Four years ago, when we created our Facebook Profile, there was no such thing as a Facebook Page. In 2006, Feral Film was just trying out social media, wondering if it was professionally useful. We didn’t really have a product we were actively selling, nor a project we were promoting, because we were on hiatus. We were just curious and experimenting, with no particular agenda or goal. Gradually, we found ourselves writing tweet-sized reviews of the movies and other media we personally watch.
Because we were fans of Twitter, where anyone can read and subscribe to our micro-reviews, we decided to accept all Facebook friend requests, so that Facebook users could do the same. (The only Facebook “friends” we’ve ever rejected are individuals who used our Wall or Facebook tags as a way to spam all our friends and readers.) For going on four years, after a trip to the cinema or turning on the (usually virtual) TV, we’ve tried to pause long enough to summarize our impressions in 140 characters or less, and promptly post that online. And whenever we had time to log in to Facebook and saw a friend request, we amiably clicked [confirm]. In this way, we’ve made almost 5000 new “friends” on Facebook (and 2000 more on Twitter).
As you may know, Facebook limits each user, each Profile, to a maximum of 5000 friends. So, we’re running up against that wall. Once we hit it, the only way we can continue using Feral Film’s Facebook Profile to make new connections will be to remove some current friends. Now, the obvious fact is, we don’t really know most of the 4000+ people listed among our Facebook friends. But we do have actual friends, colleagues and clients, and we want to be able to connect with more of them, as we discover each other on Facebook. For this reason, Feral Film will no longer be accepting friend requests from strangers on Facebook.
We don’t mean to be rude to our online friends. We’re simply working within the constraints Facebook designed into its eco-system. Fortunately, that eco-system has grown to provide Pages as a place where organizations and individuals can intersect. We’ve been quietly testing Feral Film & Interactive’s own Page, running in parallel to our Profile, for some time. Everything we post on our Facebook Profile we also post to our Page. A few Feral personalities may post additional tidbits there. Importantly, unlike a Facebook Profile, you don’t need anyone’s permission to “Like” our Page.
If you want to remain or become connected with Feral Film, read our micro-reviews,and get the other news we’ll share in the months and years to come, please go to the Feral Film & Interactive Page and click “Like”. Not crazy about using Facebook? Besides reading them here, you can also get our updates via Twitter or RSS. Any which way, whether it’s online or off, we hope to count you among our friends for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Mykl Trappler
Producer / Writer / Designer
