Facebook Encounter

Any doubts of the interest in social networking among the AARP set seemed to evaporate this morning as nearly 1,000 people crowded into a convention center ballroom to hear the editor-in-chief of AARP Publications, Hugh Delehanty, and two other AARP staffers discuss getting around the most popular social-networking site in a session entitled "Facebook 101."

Those lucky enough to get into the standing-room-only session roared with laughter as Delehanty ruefully repeated his wife's description of him as a "Facebook slut." He said he preferred the term "Facebook addict," which is how—in a recent article in AARP The Magazine —he described his relationship with the site. He said that when he turned 60, he "had an urge to re-connect with everyone I had ever met in my life."

Delehanty said the site is "not good at creative expression, looking for a job, or interacting in a social-networking group" (for the latter, he recommended the Online Community on AARP.org) Instead, he stressed Facebook's strengths in helping to keep in touch with friends old and new, and in keeping his finger on the pulse of what trends are emerging in the culture at large.

An informal poll, by show of hands, showed that two-thirds of the session's attendees were already on Facebook. Of those, only half raised their hands in response to the prompt, "Yes, I'm on Facebook, but I really don't know what I'm doing."

AARP's director of online marketing, Nataki Clarke, and a Web producer, Angel Todd, walked the group through the basics of signing on to Facebook, with Clarke urging attendees to consult AARP.org for more information on getting started with social networking.

Delehanty and Clarke ran through some basic Facebook etiquette, such as, "Be honest and be nice." Clarke especially urged people not to post unflattering and embarrassing photos of friends, and in that vein, Delehanty addressed perhaps the most pressing concern of most people in attendance: protecting your privacy online. He outlined how to change privacy settings and urged all in attendance to do so. He
reassured the crowd that, rather than exposing people's information, "Facebook is designed to help you protect your privacy."

"It's the perfect baby boomer tool," Delehanty said. "It's fun, it's easy, and it's all about me." Most important, he said, is the fact that "it puts you in charge."