I’m Leaving Facebook: Why Groups and FB Live No Longer Spark Joy

Hey there!

For almost a decade, I’ve been creating private Facebook Groups to form discussion groups for my students and clients. And more recently, I’ve employed Facebook Live to hold live video presentations, interviews and discussions.

No more.

As Marie Kondo says, “If something no longer sparks joy and inspires you to use it, thank that something for the memory, and respectfully retire it.”

She’s usually talking about things like letter-writing materials and underwear. I’m applying this to Facebook. Here’s why.


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Hope this helps!

David

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hey there it’s David H Lawrence the 17th
and today I want to share with you a
decision that I’ve made that I didn’t
think I would make I really didn’t think
I would make I’m a pretty big believer
in understanding the equation between a
platform that’s free and a platform that
requires you to follow their rules and
then today I’m going kind of public I
guess with the decision that over the
next few months I’m going to be phasing
out my use of most of Facebook for my
business I’ll still be on Facebook as a
member
I’ll still message people when they
message me on Facebook but for almost a
decade I have been using Facebook to
help create discussion lists groups you
know private groups for the most part to
allow my students and clients to have
conversations with each other with me
and ask questions get answers you know
provide support and you know it’s worked
out pretty well but there have been some
changes recently that make me worry
about the long-term efficacy of Facebook
in terms of groups also I had a lot of
hope for Facebook live and I’m not gonna
be using that anymore either so I’m
gonna be retiring Facebook groups and
Facebook live from my sort of you know
utility belt if you will of apps and and
services that I use to run my business
and the reason is for the most part it’s
trust I I’ve had many clients at this
point not just a couple not just the
outlying few that have been really
concerned about Facebook’s trust level
with them you know they don’t trust that
Facebook is going to harbor their
information well or because safely or
that they ask for too much information
for what they get in return and I’ve had
to go to great lengths to help some of
my clients who don’t want to be on
Facebook don’t have anything to do with
Facebook feel like Facebook at its worst
is a huge corporate behemoth that
doesn’t have anybody’s best interests at
heart except its own and was complicit
in the election shenanigans that
allegedly occurred in 2016 so they don’t
want to be a part of that they don’t
want to have anything to do with it and
I haven’t experienced that but what I
have experienced is Facebook getting
tighter and tighter and tighter with how
they let you use their offerings so what
will I do I you know it doesn’t as Marie
Kondo says if it doesn’t spark joy thank
it for the memory and quietly and
respectfully retire it and so that’s
what I’m going to do I’m gonna let all
my clients know this over the next few
months but what I’m planning on doing is
what I talked about in the last video
not building on someone else’s platform
that’s what you’re doing when you’re
using Facebook groups to create a
community on Facebook yes you and your
people get to go enjoy the community but
you’re doing it on their platform you’re
building it on their platform and so
you’re subject to anything they want to
do with it
and I guess the camel that the the camel
the straw that broke the camel’s back
the other day was I did I wanted to do a
live Facebook a Facebook live with my
friend Tristan McDonald and I got it all
set up and ready to go I decided I was
going to use be live TV to manage that
little live thing and when I got it all
set up a few days earlier I found out
Facebook doesn’t allow you to promote
with boosted posts a Facebook live
I’m like wait a minute you can you can
boost a post you can boost a an event
you can boost on me but you can’t boost
a Facebook live I don’t understand this
and I had counted on doing that because
I wanted more than just my tribe to know
about this potential interview so that
was the first thing and then with
Facebook groups every it seems like
every month or so every couple of months
they change the the controls and the
settings for privacy and so those
members of my community that I’ve worked
very hard to keep private there are
people on Facebook don’t want to know
don’t want to let anybody know that
they’re on Facebook but they want to
participate in my groups you know the
last update broke one of the things that
that I told people about so it got to
the point where I had to decide for
myself look while I’m making this change
let’s make the change about discussion
group so what I’m gonna do is I’m
actually going to move the discussion
groups to my site and build on my
platform so in the future probably in a
few months instead of going to Facebook
to ask questions in the vo – go go group
or in any of the other groups that I’ve
created to discuss things with their
fellow pros pros will simply come to vo
– go go whatever its next incarnation is
and I’ve got some big plans for that and
do they’re discussing right there on the
platform so I can control the rules and
I can control the space there won’t be
millions of ads around it there won’t be
other things distracting them from the
discussion I’ll be able to add links
that don’t have some additional Facebook
schmutz at the end of them that makes
them not usable because sometimes when
you put links on Facebook they add a
little after text that identifies it as
coming from Facebook and that breaks
some technologies so there’s there’s all
these things put together and it just is
very clear to me that if I want to have
more control and less trust issues with
my discussion groups and with people
wanting to be a part of my
tribe the best thing to do is to give
them the best tool possible and that
tool is no longer Facebook groups or
Facebook live Facebook live is also kind
of rickety in terms of how it serves
things up there’s freezing and there’s
anyway it’s a technology that’s early in
its in its development and it’ll get
better in a few years and who knows
maybe if things change a little bit if
they come to their senses about certain
things over at Facebook
maybe we’ll be back who knows but for
now the plan is I’m going to be leaving
Facebook not as a member not as a lead
source but for the discussions and
presentations that I’ve been using
Facebook for I’m going to find better
options options that I’m building on my
platform rather than on theirs so my
question for you is how do you look at
Facebook how do you look at social media
in general but it specifically how do
you look at Facebook do you trust them
do you understand what I’m saying and do
you agree with it or do you find that
I’m just a nervous Nellie who’s you know
the sky is falling and that’s you know
why am I doing this because you know
look I get Facebook is really easy to
use and it’s ubiquitous it’s everywhere
everybody’s on it but because
everybody’s on it that means there’s
lots and lots of opportunity for bad
actors to get involved and steal things
I don’t like that um but anyway I’d love
to know what you think that’s really
what I’d like to know so if you’re
watching this video on VOD go go comm
and I hope you are please go below and
give me a comment let me know your
thoughts if you have any questions I’d
love to know that if you’re not watching
it on VOD go go comm go there because
there’s all kinds of great stuff for you
there there’s all kinds of free stuff
there’s some stuff that you might have
to pay for but it’s it’s really
high-quality stuff and I’d love to have
you there
and if you’d like to subscribe to my my
channel on YouTube go ahead if my heads
there click on it if not find a
subscribe button somewhere on the page
and if you want to see the latest video
I’ve done click on that frame and
YouTube will play it for you
I’m David H Lawrence xvii I thank you so
much for watching and I’ll talk to you
tomorrow.

