Social Networking Primer

By: Don Willmott | Source: AARP.org | July 2009

As places to exchange ideas today, book groups, political rallies, and private clubs seem quaint. But engaging discussions and lively debates haven't disappeared, they've just shifted venues to Web-based social networks.

Social networks—Internet sites that help you connect with others—have captured the attention of millions of people. Facebook, Twitter, AARP.org, and other such sites make it easy to stay in touch with old friends, classmates, and colleagues, and also let you develop new friendships, host special-interest groups, and chat with people who share your enthusiasm for anything from politics to belly dancing.

The Big Guys

With 200 million active members (3.5 million of whom are age 50+), Facebook is the largest of the lot. Twitter, with 32 million participants, is wildly popular and growing—with its role in the recent political protests in Iran giving it even greater visibility. MySpace, another high-profile network, has 125 million users, but its appeal is mostly with the under-34 market, where music and entertainment take center stage.

With My Space fading, Facebook and Twitter are the hot social-networking sites of the moment, and whether you connect to one of them through your PC or a via Web-enabled smart phone, you may find that either one or both become part of your daily routine. Here's how to get started with each, and how to use an up-and-coming site called "Ning" to easily create your own social network.

Facebook

Facebook is a phenomenon unparalleled in the history of the Internet. It started life in 2003 as a way for Harvard students to meet and keep in touch. It expanded to other colleges in 2004, and then to high schools in 2005. In September 2006, Facebook finally opened its doors to people of all ages.

The average Facebook member has 120 friends, representing a mix of family members, long-lost cronies, current and former colleagues, and, for the truly extroverted, all of their friends, too.

But what are all these people doing? In a word, communicating. Members use Facebook to stay in touch through regular updates. People say anything from, "On my way to the town hall on health care," to, "Just set up a new charity—check it out!" They share opinions, thoughts, and ideas on everything from the economy to reality TV—and can instantly communicate with everyone in their online network, at the same time. On the lighter side, members frequently indulge in the thousands of Facebook programs to take online quizzes ("My Top-Five Books," "Politicians I'm Most Like"), play Scrabble, send virtual gifts of roses and cigars (presents that exist only on the Internet), and more.

One hour of setup, half an hour of searching for friends, and a week of experimentation is all you need to see if Facebook is right for you.

Step 1: Get Started. To get started with Facebook, first decide on a "user name," the moniker you'll go by as you use the site. On some sites, remaining anonymous is an accepted practice, but on Facebook, most people use their real names or variants ("joesmith" or "jsmith," for example).

Next you can create a profile, a kind of mini-biography of your interests, where you work, where you went to school, the neighborhood you live in, and so on. The more information you add to your profile, the more engaging you'll find Facebook. That's because the site suggests connections between you and people with like interests, old colleagues, classmates, neighbors, and so on. Also add a photo of yourself—the site walks you through the process—so Facebook can display it alongside your updates.

Concerned about your privacy? You're in control: It's totally up to you to decide who sees your profile and with whom you communicate (see "Make It Safe," below).

Step 2: Make It Safe. It's a good bet that you don't want each of Facebook's 200 million members pounding on your virtual door, so the site goes to great lengths to let you control who sees what. To get started, click the Settings link in Facebook's menu bar at the top of the page. These options give you pinpoint control over who sees your updates, photos, personal information, and your Facebook activity. You can block any individual members you choose to from seeing your profile or contacting you. These tools come in handy when, for example, your high school nemesis starts reminding you about those embarrassing photos from the good old days.

Step 3: Post Updates. Next, go to your home page (click on Home in the menu bar) and answer the question that Facebook poses at the top of the screen: "What's on your mind?" Write a brief personal update (called a "post" in online parlance), drop in a link to a video you like, or share an interesting site. Here's where you start interacting with your Facebook friends.

Step 4: Find Friends. Facebook isn't any fun by yourself, and the site does a good job of helping you find friends. (Facebook refers to people you may know as "friends." Facebook users also consider "friend" a verb, as in the question, "Did you friend your daughter yet?")

Use the Find Friends feature—in the menu bar, click Friends and then click Find Friends—to have Facebook comb through the contacts and e-mail addresses on your PC that match Facebook members. Search for the names of your high school and college friends, too, and include the years you attended in your search. In less than 10 minutes, you can assemble a personal class reunion that will never end. Similarly, search for the names of former employers, and look through the resulting list to see if you want to friend any former or current colleagues.

