I like Facebook! And I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know all kinds of new people and friends of my friends. 
Connecting and networking is what this business is all about! But some people forget that manners and first impressions are even more important when networking in cyberspace.
Case in point…yesterday I got a “Mystery Facebook Friend Request” from a total stranger. However, this person didn’t include a message with his request stating why we should be friends or how he might know me.
Whenever I send out a “Friend Request” to someone that I don’t know, I always send a message along with it to explain we have multiple friends in common or I would like to get to know them better, or we share similar interests or someone recommended that I get to know them. Something!
Here’s a good example of a message that someone sent me: “Would love to learn more about AnotherMe.com. Look forward to networking with you too! We have alot of the same business/personal friends. Take care!” Pretty good!
Back to the Mystery Friend Request… I really dislike this kind of friend request, because I have to do all the work! I have to click on his profile and try to figure out how I might know him, and decide if I even want to know him. I have no clue why he would want to “Friend” me.
So, I click on his profile, view his information and then click on his “Wall” to get a little more information about him and see what he’s all about. What do I see? Mafia Wars – He’s all about Mafia Wars. Every single update on his wall was a Mafia Wars update. Seriously!
It made me wonder, why would anyone want to friend this guy and get his Mafia Wars updates multiple times a day? (unless they do Mafia Wars) He could be a nice guy, want to do business with me, or want to send me referrals. But that first impression has turned me off.
Which leads to the next question…. Should I just click on the “Ignore” button or “Report him as Spam”?
What do you think?
