by David Aaron White

Created on: November 12, 2009

I have had firsthand experience with the power of Facebook notes; in fact, one could say that writing one Facebook note salvaged a failed relationship (for a while, at least). For those of you who do not know, a Facbook note is akin to a blog post: a user can write down his or her thoughts, feelings, or answers to a survey, then tag his or her friends to draw their attention to the note. Many people use Facebook notes to write confessions that they want their friends to see; others use it to test out pieces of a short story or novel; and others, like me, use them when we absolutely have to.

I once wrote a Facebook note right after what I thought was a meaningful relationship ended. The note, which is still up there, went on about a journey, quest, and looking at the positive aspects of what appears to be a failure. I included pictures of an ex-girlfriend and me in the note and pasted a picture of a few friends staring at the setting sun to end it. Suffice to say, not only did writing the note make me feel better about the whole situation, but I received about twenty comments on the note, half of which were from people saying they were practically crying as they read it. I didn't think I could make anyone cry without breaking a sweat.

The note I wrote was different from most Facebook notes in that it was a gamble and completely symbolic. I did not use any specific names or events, yet every reader knew exactly what I was talking about while reading it. Thanks to the liberal layout of Facebook notes, I was able to back up my words with pictures, and included a heart at the end of it that touched the person about whom I was writing. See, I didn't think the note would be powerful or significant; I just needed to put my feelings out there because I couldn't live with them inside me.

Facebook notes are also powerful because people can be tagged in them. You can directly target your audience by sending them a notification that they have been tagged in your note; by nature, they will likely be curious and proceed to click on your note. After all, being tagged in a note makes people feel important; I'm sure that people were somewhat happy to read my note before they realized how depressing it actually was. Whenever I need a large group of people to read something and don't want to send an email, I will put it in a Facebook note and tag them because it almost guarantees that I will have readers.

People can comment on your Facebook notes and start discussion threads based off of them. How's that for an active approach? When you post a note, people tagged in it and people who are allowed to see it, such as friends and friends of people who have been tagged, may comment on it and provide criticism, constructive criticism or praise. On most sites, readers need to email the author of a piece with comments, but on Facebook, the comments are right there for everyone, including the author, to see! Thanks to the power of notifications, everyone will be immediately alerted when a comment is made.

Facebook notes are surprisingly powerful, whether it's a poem, essay, or random assortment of thoughts, you can reach people with your words and pictures. Who knows: you might even make them weep.

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