I’ve already started pulling back. I quit Mafia Wars and cut out a lot of stuff. Not necessarily because of privacy, because I didn’t do anything to be ashamed of, but I became cognizant of all the spam that puts on all my friends. I started using facebook like Twitter, where I only put on it stuff that I think is important for you to read and the occasional picture of my cute kids.

Check out the Time Out facebook page: http://facebook.com/lutherantimeout

I too, have cut back. It took a couple of months to realize that almost all of the latest news posted by my Facebook friends is nonsense and trivia. Do I really care how my “friends” feel about the weather, to be bombarded with news regarding the latest silly Facebook game they played, or to read what they had for breakfast? I like to share pictures and videos with friends and family on my Facebook page, but that is all.

With so many of these Facebook “friends,” how would I know which of them have even seen my latest status update? I once read a statistic, I do not remember where, but it stated that the average blog page is abandoned after six months. Without instant and automatic feedback from readers, how would you know if the time authoring a web page is well spent? How much of that feedback is of any value?

How effective are the (LCMS-friendly) Lutheran Facebook pages in reaching the lost?

My experience would suggest that Facebook is better for staying in touch with members, sharing photos of events, and the like. Blogs disguised as web pages work better for creating serendipitous encounters with others–provided you have material of interest to outsiders. Google and Bing bring 3 or 4 people a day to our church “web site.” FaceBook will only reach outsiders if your fans “like” something you post or comment upon it.

Being part of Facebook has allowed me to discover so many interesting facets of the people I have friended. I’ve witnessed amazing support for those who needed prayer or encouragement and also shared in the joys of weddings, baptisms and confirmations. On the other side, I hope those who have friended me have learned some of the things I am passionate about. I have two or three who are always ready for a series of puns. They are spread across North America and we enjoy out-doing each other with outrageous wordplay. And it’s also cool to see my friends interacting with each other on my wall. If you “get it” I think Facebook is a blessing!