Remember that no Facebook friendship is automatic. You must ask someone to become your friend and he or she has to accept; others, in turn, need your permission before you become one of their friends. Accept or reject friend requests as you please (a rejected, would-be friend does not receive notice of your rejection. Ultimately, you'll have a network of people with whom you truly want to stay in touch.

Step 5: Explore Groups and Fan Clubs. Facebook consists of more than person-to-person contact. You can set up or join a special-interest group or become an online fan of a team, band, or celebrity (click the Groups link at the bottom of any Facebook page). Joining groups that reflect your interests enriches your Facebook experience, because you'll connect with a community that shares your enthusiasm for everything from politics to entertainment to sports to hobbies.

Step 6: Enjoy Programs and Games. Facebook has 52,000-plus quizzes, interactive games, personal-finance tools, trivia tests, and other activities. Find them by clicking the Applications link at the bottom of the page. But be forewarned: You may become distracted for days.

Twitter

Twitter has become a media darling lately, especially now that politicians and celebrities are joining its ranks. The network also played a role in the recent protests in Iran. Unlike Facebook, which suggests connections among you and other members, Twitter does just one thing: It lets you blast short messages of 140 characters, maximum (about 14 words), to your "followers" (friends, colleagues, and strangers who've signed up to see what you're up to).

While many people remain dismissive of Twitter—why would anyone want to know that you just ate a great turkey sandwich?—the service has evolved into a powerful way to communicate. For one thing, its 140-character limit forces you to be concise and prevents you from boring your followers with endless harangues. Second, it lets you build a following of people interested in you, your company, or your affiliation, and you can also tap into that group and its members' followers. In other words, Twitter helps you create a self-perpetuating network of like-minded people. And third, you can search Twitter for all the posts people have written on a particular topic (say, hybrid cars). It's like taking an instant, worldwide poll on what people think about your topic of choice.

Your updates—called "tweets"—reflect your thoughts, your impressions, your daily life, your personality, and your interests. In turn, they can lead you to people who share your interests, political views, and hobbies. You can even use Twitter to make new business contacts and market your company or philanthropy. Twitter is also becoming a way to get breaking news: When US Air Flight 1549 crash-landed in the Hudson River in January 2009, for example, the story broke on Twitter and was complete with eyewitness accounts and cell-phone photos.

Step 1: Get Started. Getting started with Twitter is easy. Go to the site and enter your name and e-mail address, along with a user name. You can use any name you like, but if you want to be taken seriously or use Twitter for professional purposes, create a screen name that's close to your real name, company name, or area of interest. For example, you might choose the user name "imabeekeeper."

Step 2: Follow Other Members. Once you sign up, you can tap into the Twitter universe of millions of individual thoughts to find topics of interest. To get started, go to the Search box on the right side of your home page. Search for "apiary" or "honey bees," for example. Twitter displays a list of all the posts on that topic, along with the user name and picture of the poster. Click to go to the poster's home page and view all their tweets. If you like what you see, click the Follow link at the top of the page to become one of the poster's "followers"; Twitter then automatically displays their posts on your own home page.

Some of your friends may already use Twitter. You can search for them using the site's search feature by clicking on the Find People link at the top of the page. Or you can have Twitter do the searching for you: After you click on Find People, click "Find on other networks." Twitter then searches address lists of Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL, and a few other e-mail services. Twitter also maintains a list of interesting "suggested users" (Jimmy Fallon, George Stephanopoulos, Tony Robbins) to get you started.

You'll find Twitter updates for news, too, such as those for CNN (search for and follow "cnnbrk") and tweets from some stores, brands, and many celebrities, such as Martha Stewart (marthastewart) and Shaquille O'Neal (bigcactus32), not to mention President Obama (barackobama).

Step 3: Start Tweeting. To attract your own group of followers, you need to tweet. You can say anything you want, add a Web link, or include a photo. The only rule is that you stick to the 140-character limit (an on-screen counter keeps track for you). Just remember: Twitter is a public environment built on sharing. Unlike with Facebook, you don't control who chooses to "follow" you, so millions of people could see what you write. That is why you're encouraged to be interesting and compelling. Think of your exposure as a benefit, not a threat.

Write engaging tweets, comment clearly on subjects on which you're an expert or have something original to say, and use key words, so that people with similar interests can find your tweets by searching for those words.

Add links to interesting articles or photos you've seen. "Retweet" postings by forwarding a posting that you find interesting to your own followers. This way, you'll become a more engaged and active member of the community. And tell your friends you're tweeting, too.

Do all of the above, and you may even be able to position yourself on Twitter as a thought leader, as your expertise attracts attention. Don't use the site for spamming, though ("I sell vacuum cleaners in Orange County for low, low prices!!!").

