I’m abandoning my Facebook account, effective today.

Nope, I’m not reacting to the new changes that Facebook pushed out on Sept. 20, or the changes that Facebook is scheduled to make. And with all candor, I’m hanging on to my work-related accounts – after all, I work in social media, and it’s important that I understand what the playing field looks like at all times.

Then why am I leaving?

Simple. Prepare yourself for this, because it’s not going to be easy to read. Really.

Facebook makes me dislike you.

Maybe not “you” the individual, but “you” as a population. We all know the constant whiner, the political baiter, the social overenthusiastic gamer, the oversharer. The list goes on and on.

I liked you better when we talked on the phone. When we were texting photos back and forth, or just exchanging short messages that said, “Hey, I saw (blank) and thought of you.” When we wrote long emails and really talked about our lives, or shared experiences at new restaurants. I’ve missed writing letters to you and sending you real greeting cards. I actually liked seeing your vacation photos, not only because I love to travel, but because you chose photos to specifically show me. It made me feel special. You made me feel special. I felt like part of your life – a real friend or family member – and not just number 16 out of 400 “friends.”

And here’s another reality check. All those people? The aforementioned 400 friends? They’re probably not really your friends. They like you, sure. You’re awesome. What’s not to like? But if you invited your entire Facebook friend list over for dinner, more than likely, only a handful of them would show. Why? Because they’re your real friends. Your real social circle. The ones that genuinely like you and are interested in your well-being and can tolerate you when you’re being insufferable and can rejoice with you when something monumentally fantastic happens in your life.

They’re the ones you don’t have to sanitize your thoughts for. Yes. We all do it. We say nice things on Facebook because we don’t want people to think we are jerks. Tell me I’m lying. You can’t.

We can connect other places! I’ll be around on Twitter. I’ll be able to share recipes on Tastebook. I’ll be blogging about restaurants, my activities, career-related/marketing-related links, and all the triumphs and failures in my life. But I’ll be doing it here. In as many characters and words as I like. And if you’re a blogger, I’ll be visiting and commenting on your blog posts, too!

And you won’t be interrupted by Farmville notifications. I promise.

You’ll get long emails from me – and a lot of them will include pictures. Know why? Because I think you are *worth* it. You have a name. You’ve had life experiences. You share songs you love. Shoes you love. Recipes you love. And I adore you because of that. And I want to tell you about that, not as part of a chorus, but as an individual.

Because you deserve it. Because you are worth it.

You’re my friend because I chose you. Because we shared life moments together that were and still are meaningful for me. And I’m going to work on keeping you included. But you’re going to have to work too. That’s what friendship is about. It’s not about pushing out an update a couple times a week.

I look forward to seeing photos of your babies. To hearing about your sick grandmother. To crying with you on the phone in down times, and to celebrating with you in up times.

If we have a work-related relationship, you’ll love what I’m posting on LinkedIn. It’s good, relevant stuff, and it’s likely the same kind of content that you and I discussed in person. It’s not about my family. It’s not about my plants in my back yard. I won’t bore you with the stuff that isn’t interesting.

So this is it. A new leaf. I’ll still be here. You’ll still be here. But we’re going to have to work on this together.

Like real friends do.