Facebook Groups, Your Secret Office Superpower

You may want to sit down for this. Facebook is hands down the single best professional resource out there. Yeah, that’s right. I said it. When you need fast, reliable, world-class expert insight into pretty much any work problem you can think of, Facebook is the answer. I’ll even go step further. The more specific your need is, the more Facebook shines.

What’s that you say? Facebook is horrible? A bottomless pit of bot bait, comment thuggery, and crazy bigoted uncles? Yes, that is all undeniably true. Facebook can be, and is, a numbingly rancid cesspool of ignorance and hatred. So… if that’s the case, why is it the single best tool on the planet for getting instant, detailed, and expert feedback for whatever work problem you have?

This is a blog post, not a thesis, so I’ll keep this short. Facebook is for better or for worse, us. This means it’s ugly, but also beautiful. The key is to filter out the bad (literally), and focus on the good. And thankfully, Facebook gives you the tools to do just that.

So after you’ve locked down your privacy settings, booted out all the haters, and taught yourself to assiduously avoid trolls—turn your attention to the single greatest online resource we know of today: Facebook Groups.

No matter how niche your interest may be, there’s a group out there of nerds and geeks who are into it more than you, and also know more than you. Better yet, they simply can’t wait to tell you all they know. It’s like having an army of top-notch consultants at your beck and call, for free. No, scratch that. It’s not ‘like’ that at all — it is exactly that.

The hive mind of a Facebook group puts Watson and Wiki to shame. Find and pin all the groups that pertain to your job’s needs, hit them up with your most detailed questions, and impress your colleagues with you instant and expert solutions.

No matter the coding language you use, the apps you need, or the strategies you weigh—there are literally hundreds if not thousands of people out there right this second, ready and willing to give you the answers. Often in detail, complete with screenshots, links, and more. And even when they don’t have the exact answer, they’ll point you to the resources you need roughly 783 times faster than you would have found it yourself. 

So go and find the Facebook Group for Python, Wordpress, Excel, .Trello, Filemaker, SEO, logo design, beekeeping, 17th century Russian satire, whatever… and join it. The more specific the group’s focus is, the more useful it is. You can thank me later. But probably not on Facebook, I've got my privacy settings all locked down.

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Dirk Reynolds // ZWARM Intelligence // Tech Whisperer
Dirk is a founding Geeksharks member. For his day job he runs ZWARM Intelligence, a California based firm that provides its clients with custom Filemaker (Claris) solutions, websites, marketing/design campaigns, and comprehensive tech strategy tailored to small- and medium-sized businesses in Europe and the US