If you’ve always wondered where the step by step instructions were for creating a Facebook business page, look no further than this presentation. I presented this as a training session for business owners in Racine, Waterford, Rochester, Burlington and the surrounding areas. Feel free to download it, print it out, and share any tips you have for making it even better.

A recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board says you can’t fire people for what they say on Facebook and Twitter, contrary to previous reports where folks have been fired for Facebook and Twitter stupidity.

If you didn’t know, I’m not a lawyer, so please do NOT take this as legal advice. I am not making any claims as to whether you can legally fire people or you can’t fire people for Facebook or Twitter.

I was manager for over 15 years who has had to make many judgment calls on people working for me. I know that most people who are dumb enough to post derogatory and inflammatory things to Facebook and Twitter will generally do enough things at work to get themselves fired WITHOUT having to worry about what they say about Twitter and Facebook.

I firmly believe that policies and procedures are put in place to protect the stupid from themselves…and organizations from the attorneys.

Managers also need a thick skin and if an employee says something stupid, and you have no reason to believe they will make bad decisions in the rest of their work, then you need to LET IT GO!

Questions for you:

If you feel it’s a good idea to vent about their bosses in public places, do you feel vindicated by the results of this case, or are you still going to watch yourself?

If you’re a manager, does this make any difference to you, or will you continue business as usual?

Photo credit for Forrest Gump: http://www.flickr.com/photos/averageman/371622146/in/photostream/

Yesterday I gave a presentation to a group of boomer job seekers explaining how and why to use Facebook and LinkedIn. What follows is my slides. They did videotape the event, so if I can get some video, I’ll share that too.

Questions for you:

How could this be improved?

What did I forget to include?

What suggestions do you have for boomers who want to use Facebook and LinkedIn in their job search?

Recently I was asked “What do I do when my boss asks me to be friends with me on Facebook…and I don’t want to?”

Tough question that’s bound to come up more and more frequently as Facebook closes in on 400 million users. You could insert your parents, your ex-wife, your crazy Uncle Ned, whomever that you don’t want to be friends with on Facebook.

First, I’d ask yourself why you don’t want to be friends with your boss. If it’s because you don’t want your boss to see what you do on Facebook, my best advice is simple: If you don’t want people to see you doing dumb stuff, don’t do dumb stuff!

OK, so for some, it’s too late. The dumb stuff is already out there, and you really don’t want your boss to see it.

Or maybe you just don’t like your boss.

Or maybe it’s some other reason altogether.

What do you do when your boss asks you to “be friends” on Facebook and you don’t want to be friends?

Double check your privacy settings – Make sure friends of friends can’t see anything on your profile, especially pictures. This is where many folks are most embarrassed to show their boss. Make sure your wall is secure, and, if you’re really paranoid, make sure only your friends can send you a message via Facebook.

Look to see who your friends in common are – Does your boss have many work friends, is she just getting started on Facebook and doesn’t know who else to friend or are you just part of an extended network of folks that your boss things it’s polite to ask. It’s good to know who your friends are

Just say no – Be polite and let your boss know you don’t want to cross the manager/employee line, and that you’d like to respect her space and not be her Facebook friend.

Be consistent – If your boss’s boss asks you to be his friend on Facebook, you need to be consistent and say no to him too.

Bonus tip for Managers and Supervisors

Avoid this uncomfortable situation altogether by not friending anyone who is in your direct reporting structure.

What’s your advice for someone in this difficult predicament?

So now that I have over 1000 Facebook friends, I’m trying to be a little more selective in who I add to my page. It’s not that hard to be my friend, but I thought I’d explain in case you wanted help creating your own Facebook friending policy.

1. I know who you are by name – If I know your name, I’ll accept your friend request or I’ll ask you to be my friend.
2. I know who you are by sight – If I recognize your picture, I’ll add you to my friends list.
3. I know who you are by site – If on your profile you have a website that I can click through and you look like an interesting person, I’ll add you to my friends list.
4. I know who you are because you tell me how I know you – I do a lot of speaking to a lot of different groups and have worked with many people over the year. Remind me how I know you (you attended one of my sessions, you read my blog, you worked with me, you met me at a conference, whatever. Just tell me how I know you, and I’ll add you to my friends list.
5. You know a lot of my friends – If you know over 20 of my friends, I’ll add you to my friends list.
6. I don’t know you but you tell me why I would benefit from knowing you – Some people tell me what they do and how it could benefit me. Multi-level-marketing people need not apply. Tell me a good story and I’ll add you to my friends list.
7. I don’t know you but you tell me how you could benefit from knowing me – I love to help people. If you are specific in telling me how I might help you, I’ll add you to my friends list.
8. You are a friend of a good friend of mine (and you tell me so) – I have some close friends that I think the world of. If you are a friend of any of them, and you mention that you’re friends with them (and I can verify it because I see them in your Facebook friends or because they’ve verified this in some other way),  I’ll add you to my friends list.
9. You’re from Milwaukee or Crivitz – I live in Milwaukee now. I’ve been here since 1996. It’s home to me. I love other people from Milwaukee! I’m from Crivitz, and that was home to me until I graduated high school. I still go up to visit my mom and dad. If I see you’re from Milwaukee (or one of the suburbs) or from Crivitz, I’ll add you to my friends list.
10. You look like an interesting person – If I read your public profile and you look interesting to me, I’ll add you to my friends list.

Do you want to by my Facebook friend? Go to http://facebook.com/philgerb and friend me (see #4 for how to do this the right way) and I’d be delighted to add you to my friends list.

Why do you add people to your Facebook friends list?

Number 10 photo credit to yoppy