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Responses

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  1. FB is a necessary evil. I find I spend less and less time on my professional profile and certainly my personal profile. I spend the majority of my time in Groups—most of which are Closed or Secret.

    I applaud your efforts to take control of your online presence. I like the idea of upgrading VO2GoGo. Bringing the discussion groups in house should have no ill effects on anyone.

    I look forward to the changes.

    1. Ed, you said it well.

      So, David, How do I look at Facebook? With caution and concern. I am looking forward to the changes, updates and new stuff coming to VO2gogo, or whatever you will calling your new presence.

      Heather

  2. First, not everybody’s on Facebook. And soon there will be one less, thanks to you. I appreciate your sharing of this experience, and I’m most interested to see what you’ve chosen to implement for discussion groups. My wife is in a quandary right now, as she belongs to an organization that has its group on FB, and she feels like she has to join. If I can show them an alternative, it might solve some issues for them, too.

  3. ed waldorph said it all. I look forward to continuing my education with VO2GOGO. Not only do I understand your concerns but applaud your decision.

  4. I believe your choice regarding FB is one many have wanted to make for some time now. I also think your decision to invest in your own platform is the most important aspect to this switch. Upgrading your business capabilities is exciting and, as an entrepreneur, will ultimately bring you satisfaction in the product you offer. Good news all around.

  5. I am looking forward to having the groups on VO2GOGO. I am not a fan of facebook and happy to hear you will be moving off it. Just one question, will you be able to capture the past discussions on facebook and have them available? It has been a big help to search on a topic to find out what has been discussed before.

  6. Good for you, David. I’ve always been suspicious of Facebook and have never cared much for it. I am however, a huge fan of VO2GOGO and will definitely (and gladly) follow your groups there!

