Should you friend your boss? Navigating the travails of social networking for new users.

Should you friend your boss?

Navigating the travails of social networking

for new users.

Objectives

Define Facebook, Twitter and key terms

Look at benefits and drawbacks of these technologies

Discuss ways of integrating these technologies into your life

Answer questions about these technologies

Social Networking

Main Entry:  social networkingPart of Speech:  nDefinition:  the use of a website to connect

with people who share personal or professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc.

Example:  Classmates and MySpace are premier sites for social networking.

Usage:  computingWebster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)Copyright © 2003-2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

What is Facebook?

• Founded in 2004 by Harvard University students

• “Users can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region.”

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

Who’s on facebook

• More than 300 million active users • 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any

given day • The fastest growing demographic is those 35

years old and older• Average user has 130 friends on the site • More than 8 billion minutes are spent on Facebook

each day (worldwide) • More than 45 million status updates each day • More than 10 million users become fans of Pages

each day From http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

Who’s on Facebook?

Ivy Bean, 103 years-old on Facebook

Defining a few key terms

• Profile– Where you put all of your information. – Can be public or private. – Can have as much or as little info as you like

• Friend request• Wall• Poke• Page (aka business page)• Fan

What is Twitter?

• Founded in 2006 in San Francisco, CA• Microblog that asks the question

“What are you doing now?”• 140 characters

Who’s on Twitter?

• 72% of users are aged 18-49• 46 % of users are Caucasian• Top people on Twitter by followers

She’s on Twitter too.

Defining a few key terms

• Twitter (noun): meaning the actual application– “Are you on Twitter?”

• Tweet (noun): the 140 character entry– “I got your tweet about hanging out tonight.”

• Tweet (verb): the act of posting to Twitter– “I try to tweet at least three or four times a day.”

• Following: same thing as adding them as a friend. You see their tweets in your Twitter page.

Facebook/Twitter

Benefits• You can really connect with people

and institutions in a new way.• It is a way for people to share details

about their lives.

Facebook/Twitter

Drawbacks• Things you thought were a good idea

to put on your Facebook page might not seem like such a good idea when you go for a job interview.

• You don’t know who is viewing your private information.– Facebook Flirting– I hate my boss

Facebook Faux Pas

Facebook Faux Pas

Facebook Faux Pas

Facebook Faux Pas

Facebook/Twitter

Drawbacks• Things you thought were a good idea to put

on your Facebook page might not seem like such a good idea when you go for a job interview.

• You don’t know who is viewing your private information.– Facebook Flirt– I hate my boss

• Is this the best way to communicate with people?

Getting Started

Facebook• Set up an account• Set your privacy settings• Import e-mail lists• Search for friends

Getting Started

Twitter• Set up an account• Set your privacy settings• Import e-mail lists• Begin following people• Begin tweeting

Avoiding Faux Pas

DO• Choose friends wisely • "Poke" carefully • Respect your child's privacy • Think before posting • Post a photo

DON'T • Forget about privacy • Overdo friend requests • Flood your network with status updates• Be creepyFrom http://www.businessweek.com/playbook/07/0806_1.htm

Questions or comments? I know you have some!

[email protected]