Why I don’t have any friends
Published: Sat, 05/26/18
— Gollum
The Two Towers
For some reason beyond my ken, I’ve been getting more Flakebook friend requests than usual lately. Not that I get a lot as it is (I am not very active or "facebook friendly"). But, I have been getting more than normal.
And, some of these fine folks even PM me messages like:
“Ben, love your stuff, please accept my friend request”
My usual reply?
I delete the message unanswered.
And, delete the friend request.
Why do I do this?
Is it because I’m some kind of social media snob?
Well, yes, there’s that.
But mostly it's because I ruthlessly curate my content.
And, I want a low friend count made up of (1) family & friends (2) people in business I know and already want to hear what they say (3) a few people who give good “fodder” (whether it be smart and intelligent posts, or really far leftwing woo-woo people and virtue signalers who sound nuts), etc.
I actually have too many fb friends I don't know as it is.
And, I’m still trying to get it down.
So unless I know who someone is and/or alreasy want to read what's on their minds, I decline.
That’s the bad news for those (admittedly usually very few) people wanting to connect.
The good news?
That’s why I have my elBenbo’s Abyss Facebook group. While I post and engage very infrequently on my main timeline, I post and engage a lot in my group. And, I post all kinds of things that would probably horrify the virtue signaling overly sensitive mush cookie crowd that makes up the majority of Facebook these days.
What kinds of things?
Whatever amuses me.
Sometimes I talk about race.
Other times politics.
A lot of times culture in general, and dating, relationships, etc.
Once in a while, I even talk about business.
But, all the time, it's things I find interesting.
It’s not a group to join looking for copywriting and marketing advice, to ask questions to get free answers, or to talk about subject lines or marketing, etc. Sometimes I do that sort of thing. But mostly it’s trying to create conversations about things most people are too scared to discuss publicly while trying to plumb the depths of human psychology at the same time.
(That's where the actual "Value" is -- and most IM'ers are simply too dense to mine it.)
Anyway, I usually have it closed to the public (set as secret).
But, I’m opening it again briefly for anyone interested.
It’s pretty much the only place where I interact online with non Email Players subscribers or people I don't know. But I am not sure how long I’ll keep it open. In fact, I very likely will turn it back to secret today or tonight.
Also, I have criteria for people I don’t let in.
If you fit any of these, don’t waste your time:
1. You are a well-known fb group troll
2. No facebook profile pic
3. Someone I simply don’t like or want to interact with
That makes up quite a few people, it turns out.
Thus, I keep the population low, and the quality high.
(Versus big and low quality.)
Anyway, the link to join (while it’s not a secret group) is here:
http://www.elBenbo.com
Over and out…
Ben Settle