When I get the chance to log into Facebook (or FB as we Internet elitists call it) I am amazed by the people who are actively using it from Lauren(my wife) who is a prolific blogger/writer on FB to my Mother and Godmother who love to post pictures of Family and friends to share.

But when I look I also see all the folks who are not using it.

I recently spoke to my Sister in Law about FB and asked when she was going to get on so she could share more pictures of my super-cute nephew, Tad.  She said she had no plans to get a FB page anytime soon. She wasn’t ruling it out but it would not anytime soon.

I completely understand the idea that many people share which is that FB is a fad and will quickly be replaced by something else. Does any still use MySpace? But Facebook is MySpace refined. Typical reasons cited for not using Facebook:

1. I don’t want to post information about myself on the Internet. (Certainly valid, but remember FB can’t publish anything you don’t give it, so you are in complete control of this one.)

2. It’s only for Teenagers and Pedophiles. (Frankly a very dated argument, actually Facebook’s fastest growing segement is Women over 55)

3. I don’t have time for it. (That’s right, you probably don’t. I’m not going to lie you will look up from your computer and say “I did what for three hours!”)

But here are the benefits of using Facebook

1. Easily Share Photos, Videos, and News with Friends

2. Reconnect with Friends and Classmates from High School or College

3. Use it for Networking with Colleagues and Business Contacts

4. Kill Hundreds of Hours Playing Mostly Awful Games (Completely Optional) 

But perhaps the most important reason to use Facebook is because you are already on it. That’s right your photo is already plastered all over Facebook and it has your name on it. Remember that embarrassing night in college . . . yeah that’s right . . . the one with the leather chaps and the wig . . . it’s on there. You see when your friends use Facebook they post pictures that include you AND they are putting your name on the picture in a process called Tagging.

IF YOU WERE ON FB you would have the chance to Approve or Disapprove that Tag taking your name off of that embarrassing photo, but since your not . . . that photo will have to stay.

So let’s try an experiment. Let’s take my brother, Steve. He is not on Facebook, but look in just a few minutes I’ve pulled all of these photos of him from other profiles.

Steve has never posted a single photo of himself on Facebook yet he probably has upwards of 20 photos already published. 

How many photos of you are already on FB?

So why do you need to be on Facebook . . . .the fact is you are already on it  . . . you might as well make it official.

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