Know The Ground Rules Before You Leap Into Social Networking

By Anita Neal Harrison

The statistics on Facebook are astounding. Worldwide, more than 200 million people are active users of the social networking site (the total U.S. population is 304 million). More than 100 million log on at least once a day. And the number of minutes spent on Facebook each day totals more than 3.5 billion, or the number of minutes in 6,700 years!

And these are the stats for just Facebook. Every day, many millions more people visit other social networking sites and spend billions more minutes on them. A March 2009 Nielsen report showed that worldwide, “member communities” (a category that includes both social networks and blogs) are now used by more people than personal e-mail

So what’s the big attraction? What are people doing on these sites?

They’re doing much more than just connecting with old friends, although that is a popular activity. These sites also let people keep in touch with current friends, get to know business associates on a more personal level, post and view photos and videos, receive information on their favorite celebrities, businesses, organizations, etc., and lose track of time with such random, inane applications as a “Which TV Mom Are You?” quiz.

Businesses, nonprofits and organizations are also benefiting from these sites and the fantastic marketing opportunity they offer, an opportunity that Columbia’s downtown business district has been exploiting with pages on MySpace, Delicious, Twitter and Facebook.

“We felt like it was a great way for us to connect with our fan base,” says Persephone Dakopolos, director of The District’s business services.

Dakopolos says these sites are an exceptional tool because they are free (not counting the hours put into maintaining them), they are easy to update, they reach a willing, engaged audience, and they can even provide demographic information on the people visiting them – which helps with other marketing campaigns.

The different networking sites have their own strong points, adds The District’s director Carrie Gartner. Facebook, for example, is good for announcing upcoming events, she says, and Twitter is better for what’s-going-on-right-now (see the Social Network Who’s Who for help in understanding why). Gartner also notes that the networking sites tend to attract locals; The District’s Web site typically draws in more out-of-town travelers.

On the personal side, Dakopolos also has her own individual Facebook and Twitter pages, and she says she likes them because she can just be herself, and people from all of her different social circles get to know her “as a real person.”

Some people, however, feel a little awkward communicating the same information to one’s boss as to one’s best friend from high school. That’s why it’s always important to remember that no matter what privacy settings are chosen, what is posted ultimately becomes public.

“If you wouldn’t want to tell your mom about it, don’t put it [online],” Dakopolos says. And, really, “mom” could be replaced with “pastor,” “boss,” “local law enforcement” or even “the whole world.”

The Social Network Who’s Who

Most networking sites have made getting started super simple, so there’s no reason to feel intimidated. Jump in with this basic guide to three popular networking sites: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. All three are free to join.

Facebook
www.Facebook.com

On Facebook, members can request to be “friends” with other members, and once confirmed, are able to access friends’ profiles and information. Each member’s home page has a “news feed” with the activities of his or her friends – including the applications their friends are using (such as their scores on silly quizzes), photos friends have posted, comments friends have made on other people’s posts, and friends’ “status updates,” or short messages posted in answer to the question, “What’s on your mind?” In addition to the home page, each member also has a “wall” that friends can visit; the wall displays only that member’s posts, photos, notes, etc.

Twitter
www.Twitter.com

The main feature of Twitter is “tweets,” short messages of 140 characters or less that members post to their profiles in answer to the question, “What are you doing?” Twitter members can sign up to “follow” one another, or to automatically receive one another’s posts. Posts can also be searched for using key words, so Twitter members who want only their followers (whom they confirm) to see their posts must set their privacy settings accordingly.

LinkedIn
www.LinkedIn.com

Unlike other sites that erase boundaries between members’ personal and professional lives, LinkedIn is all about business. This “interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world” lets members create a profile that summarizes their professional expertise and accomplishments. As the Web site explains, you “can then form enduring connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to a vast number of qualified professionals and experts.” All relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed.

More Help
www.UBrandMedia.com

This Web site provides answers to commonly asked questions about social networking sites, as well as easy-to-follow instructions for both beginners and those at the intermediate level.

One Woman’s Adventures In The Virtual Realm Of Relations
By Angela Neal Robertson

I was insulted into registering on Facebook.

My two younger sisters had been enthralled with the social networking site for several months, but I had merely bestowed tolerant smiles over their enthusiasm, unimpressed with the possibility of finding old and new friends. After all, I have a telephone. Then a previous teacher asked my sisters whether a lack of computer savvy prevented me from accessing the breathtaking world of virtual socializing. In an offended snit, I clicked my way onto Facebook, fiercely protective of my reputation for technological competence.

Finally, finished with my registration, I waited to be greeted by my sisters and the erstwhile teacher. Instead, the trendy social networking site that had been touted by an entire generation announced, “You have no friends.”

I blinked owlishly at the screen. I had thought I had friends. Sadly, I apparently had been mistaken.

Then I received my first friend request. And within hours, I was quite the popular lady.

So, I have proven that I have the computer savvy to navigate the rather uncomplicated world of Facebook, even changing my profile picture from a white shadow with pointy hair to an adorable picture of my boys. And I have proven with a giant sigh of relief that I have friends – my sisters, the teacher, old schoolmates, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.

Yet, I am not at the comfort level required to spew my thoughts before 50 friends of differing intimacy. Apparently, I really am not a social person, not even in the virtual realm. So, I laugh at the picture posted by my sister of our 50-something mother riding a child’s bicycle in her stocking feet. But rather than post my own comment among the others marveling at these rarely viewed antics, I call her on my technologically challenged telephone.

I will laugh with my friends on Facebook, but, after all, no one needs 50 friends to have a conversation.

You just need the one.