I am Hooked on Facebook

Facebook is one of the “killer apps” of social networking. Like so many of the great Web 2.0 applications, Facebook wasn’t created by some huge software company. Mark Zuckerberg, now the 24-year-old C.E.O of Facebook, started it in his dorm room at Harvard (in 2004) and the site quickly amassed nine million users. Initially, Facebook was restricted to college students, or at least to those with a .edu E-mail domain. It competes with MySpace and has rapidly gained popularity, especially since the .edu requirement was dropped in

As is typical of Web 2.0, social networking is at the heart of Facebook. Users can join groups (networks) organized by city, workplace, school, or hobby – or you can start your own group. For example, there is a group called NICU Nurses with hundreds of Facebook users and a new group Erlanger Health System with only a few. It is simple to add friends and send them messages, and update your own personal profile. Many Facebook people add photos or videos as well.

Facebook underwent a major upgrade a few months ago. Long-time users were upset, but I really like the new features. The biggest change was with the News Feed, a built-in service that actively broadcasts changes in a user’s page to every one of his or her friends. The News Feed has been described as “like a social gazette from the 18th century” giving one a long list of up-to-the-minute stream of everything that’s going on about their friends, around the clock, all in one place.

Frankly, Facebook can be addicting. It can also border on annoying. However, I really feel like I have been in touch with many friends and relatives in a new way that has been a lot of fun. Interestingly enough, the biggest growth for Facebook is no longer among the young. Facebook has really caught on among boomers and others. If you sign up, you can “friend” me by searching for Lawrence G. Miller and then click on “add as friend.”

www.facebook.com

iGoogle - and maybe you should as well

iGoogle is a customizable Web “start page”that automatically loads when your Web browser launches or when you click on the browser “home” button. iGoogle supports the use of specially developed "gadgets" to display content on your home page. These gadgets vary from the useful to the whimsical. For example, on my iGoogle page, I have the time and date; a list I created of frequently used Websites as bookmarks; a Google news feed with the 5 top stories; the weather in lovely Hixson, TN; a quick search area for Wikipedia; a link to my Gmail; and the Google driving directions tool. You can create a second page on iGoogle with an additional tab, and I have some other things on this.

To get started, launch www.google.com. Then click at the top of the page on “more.” This will present a pull-down menu, from which you select “even more” at the bottom. This will bring you to “More Google Products” where you see a list on the left under “Search.” Go down to iGoogle and click to get started. You can “add stuff” from your new iGoogle start page – the link is on the far right side. Once you have selected the gadgets you want, you have the ability to customize the look with themes and also drag the individual elements around on the start page to your heart’s content.

143 and counting – I am LinkedIn

Building a professional network is what LinkedIn is all about. I like to describe it as Facebook for professionals – only nobody will offer you a hug, a kiss, or a plant while LinkedIn. You build your professional network by finding and inviting people who can (and want to) add value to your chosen professional pursuit. Connect with them and be connected by them. According to LinkedIn, “Your network should be made of people whose value is measured by the amount and quality of knowledge and resources available within your network. . . Generally it's not about the number of connections you may have or connecting for connecting's sake. Your network should be about quality of knowledge, resources, skills and advocacy that LinkedIn can help unlock.”

A true social network, you build your connections by first creating a profile based upon your education, work history, community service, awards, etc. Each area of the profile can be an opportunity to connect with other. The other main strategy is to connect with groups. For example, I belong to several groups, including Chattanoogans, Professional Second Lifers, and MERLOT. I cannot tell you how many people I have reconnected with through LinkedIn, but it has surprised me. Of course, you can E-mail within from within the environment. A primary activity within LinkedIn is related to looking for jobs. Apparently, many large companies use LinkedIn for talent recruitment.

One of my favorite tech Bloggers, Guy Kawasaki, has written a very good piece, Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn. BTW, I have added Guy’s Blog to the Blog List below.

Web 2.0 Blog List

A new feature of this Blog is the Web 2.0 Blog List. You will find it at the very bottom, so scroll on down. The first post is from Alex Berger, a 23 -year old student at Arizona State University. If you want some insight into how the digitally savvy young people look at learning and the world, then read it.

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