I started this blog over 3 years ago. I made it public a year later. In May of 2016, I published a blog column titled, 'Take It Or Leave It...Messes And All." This was my vow. To my readers. That as a Work at Home Dog Mom and the author of this blog, I wasn't just going to share the good stuff or the successes or only the great photos. I was also going to share the messes. The not so great photos. The moments when life completely sucks. When I'm sick. When we're not at our best.
Sharing those moments aren't exactly easy. But, when you share the messy stuff, you connect more with others. There is more common ground to discuss. You're putting your feet on the same ground everyone else is standing on. No better. No less. You become part of the conversations. You're approachable. You hopefully inspire other people.
Today, something messy happened.
I allowed social media to rile me up to the point where I cut a planned date night short. Lisa and I had planned on going out to dinner followed by running a couple of fun errands.
We ate dinner and a great time, but after dinner, I was so mentally exhausted that I asked to reschedule running errands. I had a headache. And I'm not going to lie, PMS probably had a bit to do with it.
That may not seem like a big deal to most, but Lisa and I very seldom get a chance to leave the house together.
The social media culprit was Facebook. The topics at hand revolved around gemstones, a small business not following through with some promissory items, and stereotypes doled out for those of us who love and adore seasonal baked goods.
On the way home and well into this evening, even after Lisa and the kids went to bed, I thought a lot about what happened today. If I could honestly sum up my conclusion, it would be more of a visual in the form of that proverbial cherry on top of a sundae.
If I had to put it into words, that would entail me sitting across the kitchen table from Lisa and making an admission...
"You're right. You've been right from day one. For so many reasons. I finally understand why you only visit Facebook once or twice a month. I finally understand why you've been telling me to follow the advice of other bloggers and authors."
To understand this at any level, I need to pull you back to a decade ago.
I joined Facebook a little over a decade ago. Creating my account happened less than 24 hours after receiving a message from the founder of the company I worked for. They wanted us to create a personal account. I did.
Since then, I've been the admin of and managed many Facebook pages for some of the larger companies I've worked for or personal clients. I also provided this service for some individuals who thought they were a big deal and couldn't be bothered.
With each business and client that I've managed Facebook pages for, I've had to represent their brand. Speak in their voice. Promote their stuff. That has been no problem at all. In this line of work, you learn how to adapt quickly.
The gray area was always my personal Facebook page. Regardless of what company I worked for or the clients I had, everyone wanted to send a friend request. Of course, I accepted.
In the very beginning, I updated my personal Facebook page with stuff that pleased the masses. My reason is that I had coworkers, CEO's, the presidents of companies, and my bosses on my friend's list.
The first time I dropped a cuss word on my personal Facebook page was in late June of 2009 when Michael Jackson died.
Since then, well, you know.
A few years ago, when we began to simplify our life by making lots of changes, I didn't care so much about what I posted on my personal Facebook wall. If a coworker or client wanted to be added to my list o' Facebook friends, I'd send them an email letting them know that I had a candid tongue and my personal life was completely separate from my work life. Every email always ended with, "You've been warned."
Over the past couple of years, a lot has changed. I no longer work for major companies. I've retired from certain services. Our family has grown. I'm a Work at Home Dog Mom trying to build my brand.
That alone has been a struggle because I've gone from speaking in many voices for a myriad of audiences to only having to speak in my own voice.
Me.
I currently have my personal Facebook page, the Bodacious Biscuit Love Facebook page, and Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life Facebook page.
Earlier this year, I wanted to create a Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Projects Facebook page. I've delayed that because I need to think long and hard about my personal page and the Bodacious Biscuit Love page.
The Bodacious Biscuit Love page will be coming to halt sometime soon. I just don't know when. I won't delete it. I'll be putting an announcement on the page explaining that we're shifting over to the Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life page. Hopefully, the incredible community we've created on the Bodacious Biscuit Love page will follow.
The Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Projects Facebook page will be created shortly after the announcement. This page will be dedicated to all of the DIY Dog Mom Projects that we create. A lot of the items we make will be up for grabs. Some won't. But, all in all, we simply want to inspire other Dog and Pet Parents.
The Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life Facebook page is going to get a bit of a makeover and I'll be focusing on that page a lot throughout the day and evening. This is going to be the hub for most everything.
My personal Facebook page...well, that's where I'm struggling.
I've noticed that quite a few bloggers and such have either eliminated their personal Facebook page or utilized it for the sole purpose of redirecting people to their page. They're not redirecting people to their blog page for marketing or to buy things. They're going it because it's almost pointless to maintain both accounts.
One of my favorite bloggers has a Facebook page for her blog. Everyone knows her name. She posts a lot of stuff in a day's time from blog posts to videos. In essence, her blog page is a complete display of her life whether it's about her human kids, family stuff, or her personal wardrobe. She covers it all.
She doesn't have a personal Facebook page. She doesn't need one. There is nothing she would post on her personal wall that isn't already out there on her Facebook blog page or blog.
Another one of my favorite bloggers had both a Facebook blog page and a personal Facebook page. Last year, she made an announcement on her personal page stating that she was going to delete her personal Facebook account and utilize her blog page instead. She never deleted her personal account, however, there's probably only a few posts since earlier this year.
I'm leaning more towards keeping my personal account but only updating it once a week. The updates will include a few happenings throughout the week along with a link for the Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life Facebook page.
My main focus will be the Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life page. That's my life. Our life. My voice. It's a 360-degree view of our life as Dog Moms. That's who we are.
I know there's a lot of people who enjoy my Facebook posts and, at times, their quite amusing. But, that's all stuff that will be included on the Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life Page.
I've also made the decision that I won't be scrolling through my news feed as often as I do. It has become exhausting. I'm sick and tired of the fighting, the politics, the petty crap, the "Vague-Booking," the filtered photos, the dire need for validation,
And, the crap that gets me so riled up that I cut date night short.
When all of this happens, I'll let you know.
Stay tuned...
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