This is not a post about owning, buying or selling shares of Facebook. I am writting this to my readers, our community and my clients to ask you if you think I have made a mistake for my firm Parker Financial LLC.

About a year ago I canceled my Facebook account. I was a little disappointed in the ongoing concerns over the privacy of my account, but that really wasn’t the main reason I canceled my account. You see I had been on Facebook for probably a year or so, and I found myself checking status updates all the time. Even though I rarely posted anything of interest, I was always looking to see what my family and friends were doing.

One day last summer I had just gotten home from a long day at work, and I was sitting on my back deck looking at Facebook on my iPhone. My kids at the time were age 6 and 3 and they were running and playing in the backyard. At one point my 3 year old little girl ran up to me and she was saying, “Dad, Dad, Dad” trying to get my attention. Finally I looked up from reading status updates on Facebook my eyes slightly glazed from staring at a computer screen all day, and she said “Daddddyyy” as she tilted her head to one side with a disappointed look on her face. 

That moment is crystal clear in my mind. I remember the sun shinning through her curly hair and the big sad look of dissappointment because I wasn’t giving her the attention she needed. It was in that moment that I realized Facebook may be doing damage to the relationships that were most important in my life. Rather than focusing on the people who were present and closest to me, Facebook was creating one more way for me to be distracted and disengage. I decided the price wasn’t worth it, and I immediately canceled my Facebook account.

All of the business gurus I listen to today say that it is a big mistake to not have a Facebook account for your business. Obviously the relationships we have with the people we serve are important to us, and I recognize Facebook when used properly can be a good tool for deepening those relationships. But before I start spending time and energy creating a facebook page for my firm, I wanted to reach out to the people we serve and get your feedback. I have three primary questions:

1.) Do you use Facebook?
2.) If we had a Facebook account, would you want to include us in your circle of friends?
3.) Do you think I’v made a mistake by not pursuing Facebook?

I’d love your comments. In a future post, I’ll share with you a couple of the reasons I have actually enjoyed not being on Facebook.