredibly offensive to women. I emotionally reacted and replied with ‘how to get someone to unfollow you in 1 tweet’ and unfollowed them. Advice or feedback?

"rude" by Shioshvili on Flickr — Used under Creative Commons License

Thanks for the question, Heather. I’m sure many folks struggle with that. Should you put up with offensive, sexist or rude remarks? I say no. At the same time, I don’t think it’s worth highlighting them by giving them any public attention. So, I suggest you simple ignore the comment and unfriend, block or unfollow the offender as appropriate. Call your best friend if you need to vent your frustration but don’t do it in public.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. In some cases, you may want to rise to the defense of the insulted group, person or brand. It is much more powerful to have a group of folks outraged by an offensive, sexist or rude comment all taking issue with the offender. It takes courage to be the first person to speak up and if you’re willing to take the lead on something you feel strongly about then please don’t hesitate. Sometimes, adding your voice of reason is essential for moral justice.

However, if you are a business owner or in any way a public figure, you must decide to respond in public or in private with your brand in mind. Does the stance you want to take align with your corporate values? If it doesn’t you risk confusing your clients with content that’s contrary to your mission. Two areas of particular concern are religion and politics. I always advise keeping these offline as part of your private self. I’m sure you and your customers can agree that everyone’s entitled to an opinion but that private opinions should stay private so you can get on with the business at hand.

And to help rude-proof the rest of us, I suggest taking CNN’s Andrea Bartz and Brenna Ehrlich’s pledge to avoid digital mistakes in 2011.

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