From the desk of Robert Rappaport on Tuesday, November 3rd 2009 at 10:21

NAGGED ONTO FACEBOOK

I have to admit, it's time for me to eat crow. After slamming Facebook last year, I am now a reluctant member.

Tired of hearing "You have to get on Facebook" from family and friends, I decided to give it another (third) try. My most recent effort actually bore more fruit than my previous experiences with the social media site. Whatever I did differently this time, many "friends" began to show up. I use quotes, as I hadn't seen many of these "friends" in almost 30 years. After accepting their requests to be my "friends," I'm now starting to build up a list. To those of you who sent me request and haven't been accepted, there's a reason why. More on that in a moment.

I have to admit, it was nice to hear from some of my old elementary and high school classmates and even the lost relative or two. I purposely leave out lots of details about my life in my profile, because it really is nobody's business. Those who know, or knew, me can figure it out and ask questions. I can do the same to them.

It was a Facebook connection with an old classmate/co-worker at another radio station that brought us back together for a brief time. I found out he was a pastor at a local church and I just happened to head over there for some free Halloween fun and ran into him. It was like we just saw each other yesterday, even though it had been about 20 years. While he looked exactly the same, I was shocked to see some "kids" from my high school got so old. I haven't changed one bit (or so I say)!

Now before you try to "friend" me, let me say that my account is only for people I know personally. I have a public Twitter account where I post news headlines and interact with listeners. I really enjoy it, but that is the extent of my social media involvement (and this blog) as it relates to work. Even though it's public, many people around AZPM (surprisingly) seem to know little about Twitter, or even follow me, so it's like I'm on my own. My colleague James Reel discussed the confusion about social media in a recent blog post.

As for this blog, I know it is read by fellow employees, even though nobody talks to me about it in person (weird, huh?). On a couple of occasions, I have heard feedback and gossip that someone wasn't happy with what I said. Of course, I learn about these things in the hallways, which is where most stuff gets disseminated around here.

Since I know I'm under scrutiny and I have to rein in a lot of my thoughts, I'll use Facebook to speak freely, but not to the masses and not under the guise of work. Therefore, listeners and co-workers will NOT get to join my inner circle. All "friend" requests will be ignored. Sorry guys!

If you want to say something good or bad about me, you can always post your comments to the blog or send me a "tweet."

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