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These days, you can’t read the news or talk to a person
under 30 without hearing Facebook mentioned. Even marketing
advisors are touting the advantages of Facebook in promoting your
company and widening your circle of business contacts.
And yet… there are warnings about placing personal information
in a publicly accessible forum, about the potential damage your
Facebook profile can cause, about Facebook retaining your personal
information forever as their own property, about cybercrime and
stalking… you name it!
Before you decide whether Facebook (or FB, to the savvy) is for you,
you need to know the basics. This article, Part 1, will explain
what Facebook is and how it works. Part 2 (coming in April 2009)
will discuss security issues, and in Part 3 (May 2009), we’ll
talk about how Facebook can work for you as a promotional tool.
So hang onto your hat – here we go!
Facebook is one of many “social networking” sites. It
offers you the ability to stay connected to your family, friends, and
business contacts, with up-to-the-minute reports on what they’re
doing, where they’re going, and how they’re feeling.
Anyone with a computer that connects to the Internet through a browser
can use Facebook.
You can’t access any information on Facebook without signing up,
so the first step in using FB is to create an online profile for
yourself. You can enter as much or as little information as you
choose, ranging from where and when you went to school to your hobbies,
religion, politics, and so on. You can even use Facebook to
advertise that you are “single and looking”, and what or
who you are looking for. You can also upload photos, which can
then be viewed by your online friends. It’s easy to get
carried away with the amount of information you place online, so Part 2
of this article discusses security concerns in FB.
After you’ve created a profile, you can then send “Friend
Requests” to people you know, and they can do the same for
you. When you receive a Friend Request, you have the option to
accept the request, which allows that person to view your profile
information, or ignore the request, which prevents the person from
viewing your profile, but tactfully doesn’t tell them that
they’re being ignored.
When you search for a person on Facebook, the search page will return a
list of people who have the same name that you’re searching
for. The search results show only the person’s profile
picture (if they have uploaded one), and any network(s) they belong
to. If you find someone you think you know, you can send them a
message or a friend request.
Once you’ve sent a friend request, and your friend has accepted
it, your profile will keep track of their activities. Each time
they enter a new item in their profile, it will appear in your list,
and vice versa as you enter new items in your profile. The longer
you’re on Facebook, the more friends will ultimately find
you. When you sign in to Facebook, you’ll see a list of all
your friends, and what they’ve been posted on Facebook recently.
Facebook is a popular location for people to share photos of important
(and not-so-important) events, and it’s an easy way to stay
connected with people. If you’re thinking it sounds like a
great invention, you’re right! But don’t get started
on that profile yet. First you need to know how to preserve your
security when you’re on FB… stay tuned for next
month’s newsletter.
Read Part 2 of 3
Back to
Article Directory
By: Diane Henders, Bright Ideas Personalized
Learning Inc. Bright Ideas Personalized Learning Inc. is a
Calgary-based mobile computer training company that provides on-demand,
cost-effective training to corporations and individuals. For more
information about this topic, or to schedule a training session, please
call (403) 269-2347.
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