To Like or Friend; a Facebook dilemma

Big thanks to Colin Kinner at Flickr for this image http://bit.ly/1sJy17h

Like many authors, I have a Like and a Friend page at Facebook. (I know they have different actual names but for this post,  that's what I'm going to call them.) Since authors are really our own business, it's hard to distinguish one from the other, especially if, like me, you use a pen name. Naomi Bellina is me, the author, and also the business. So, which one should I use more often? My Like or Friend page?

Let me start by saying I don't read a whole lot about Facebook operations. Who has time? When something affects me, then I do my research. I learned a sad fact recently when I went to participate in an FB party and realized, I couldn't invite anyone from my Like page, only my Friends. I initially put a lot of effort into getting Likes, as that was the way I was told to go. Turns out now I have to pay for getting my posts boosted on the Like section otherwise they fall into some black hole and only get seen by two people. But I know, nothing is free and I kind of expected Facebook to start charging money at some point. Why wouldn't they?

Facebook has now come up with a new policy about giveaways. They say "You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page. This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page."  (Incentivize? That's a new word on me!) Read more about this on Rafflecopter (who I love!) here, and for some really scary reading about this new policy, check out the comments here. 

There are many aspects of Facebook I like. I totally enjoy seeing what my friends are up to and reading and sharing funny stuff with them. Since I've been a little more disciplined with the amount of time I spend on FB, it doesn't suck my day away. Too much.  My plan for the future is to use more of the Friend page, to continue to use FB lightly and to not depend on it for all my social media needs. Who knows what they will come up with next and as one commenter said, it's not a good idea to rely on something you don't have control over.