Welcome to a new segment called Keal’s Facebook Tips! As we all know, Facebook has taken over the homes of millions of people. What was once just a simple way to keep in touch with your college friends has now become a global phenomenon in which people, corporations, and even fictional characters interact with each other on a day to day basis. And while Facebook is simple to use, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make a fool of yourself. With all of your friends just a click away from invading your personal profile, you have to be on constant alert that what you post doesn’t make you look like a complete idiot. And although you should constantly be aware of what you post using your own common sense, I have decided to help the process by providing a variety of Facebook tips. So lets get started with the first tip of this segment: The Open Letter Format.

This tip has a specific purpose. For any of us that are on Facebook, we know that we are only members because we care about absolutely everything all of our “friends” have to say at all times. But more importantly, we care about our “friend’s” problems. I know for me, even though I have plenty of my own problems to deal with, there is nothing better than logging onto my Facebook account and reading about each and every problem my “friends” have, no matter how small the issue. Are you stuck in traffic during rush hour like the rest of America is? You’re damn right I want to hear about it. Do you hate Monday’s? Please tell me that you do, but make sure you tell me every Monday of the year. Had a rough day because you actually had to do some real work but since we live in America our view of real work is distorted so you don’t even realize that the work you did isn’t actually that tough but normal? Let me hear it.

But as much as we all want to hear everyone’s problems (remember, the more mundane the better), sometimes it helps to spice up the way your present your problems to your friends. Enter ‘The Open Letter Format’. Now this format for expressing your feelings on a particular topic is typically reserved for something with much more content. A letter for example. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be manipulated to take your Facebook status to the next level. Here are the steps to using The Open Letter Format:

1. Start your Facebook status with the phrase “Dear *Cause Of Problem*, Please “
2. State what you would like the *Cause of Problem* to fix so it is not a problem for you anymore.
3. Finish off the letter with “Sincerely, *Your Name*”

That’s all there is to it. Here is an example to show how it works. I’ll use the stuck in traffic example that I mentioned earlier.

“Dear Minnesota Drivers, please stop acting like idiots and learn how to drive. It’s not that hard to use a signal and merge at the proper speed. Sincerely, Keal.”

I easily could have made a status update explaining how much I can’t stand Minnesota drivers because they don’t know how to signal or merge, but as you can see The Open Letter Format made my status update all the more better. Here is a list of some more benefits The Open Letter Format provides:

• It gives you the sense that you are being original and funny. The Open Letter Format may seem like it’s overused and not original, and this is 100% true. But all you have to do is ignore this fact and BAM! You have the false satisfaction of thinking your friends think you have unlimited wit, even though you are really fooling no one.
• There actually are some people you will fool. Everyone has their dumb friends who will think your post is the funniest thing they have heard in their lives. Take advantage of these people.
• The Open Letter Format may inspire you to post even more status updates containing more problems that you are having throughout the day. This is a benefit for everyone because as stated earlier, we all want to hear your problems.
• Many more!

So the next time you have that mundane issue you just can’t wait to share with the rest of the world, why not spice it up with The Open Letter Format. I can’t wait to see it.