How to Become Popular on Facebook Without Being a Douchebag

Lots of people want to be popular on facebook but approach it the wrong way. There is more to being popular on facebook than just being noticed. Follow the advice given and you'll be the most popular person in your network of facebook friends.

Basic facebook etiquette

Treat friends on facebook the way they prefer to be treated. Be respectful of your friend's gender, age, sex, religion, political views, or any other specific group that they belong to. Because facebook is a text driven social network you'll have to try extra hard make sure that what you are typing will not get misinterpreted- which will ruin your chances of becoming popular. Treat everyone on your friend's network with the same respect that you'd want to receive.

Tag and you're not "it"

Lots of facebook users feel that a great way to get popular on facebook is by tagging all their friends in pictures, messages, notes, and messages. In theory, tagging seems like a great way to become more popular on facebook but in practice there is nothing more frustrating to the friends in your network. Imagine getting unwelcomed emails every time someone so much as typed an "lol"- multiply that by the amount of people you've tagged, now multiply that number by the amount of other friends in their network that do the same thing. Tagging is a great way to end up on your friend's ignore or deleted list and is the antithesis to becoming popular on any social network.

To be interesting you must be interested

It may sound a bit cliché but it is definitely true. If you want to get and keep friends on facebook, you'll need to learn to focus on others- not just yourself. Think about your favorite or most popular friends in your network; they are usually the ones that are genuinely concerned about you and others. Instead of expecting everyone to flock to your posts, take the time to comment on someone else's and they'll start to return the favor. After all, what's the use of being popular if you're going to neglect the friends in your network?

Quality posting over quantity

Delivering quality content is the most important factor in becoming popular on facebook. Your posts should be well thought out and delivered in good measure. Nothing will make you stand out more in your friend's network than quality posting. If you want to become less popular on facebook be sure to post lots of meaningless posts and messages.

Quality posting rules of thumb:

1. Don't change your facebook status more than once an hour- you want to at least appear to have a life.

2. Apply the no less than 5 characters rule when posting on facebook- this will reduce the amount of useless posts you create e.g. "lol", "omg", "wow", "cool", "rofl" etc. (the only exception when Instant Messaging).

3. Grammar and punctuation should not be taken lightly.

4. Less is more when making a point.

Attract don't attack

People should add you to their network of friends because they want to be associated with you - not because they feel obligated to. Friend mining is the act of going through your friend's network carelessly adding everyone on their friends list- which is strongly forbidden if you want to become popular on facebook. The goal is to build your network by having people add you- not by appearing desperate. You want to build a reputation for being witty, original, and interesting. If you follow the other steps in this article by being respectful, taking the time to focus on your friends, and you are making quality posts, you'll be surprised at how fast you can become popular on facebook.

Sam I am, I don't like new apps and spam

The new facebook app or cause that you just discovered is more than likely not as important to the friends in your network as they are to you. If you want to promote to your friends, it's best to promote to the friends that you know will be interested your content- blasting your network will result in a block or delete. The only way to get popular via a facebook app is if you're the developer.

Get an army behind you

It's best to build your network through your network of friends- not by friend mining. The ideal way to build through your network of friends is by posting great responses on your friend's posts and/or getting your friends to promote your content (on their own will). The only way your friends can promote you across their network is if you give them something that they can promote. Your profile page should be a website worthy of being bookmarked- it should be a destination. Once your friends see that you consistently have interesting content on your profile, they will check it frequently and you'll begin to create a movement- making your more popular.

Cool ways to make your page a destination:

1. Showcase your talent(s) - whatever sets you apart as an individual should be shown on your profile e.g. artwork, songs, blogs entries, poetry, dance, etc.

2. Witty statuses - whenever you change your status, it should be something worthy of being read- if you want to be more popular. If you're not that creative, there are lots of great sites with cool statuses like messquoted.com.

3. Build a photo album filled with interesting pictures - having a funny or interesting photo album will make you more popular by giving your friends a reason to come back over and over again. You can find funny images all over the web at places like digg.com, fark.com, or failblog.org.

4. Links to great articles like those found on cracked.com, digg.com or my blog page will make you seem interesting. You want to leverage the content available online to add to your own popularity.

You should become popular on facebook the same way you became popular in real life. It's not about requesting tons of friends- it's about making yourself a person worthy of having more friends in your network. Facebook is a great place and becoming popular is only reserved for the people that can exhibit their unique qualities and make people want to be associated with them.