Social networking's a big part of our lives now. It started out seemingly as a fad, a way to pass the time. Now many businesses, social organizations, and of course, folks wanting to socialize, utilize one or more of the many social networking outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, LinkedIn, etc.
I've personally been part of the social networking craze since 1998. I started out with CollegeClub and BlackPlanet. I was slow to get into Myspace and Facebook, not getting accounts on either one of those until 2006. It's been a very positive, fun part of my life despite the negativity and evils that comes with it.
Being that I'm a big fan and advocate of the social networking concept, I believe I've learned from observing others, from my own trial and errors and mistakes, some tips in successful social networking. And this can apply to Facebook, Twitter, or whatever your social networking site of choice may be.
- Adjust your privacy settings as strict as possible. Make your tweets private so they cannot be easily googled. Set your Facebook photos so that a limited group of folks can see them (preferably friends only). Do not allow other folks to see your friend's lists. Many folks will add friends off of your list that they don't even know. Then you are receiving phone calls, texts, saying "Who is Jane Person? I don't know her, she's on your list?". Also, do not put your phone number on your pages. Be very careful with your email of course, but definitely leave your phone number off. Not everyone needs that info.
- Be careful what you say. Yes, we live in a free country with 1st Amendment rights, but there is also common sense and discretion. Don't talk and bash personal things such as your job or your family. Those types of things should stay within those particular networks, especially your job. Your employer can terminate you for bashing the place of employment. It's best not to talk about these types of things at all.
- Use discretion in which pictures you pose. I know this sounds strange, but I don't have a pic up of my current vehicle on my profile. Unless you've met me and know me well, I don't need for you to know what type of car I drive, where I live, etc. Also, it's ok to show yourself having fun and having a nice social life. However, pics of yourself overly inebriated and/or half-naked are not always favorable, unless you're an actor, model or both. As a man, I enjoy looking at the sexy photos many of my female friends post on their profiles. However, even I must admit that sometimes they are too much. You want to portray the proper image on your page. It doesn't have to be of a saint, but you should be willing to accept any potential fallout and consequences.
- Make sure every friend/follower has a purpose on your page. You are, for better or worse, showing some part of yourself to cyberspace. You don't want to just accept anyone's friend request. Preferably, if it's not friends, family, co-workers, or classmates, it should be at least someone you want to get to know. Yeah having 4,000 FB friends can look cool. But what if you only know AND talk to like 100 of them? I have quite a few myself and I'm proud to say I know more than half of them, and talk to most of them. Which brings me to,...
- Every few months, do a friend inventory. Discard and delete where you have to. If you have that belligerent friend that's always causing trouble on every update you make, is overly critical, or always poses an overall problem, then they should go. I like to call it "spring cleaning". I sometimes delete around 200 friends in a given year. It's nothing personal. It's just that if we're not at least conversing on FB or Twitter and you're NOT a big-time celebrity or a franchise, you're wasting space.
- Her are a couple of real brief tips for internet dating. If you're going to use social networking for this purpose, chat with this person extensively. Use your mutual friends to find out what you may/may not already know about this person. After that, if the chemistry's still right, agree to meet at a party, shopping mall or a park (a public place where both of your sets of friends will be present). Internet dating is still dangerous, but much more common. Therefore, use common sense and good judgment, just as you would when courting anyone else. All can turn out well.
- FINALLY, remember it's only social networking, it doesn't have to be your entire world. It's just an important component of your life now, like a supplement. Therefore, don't take anything on a social network too seriously. Use it for good and not for evil. Don't become co-depedent upon it either.
From the numerous horror stories about Facebook, MySpace, including the recent MSNBC special, it can make you want to delete every social networking profile. I say pump your brakes on that action first and take heed and caution. Many things and ideas, including the Internet itself, were feared and weren't rapidly accepted in the world. However, like the Internet, the automobile, electricity, cell phones, and the like, social networking is definitely a necessarily evil in our world. It's no longer a guilty pleasure, it's beneficial and a powerful part in the overall networking process. Many folks use it for mating, sharing information with their current friends, finding old friends, networking about jobs and upcoming events, promoting their various causes, and much more. If you haven't seen the Oscar nominated "The Social Network", I would highly recommend renting it. Mark Zuckerberg and crew were definitely on to something when they originally wanted to create a network where they could get to know their college classmates better, and the students at other colleges. Now it's a widespread concept.
Social networking is now a permanent fixture in our lives and world. It will be here in the good and the bad. It can only get better with folks being responsible and sensible with its usage.
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