Week 5: Facebook/LinkedIn: Day 1
Photo by Tim in Sydney on Flickr
As physical entities, we can only be in one place at one time. We only have 24 hours in a day. Because of these two facts, our “reach” is limited. “Reach” can be defined as our potential sphere of influence. If we have three meetings, back to back, we have to remember the travel time between each one, the customary introduction and exit rituals will each take time, and that switching from one group to another is not always easy. (And remember, each of these meetings must fit everyone’s schedule, so even the availability for these meetings is diminished.) Because of this limited reach we are not able to be in contact with those people whom we might value the most – family, friends and colleagues – as often as we might like. We often also have to whittle out some groups altogether – even though they may be valuable – because of this limited reach.
Yet, what if we were not bound by our physical bodies, nor time? What would happen to this reach – this potential sphere of influence? What kind of influence could we have if we were able to stay in contact with thousands of people? What could we accomplish if we could join meetings or groups when it was convenient for us?
Social Computing allows us to do this. There are many services on the internet that help us extend our reach. This week we will only talk about Facebook and LinkedIn. Previously considered by many to be time wasters for college students, these two services are powerful networking mediums.
Many have totally stayed away from these two (and other similar) services because of either their preconceived ideas or ‘horror stories’ they have heard. Yet the question most people want to know is, “Is Facebook / LinkedIn a waste of my time or are they actually good for something?” To know the answer, we must ask, “What do you want to do?” Unfortunately, this is most often a chicken & egg situation. We don’t know what is possible until we try it.
Before we move any further, we should understand, at least on a basic level, the value of ‘Social Networking.’ And who better to help us out than our friends at Common Craft.
Suddenly, our network (or ‘reach’ or ‘sphere of influence’) becomes much larger and can be managed at our convenience.
Social Networking Advantages:
- Infinitely more resources
- Easily contact
- 1000’s of loose connections yet…
- Very small maintenance time
- Searchable
- Learning increases
TO DO – Sign up for Facebook & LinkedIn (Difficulty Level: EASY – Time: 15- minutes total)
If you are hesitent at all, trust me on this one. If, in the end after you have signed up and still don’t want to do it, you can cancel your accounts and be free and clear. But I don’t think that will happen – just a guess 
- Go to Facebook and sign up (found on the front page).
- Go to LinkedIn and sign up (also found on the front page).
- For each of these, fill out your profiles – information about yourself. Upload a picture.
- Stop – don’t go further at this point. Resist the temptation to sign up for groups or look for people. Tomorrow we will talk about what to do next and how. Because, yes, there is a strategy.
