July/August 2011 Newsbrief → Announcements

New Facebook Groups
and Page

With many people posting frequently about the Mission on Facebook, it seemed time for the Mission to take a more active role and see if our outreach efforts on the site could be improved. Therefore, we now have three Groups and an official Page which can serve as the focal points for our work there.

Each of these groups, and the page, was created for a specific purpose. It is very important that everyone who spreads the Mission on Facebook clearly understands what each one is for, so they will know who to direct to which group, what to post where, etc., and how to use these new resources to the greatest effect.

So please carefully read the following explanation of the purpose of each group and the page (and the difference between Groups and Pages on Facebook):

Groups: "Groups" on Facebook are what they sound like; they are places where people can gather around common interests and share about them. Anyone can start a group about any topic, and there can be an unlimited amount of groups about a topic. Our three groups:

1. "Learn more about the Mission of Maitreya!": This is our main group to reach new people on Facebook. If someone expresses interest in the Mission and shows they are sincere about wanting to learn more, they should be directed to this group. In the group, Mission members will answer questions, post excerpts from the teachings related to ongoing questions and answers, focus discussion that will lead to good questions, and provide an atmosphere that is 100% focused on learning more about the Mission and Maitreya's Teachings.

What this group is NOT: This group is not a place to invite anyone who is not sincere about learning about the Mission and wants to argue or push their own ideas, or is not interested in the Mission and may become angry or unhappy to suddenly find themselves added to a group about it. Arguments or individual opinions, posts unrelated to the Mission, a member's confusion about why they have been invited, etc. all disrupt the flow and bring the energy down. So do not invite just anyone, but be sure they are ready and open to being taught (their cup is empty).

Remember, we do not have to convince or push this Mission on anyone. We are looking for the Elects, who are already Chosen and Ready, and should not need to be argued with or strenuously convinced. If they are not interested, leave them alone (to God) and move on ("...shake off the dust of your feet," Matthew 10:14).

2. "MOM Outreach Discussion": This group is meant to help us spread the Mission better. It is closed (only members can see what is being posted) and can be joined by invitation only, and is for those who already Love the Mission and are actively spreading it. It provides a space for us to share ideas on improving our outreach, let each other know about good new places and ways we have found to spread the Mission, and coordinate our efforts so we can work as a team instead of many individuals. It can serve as a central meeting place for online outreach and social networking, which is why our Social Networking project manager, Tahirah, is the primary group admin (so contact her if you would like to be considered to join).

What this group is NOT: This group is not a place to share from the teachings (unless it relates to improving how we can spread the Mission). Everyone in the group is already dedicated to the Mission and knows the teachings, and filling it with posts of Satsangs and readings, while beautiful, will dilute the group from its main purpose of facilitating and coordinating outreach. This group is also not a place to invite or direct anyone to join (unless they are an exception to the rule, such as a long-term, dedicated Mission member that has just joined Facebook). If you feel that someone should be in this group, direct them to Tahirah or let Tahirah know about them to start the process.

3. "Mission of Maitreya Discussion Group": This group was created because some people in the "Learn" group (#1 above) began arguing with us, pushing their own ideas, and accusing us of not defending our beliefs, censoring them, etc. So we created this group and told these people that we would argue with them and defend ourselves there. Therefore, a large part of the function of this group is to help keep the "Learn" group pure and 100% focused on the teachings. If someone becomes disruptive, starts arguing, etc., we remove them from "Learn" and ask them to go to this group instead, where we do not mind as much if the conversation becomes chaotic, argumentative, or off-topic.

Of course, we also hope that through the discussion and debate in this room, people might see that the teachings can be defended logically and make sense, and so become more open to our Truth. If they eventually reach the point where they want to learn more, then we would invite them to the "Learn" group. However, as we are looking for the Elects, who should not need to be argued with, this group is not our focus, and is the least important of the three groups.

What this group is NOT: This group should not be shared, emphasized, or linked to. We almost want that most people do not know it exists, and only know about and be directed to the "Learn" group, as we are much more interested in people who are open and want to ask questions and learn than those who want to argue (not quantity but quality). Only if someone is being disruptive, or you feel that a certain individual could benefit greatly from discussing the Mission in this way, should they be notified that this room exists. Also, if anyone simply has a question about the teachings (not wanting to argue, etc.), we ask that they please post it in "Learn" and not in this group so that the focus does not become divided between the two groups and remains primarily on the "Learn" group.

Page: A "Page" on Facebook is to an organization what a "Profile" is to an individual. An organization's page is its official, public presence on Facebook, which it uses to post and share, interact with other Facebook users, advertise, announce news, etc. Facebook users cannot "Join" or "Friend" a page, but only "Like" it. Each organization is supposed to have only one page about it, started officially by that organization. Our page is "Mission of Maitreya, Eternal Divine Path." It will be used to share news, announcements, and other official Mission business on Facebook, and also provides resources for people to join the Mission mailing list, donate to the Mission, and more.

While in general it is much more important to direct those interested in the Mission to the "Learn" group than to this page, it is also helpful if people "Like" the page so it can grow and develop a greater presence on Facebook.

While the above explanation may seem lengthy and possibly confusing, we ask that those who spread the Mission on Facebook read, re-read, and study it as much as is necessary to be sure they completely understand it. We feel that if these groups and page are used correctly, we will have a powerful and effective team and system, and our outreach on Facebook will prosper. However, if they are misused, confused together, and underutilized, then we will have missed out on a great opportunity to improve our ability to reach out to the more than 750 million people that use this social network.

Here is the system in a nutshell:

1. We (individual Mission members) spread and share the teachings in various ways to find those who are interested and open to the teachings.

2. Those sincerely interested in the Mission are sent to "Learn more about the Mission of Maitreya."

3. Those who are disruptive are moved to "Mission of Maitreya Discussion Group."

4. "MOM Outreach Discussion" is used to coordinate the process.

5. The "Mission of Maitreya, Eternal Divine Path" page serves as the public face of the Mission organization and provides some useful additional resources for us to use.
   

For further information on this system and on Facebook in general, attend our upcoming webinar on Facebook! You can also always contact us.