Step 4: Make It Fun. The key to making Twitter enjoyable is to follow a collection of people whose updates you care about. You'll soon discover that some of your friends never tweet, while some tweet way too much. You can stop following anyone who overdoes it by clicking the Remove key beside his or her name.

By mixing feeds from your favorite posters and publications, you start to get a real-time take on subjects that interest you. And on the right side of your home page, you'll see a list of Trending Topics—a look at what the Twitter world is most concerned with at this very minute. Click an entry, and you'll see tweets from all over the world on that subject. Twitter can be your constantly refreshed op-ed page.

Step 5: Make It Useful. Another way to find members who share your interests is by exploiting one of Twitter's search features. If you type the "hash" or "pound" sign (#) at the beginning of a word, your tweet will show up when someone searches for that word. If you love tennis, for example, and you're watching a Roger Federer match at Wimbledon, include "#wimbledon" or "#federer" in your tweets, and you'll soon find yourself deeply engaged with other tennis fans from around the world. You can follow them, and they can follow you.

Step 6: Get Some Help. Twitter's interface is simple and sleek, but it hides some of the site's coolest features, like the ability to post photos and to repost your tweets to your Facebook page. To uncover Twitter's gems, try a free helper program, such as TweetDeck for PCs and Macs, Tweetie for iPhones, or TwitterBerry for BlackBerries. Each program acts as a sort of Twitter dashboard, giving you control over Twitter's shadow features.

Ning

If Facebook and Twitter are too vast and impersonal for you, why not build your own social network for friends, colleagues, leisure groups, or family? That's the compelling concept behind an up-and-comer on the social-networking scene, Ning.

Ning lets you craft your own site (with an address such as "yourname.ning.com"), complete with many Facebook-like features. For example, members can customize profile pages and share posts and photos. You can open membership to anyone or restrict it to people you invite and/or approve.

Ning involves fewer of the hurdles Facebook requires to add friends, join groups, or link to other sites, and less of its "chatter," such as exhortations to add friends and invitations to games and other programs.

After signing up, you can either dive right in and create your own social network or spend some time perusing the publicly listed networks (Nashville Fashion Group, for example, WomenWithADHD, or the Social Ventures Group).

When you set up your own network, you can select its look and feel from among 50 design templates and decide which kinds of information your members will be able or required to share. You'll also set up your own security scheme, making photos, videos, groups, chats, and events public, private, or semi-private. And if you want help managing your group, you can delegate some control to other members.

With the help of Ning, you can create a customized site where your friends, family, or organization can collaborate in as many ways as you'd like—keeping up with goings-on, discussing issues, and sharing photos, videos, and calendars.

AARP.org Online Community

Of course, if you would like to quickly and easily connect with AARP members at age 50+, like you, why not join the AARP.org Online Community?

The AARP.org Online Community, launched in February 2008, offers users an exciting environment in which to cultivate an online identity, seek advice, connect with other users, and express themselves through various media. With more than 585,000 registered users already participating, and nearly 2,400 groups on topics ranging from pet ownership to caregiving to career networking, the AARP.org Online Community is proving its worth as a unique and powerful vehicle for engaging a mature audience in an online space of its own making.

Users can get started in a few easy steps: Registration is free, and AARP membership is not required. To sign up, begin at the "Register" button on the AARP.org home page, and complete the required fields. Build your new personal profile by adding "About Me" information, such as where you live and your hobbies and interests. Now, add photos, videos, and journals you'd like to share, and enjoy feedback from other members. Finally, invite friends and family via e-mail to join you on AARP.org. It's that easy!

After you're registered, you can connect with members like you to discuss subjects as varied as training your dog, résumé tips, or your favorite recipes. Upload videos of your grandkids playing in the pool, post photos from your recent trip to the Grand Canyon, or engage in a lively discussion about health-care reform.

You can also become involved by commenting on AARP.org articles, and other members’ journals, photos, and videos. Learn about AARP’s advocacy work, the latest news on your favorite celebrities, and AARP’s wide-ranging member discounts and benefits by subscribing to free AARP e-newsletters. Join groups to discuss topics with other users. And don’t let your efforts in the AARP.org Games Channel go to waste—save your scores and challenge your friends via your community profile.

It’s all here for you in the AARP.org Online Community!

Whatever social-networking site you prefer to use—or all four of the ones we previewed—you're about to enter a previously unimaginable world of friendship and communication. In just a few steps, you can create a network of friends, family, and colleagues as small or as large, as personal or as public, as you prefer.