Attention Facebook Users!

Social media is an interesting thing. Many claim to be an “expert”, but I am not sure there really such a thing. It is constantly evolving, but for sure it is very powerful and a great tool I use extensively.

Many people use social media as their primary source of severe weather warnings these days, and that has forced me to make a change in how I distribute weather content on Facebook…

First off, let me say this doesn’t not impact my Twitter or Google Plus feeds… you subscribe to @spann on Twitter and you will get all of the content… same thing if you put the +James Spann account in a circle on Google Plus.

THE FACEBOOK DILEMMA: There is a cap on the number of “friends” you can have on a regular account, and I have been at that 5,000 limit for several years. So, generally when this happens, you develop a “like page”, which I have done. In fact, that page has over 102,000 “likes”. These are generally people that are looking for good weather information, including severe weather watches and warnings.

So, what is the problem? Only about 10 to 15 percent of those that subscribe to the “like page” get the status update when posted! That means if a tornado warning is posted, only about 12,000 of the 102,000 will see it. Very, very dangerous. And, not acceptable.

THE SOLUTION: I am moving all weather updates, including warnings, back to the regular account page here. The one good thing Facebook has done is allow people to “subscribe” to an account, so even with the 5,000 friend limit, you can have an unlimited number of subscribers.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: I know many of you use Facebook exclusively on your phone or tablet, but to be sure you get the warnings, you really, really need to do this on a computer.

Sign in to your Facebook account, and go to my regular account here.

You will need to click on the “subscribe” button (NOT a friend request… you will be told I have “too many friends” if you try).

Here is the important part. After you subscribe, hover the mouse over that same button (which will then say “subscribed”) and click on “settings”. Then, be sure you click on “all updates”. This will send all warnings, and weather updates I post to your Facebook wall. If you don’t do this step, it will be like the “like page”… you will miss most of the messages.

As of this morning I have over 45,000 subscribed to the account…. and for those that chose the “all updates” option they will receive all weather updates, severe weather warnings, etc that are posted.

WILL THE “LIKE PAGE” GO AWAY? Absolutely not. This is where you can post pictures, ask questions, pass on reports, etc. I continue to monitor that page like always… you just won’t see the weather updates there.

So… the summer “Facebook conversion” continues. Be sure to subscribe to the Facebook.com/spann account, and choose “all updates” to be sure you won’t miss anything. Before you know it, we will be in the midst of some kind of big weather event and you will need that information. And, be sure and pass this along to those you know that would like to subscribe.

Tags: Facebook

Category: Hodgepodge