According to today’s Washington Post Ted Leonsis, an AOL executive and owner of the Washington Capitals, passed the 5000 friend limit yesterday. The online article states that when Leonsis hit 5002 last night, nothing happened. So far there’s been no official word from Facebook.
Does this mean the limit on the number of Facebook friends you can have has been raised? It would appear so.
So what does this mean for you, assuming you’re not a celebrity, even just in your industry? If you’re just starting out on Facebook and only have a few hundred friends, it doesn’t really impact you. Facebook, when used as a social media marketing tool, is about building relationships. Frantically trying to reach, or breach, 5000 friends without building relationships with the people you connect with is not a great marketing strategy. You are far better off to have a small list of targeted connections.
If the 5K limit has truly been eliminated, this only impacts you when you start approaching the 5K limit. With a limit many people become very selective about who they friend. If the limit truly has been raised, people with more friends can ease up some of their restrictions.
Of course, you can always create a Facebook page for your business. Facebook doesn’t place limits on the number of contacts you collect on your business page. To create a page you need to click on “Advertise” at the bottom of the Facebook screen. Weirdly, this service is free, even though it is listed under “Advertise”.
For most of us, this news about the 5K Facebook friend limit is only an interesting tidbit.
Andrea J. Stenberg
I’m not at 5000 friends so please invite me to connect! Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn (or all three). Include a personal message telling me you read The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur and I promise to accept your invite.
