Vocal Creators and Facebook Groups: Go where you are celebrated and not tolerated or violated

Facebook groups: The joy and the pain

Sharing my Vocal creations on Facebook groups has been both a blessing and a curse. The more groups I join the less I am able to remember the rules and regulations of some. At first, I simply shared what I wrote, end of story. Now Facebook has added some new features and some group facilitators have become drunk with their own power.

I understand that groups are made up of people and that moderation is necessary but it can stifle creative genius. In some groups, you can now only share on certain days and when you belong to hundreds you cannot remember all the individual regulations. In other groups posting is limited and I have received notices that I could not post again for a number of days or weeks. I share on average 2 or sometimes 3 articles each day to groups depending on what I have written. I have my own group and I welcome activity and engagement. Other administrators do not feel the same and limit posts to a certain number a day or only on a certain day of the week.

When I run into this issue I simply leave that group with no hard feelings. The facilitator has the right to run the group the way he or she wants and I respect that. I'm just trying to make a living and give people something interesting to read. I am not spamming anyone and neither am I posting 10 times a day to one group. I believe in some cases those who started the group are behaving like a boss on a job. I have seen posts lately about inactive members being kicked out of several groups.

In my opinion, that's a bit controlling as Facebook is social media and no one can control anyone else or make them engage. Facebook groups are run by humans who bring their personal issues to the table. I get that group founders don't want politics, racism, profanity or sexually explicit language but not all of them have the same agenda. I once had to delete a man who was inboxing female members of the group I was running and trying to date them so I understand the extremes. I also shut a group down because no one was engaging and posting except me.

I don't see the problem with writers sharing interesting information that group members are reading and sharing. The problems I have encountered are with soap opera groups where some administrators want to dictate what is aid regarding the daytime dramas. Some facilitators have to approve what is posted while on other groups what is shared is immediately available for members to read. There were a couple of groups where when I checked on feedback I scrolled down and found that they were not even posting my articles. I would rather they had deleted me.

My advice to Vocal writers is to please read group rules and pay attention to notices that they have changed. If abiding by the regulations shuts you out then go elsewhere without any animosity. Watch the groups to see if your articles are being posted, read, and if you are receiving any feedback. I have been asked to become an administrator of a few groups where they appreciate my input. I also get inbox messages from group members who do not agree with what I write and administrators threatening to ban me if I don't comply with their wishes.

It would be ideal if everyone read and loved my articles and I could post freely but that is not the reality. Vocal creators keep this in mind as you increase the number of groups where you share. Don't waste your time where you are merely tolerated or even violated. Value your work and place it where you are appreciated and celebrated. I do believe I have written about this subject before but there is no way to look through Vocal articles to find out so forgive me if this is redundant.

Perhaps you may only belong to a few groups and this information will not pertain to you. I am a widow living without my husband's pension and trying not to become a starving artist. I am trying to survive and do not have the time to micromanage as I probably should. When I now get the notices about sharing too much or only sharing on a certain day, being restricted or banned I remove myself and keep going. that's about the size of it. Thank you for reading, sharing, leaving a heart and or a tip. I truly appreciate it.