Are You in the Facebook Desert?

Are You in the Facebook Desert? My friends, do you find yourself often feeling like you are in a desert on Facebook? If so, believe me when I say that I understand you completely; particularly the discouragement that some of you feel in regards to friend participation on Facebook. I feel it too. Myself, I have just under 5,000 Facebook friends. However, close observation over the years has shown me that only 300-400 take some degree of interest in my posts. Even worse, only a few dozen people engage in regular to semi-regular participation with my work. It might interest you to know that many others have reported this same thing, and it is always the same small group of friends who participate. Sometimes I even wonder how many of them are real people, and not just Facebook bots who are pretending to be people. For example, participation on my Facebook page is about zero. But get this: Prior to November of 2017 when Facebook began making adjustments to their algorithms, I used to get dozens, hundreds, and in some cases, even several thousand reactions — likes, shares and comments — PER POST on my page. Yes, for each and every post. Beginning in November of 2017, interaction and participation began to drop like a rock in a matter of a few days. My timeline has also pretty much become a dead man’s land with very little participation. Most activity occurs in the Bill's Bible Basics group, but even that is far from stellar. But my friends, as I explained before, the problem is NOT necessarily with your friends not liking you, not caring about you, and not being interested in the things which you post. The REAL problem, as far as I can tell, is with Facebook itself and their algorithms, their attitudes towards Christians and conservative viewpoints, and their d-i-s-c-r-i-m-i-n-a-t-o-r-y practices against us. This begins with their army of liberal-minded editors. In short, one of the BIG reasons why — like me — you seem to be out in the desert alone most of the time, is because Facebook has sandboxed us for the most part, and is NOT allowing others to see our posts. I know this for a fact, because my friends have repeatedly told me so. They simply think that I am participating less on Facebook because they see less of my work in their news feed. However, this is NOT true. I normally make hundreds of posts each and every month. Now think about this: Your friends cannot possibly react to your posts, if they aren’t even seeing your posts. It makes sense, right? Yes, YOU will see your posts, but most others will not, because Facebook has you sandboxed. It is an i-l-l-u-s-i-o-n. Aside from the d-i-s-c-r-i-m-i-n-a-t-i-o-n against us, I am convinced that it is also a business ploy that Facebook purposely uses to try to pressure us and e-n-t-i-c-e us into spending money on ads. If you doubt my word regarding this issue, spend $100 on an ad campaign and see what happens. All of a sudden, you will reach more people and get more likes and comments. But beware, because even their ad campaigns are a s-c-a-m. Again, I know from experience that while running an ad may possibly result in quick reactions and comments, ads will garner you very few real friends in the long term. Once you stop paying for the ad, all of that traffic just dries up and disappears. So was spending the money really worth it? Whatever you do, as hard as it may be at times, don't let discouragement overcome you, because that is EXACTLY what the enemy wants you to do. That is, to throw up your hands in defeat and say "What's the use? Nobody cares. Nobody reacts to what I post. Why am I wasting so much of my time here if it is not bearing any fruit?" Before you give in to that ruse, remember this: "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11, KJV "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves ‭with him‭.‭" Psalm 126:6, KJV "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days." Ecclesiastes 11:1, KJV "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9, KJV "But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing." 2 Thessalonians 3:13, KJV So if you reach even one person, isn’t it worth it? If even one person is blessed and encouraged by your work on Facebook, or on any other social network for that matter, isn’t it worth it? If even one person comes to the Lord as a result of what you do here, isn’t it worth it? https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/are-you-in-the-facebook-desert/?feed_id=254553&Are%20You%20in%20the%20Facebook%20Desert%3F