Facebook for business, fun or both?

I keep reading about how Facebook is the next big thing for business. It’s true if you’re a big brand like Coke or Nike. But, I still don’t get it. I use Facebook for distraction and fun and don’t want to be reminded about business.

No, I don’t spend all day playing Farmville or Bejeweled. I use Facebook to stay in touch with my family and friends. Sure, I’m Facebook friends with several business colleagues, but these aren’t the people I’m interacting with on Facebook.

Why I don’t like using Facebook for business:

1. Business information isn’t easily searchable.

Sure, if I knew EXACTLY what I was looking for, e.g. a company name, I could type this into the Facebook search bar and see if the company had a Facebook Fan page.

I can’t find all people who say they work at a specific company, or in a specific industry. LinkedIn has Facebook beaten hands down in this respect.

2. I like keeping my professional life and my personal life separate.

Not that I’m embarrased about anything that I’ve posted on Facebook. Well, except for a few of the hiking pictures, where my husband snapped my picture after I had just finished a grueling several hour hike. I’m not exactly a picture of loveliness.

Keeping my personal and professional life separate is very important to me. We all need downtime and time away from the office. For me, this is when I get my ideas.

Why I love using Facebook for fun:

1. It helps me keep in closer contact with friends and family.

I especially love the birthday reminders. 🙂

2. I connect with others who have my same interests.

Marketing and technology are two of my passions and I love talking about them. I don’t consider this work. So a lot of my interactions on Facebook are about this.

3. I get the latest fitness news.

Not only that, but I’m Facebook friends with two of my fitness idols, Cathe Friedrich and Amy Bento. I was so excited when they accepted my friend request, you’d think I was back in grammar school, wanting to make friends.

4. It’s helped me spread the word about my blog.

I’ve listed my blog on Networked Blogs in Facebook and this is where I get a lot of my blog traffic from.

I, for one, don’t want to be Facebook friends with my boss. Currently, I’m self-employed, so that’s not an issue. There’s too much overlap between work and leisure as it is. I like to have a place I go to where I can relax and be myself.

What are your thoughts on using Facebook? If you do use it for business, have you had tangible results?

Photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk’s Flickr Photostream under Creative Commons Licensing.