Social Media Strategist Leaves Facebook, Hopes for Movement

I don’t know about you, but going back through 4-5 years worth of posts, photos, Likes, and deleting stuff before Facebook’s new Timeline hits February 1st seemed like a tedious chore that would take hours, if not days to do. If they only offered a “Delete all” button that would allow me to delete everything from the past and start fresh – then maybe I would have stayed. In fact, I’m not alone. In a recent LinkedIn discussion Kathi Browne echoed what I was thinking when she said, “People just don’t have time to stop what they are doing to address privacy changes, relearn where everything is controlled, and rethink how their information is displayed.”

Now I bet you’re wondering how I can call myself a social media specialist and get off of Facebook? Easy! Here’s what I did and I saved myself oodles of time from going in and editing my dreaded Timeline before it went public on February 1st. I’ve included a short video of my glorious moment of freedom.

1. I put a post up on my current page that said: “I’m not unfriending you, I’m abandoning Facebook this weekend – the Timeline was too much for me.” I told people that if they wanted to keep in touch they could find me on G+, Twitter or email me.
2. I created a new stealth account for business purposes only. So stealth that you can’t find me, I have to friend you.
3. I modified all of those ridiculous privacy options – and it seems I found a few new ones – (in the video)
4. I made my stealth account “like” all of the fan pages that I am currently an Admin of so that I can still manage them effectively.
5. I then went back to those fan pages with my (then) current account and made my stealth account an Admin and removed current account at the same time. It was harmonious.
6. With my new stealth account I uploaded a profile photo and sent a few messages to my clients, of which I’ve created appropriate lists for.
7. I then deleted my account.
   Note: It is extremely difficult to delete an account on Facebook. Also, hard to find. According to a group on Facebook called “How to permanently delete your Facebook account” once you request deletion, you cannot interact with Facebook at all – this includes using any other “networks” that use Facebook Connect to login, ‘liking’ anything on any other site, or interacting with it on your mobile app. The slightest interaction will cause that request to become defunct. See this free pdf resource on Steps to Delete a Facebook Account.

I feel super relieved. Now when I see my friends, we actually have something to talk about and get caught up on. My clients are fine. The people I haven’t kept in touch with for years and got reacquainted with on Facebook only to lose touch again – well, apparently they are not missing me and I’m not missing anything there either. Are you going to jump on the bandwagon with me and join the Leave Facebook Movement? Go for it. You have 14 days to change your mind.

Video of my glorious moment!

Adios Facebook!