  7. David, I admire you for this. I’m a member of several professional groups that I find valuable and so I stay on Facebook, but If I were not doing business in 2019 I would not be on It at all. I look forward to your changes.

  8. Having experienced the benefit of your decions as a student and as one of your coaches, I think I’ll support whatever decision you make. You appear to have a well thought out process that shows more benefit than cost – and I expect this decision will turn out well for all of us who are involved.

  9. David,
    I left FB about six months ago.
    I just couldn’t take Zuckerberg’s cavalier attitude toward people’s personal data. His lying reminded me of 45, when I realized this I could no longer remain involved but my leaving I’m sure didn’t require the sacrifice that you had to make, so kudos to you! I miss connecting with friends from out of the area but I enjoy all the extra time I’ve gained.

  10. Good choice. I don’t do facebook. I don’t like the fact that everyone can see my conversation to someone else. I don’t like the minutia of peoples daily lives. So don’t need it, could care less

  11. I am mostly on FB to be reminded of birthdays and keep up with what my friends are doing, both personally and professionally. Although I’m not aware of any particular problems with my use of the site—apart from the annoying ads—I certainly understand your decidion, David, and will be happy to follow the discussion on your site.

  12. Facebook for me is a way to keep in touch with people I seldom see. It’s great for that purpose. Outside of that, I have mixed feelings. I maintain multiple groups that have varying degrees of member engagement, sometimes with very little engagement, which makes me want to shut them down. I’m not used to promoting a business on facebook so my cosplay page (for Spider-man appearances) is always bugging me to make posts, even though I go for months without any activity. It threatens to close down my page if I don’t make posts within certain time frames. I wonder if it’s worth having for something that I do so seldom.

    Anyway, I’m looking forward to being a part of VO2GoGo on its own platform. I think that’s a great decision.

    Thanks for the video David 🙂

  13. Good call. Facebook is not as trustworthy as I had once thought. Private groups aren’t really private except from the public (FB can access its all they want). I mostly use it for a few private groups, the ACX Masterclass group, and to keep in contact with a few friends and family members who live in other states. I don’t use it nearly as much as I used to.

    This will probably be a good move for you ultimately. Change is good.

  14. I love the idea of moving your groups to your platform. Very smart. I’m always concerned with FB and how they collect info. It is not my favorite social media platform at all. I’ve been back and forth about leaving for a while. I stay because of the groups I’m in. I hardly use my personal account. Smart choice and one I will follow closely.

  15. I get it. In general I despise social media. As someone in the thread said, “ it is a necessary evil”. I want to see pictures of puppies and my nieces and nephews and belong to private groups like yours. I will miss the notifications that someone has posted in the ACX Mastermind Group and I suspect suspect there will be less participation from the tribe, but respect your decision.

  16. It’ll be a breath of fresh air to have a community destination that doesn’t include so many incentivized and unrelated distractions just a tap away.

    As someone who increasingly feels he’s just not built to handle the kind of noise Facebook and other social media sites offer as part of their model—and who finds an ‘all-or-nothing’ policy to be the most personally effective, this is very, very welcome news.

  17. Yea!
    Trevor is right. Simpler is better.
    I always hated facebook and social media as a time waster. Some people are able to use it as a convenient way to communicate with family or circle of friends and keep tabs on everything going on in that circle. I just don’t have the time or desire to “check in” on my group throughout the day. If Someone wants to send me a message they can email me or even voice call on the phone. I suppose that is very 20th century of me, but that’s how I roll.
    Also, I went to a lecture recently on how to be safe on the internet, and one big take away was do not give Facebook any information you do not want shared with the world. FB sells everything.

  18. Trust and Facebook – these two things don’t go together. Blockchain is positioned to help with issues around identity authentication and ownership of one’s own data. I hope as alternatives develop, people will become more interested in the possibilities – because right now, many people feel like privacy is a thing of the past and there’s nothing we can do about it. Media’s traditional business model is that you – the customer, the audience – are the product that is bought and sold. Social media has pushed this to an extreme, and Facebook did what most companies would – make as much money as possible from selling us to the highest bidder. I can’t really object – I actually knew that was the model. But I don’t have to continue to support it. So, I think this is a courageous and smart decision – just the sort of choice you are known for. Thanks for sharing the process!