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Social Networking Updates
A few sites that have altered their formats
The social networking scene changes constantly. In this article, Linda points to a few sites that have altered their formats – are the changes good or bad? Only you can decide...
I decided some time back that my personal Facebook page is just that – personal. This is where I can rant and rave and party with friends without worry that any of my information and comments will leak to the public side of this venue.
There is a caveat to that paragraph above, however. Anyone who uses Facebook for private parties needs to constantly check his or her privacy settings. This is a twice-per-month task as far as I'm concerned, as I am that concerned about keeping my Facebook to myself. The reason behind the frequency is that Facebook constantly tries to figure out a way to make money from your information...while this is a relevant pastime for Facebook – especially since they currently don't charge users to take up space – it becomes your responsibility to keep your information from prying eyes.
That said, if you haven't created a page for yourself at Facebook, do it now. You can push your portfolio, writing, creative design and content management through a Facebook page, which is public. Additionally, you can feed your Twitter or Friendfeed account through your Facebook page.
While I have created Facebook pages for my clients and one for Appomattox News, I have not created a Facebook page for myself. You'll see a change in that pattern over the upcoming weeks, as I am expanding my business (freelance writing) to include other writers. I still say that, if you have a portfolio of artwork or design work, you are crazy (yes, crazy) not to build a Facebook page to showcase your work outside your blog.
Frankly, if Facebook ever began to charge for their services and allow those charges to keep information private, I would pay up. I have created many friendships through this service, and I can't think of a better place to begin to build a "fan" following for a Facebook page.
Finally, be aware of how you use the Facebook "Share" button in your Web surfing. If you truly want your Facebook environment to stay personal, you must read the fine print on any "share" application. It may vary from site to site...
Twitter is just getting better and better as more people understand how to use this tool for business and advocacy. And, if you run across someone who doesn't get the fact that Twitter is all about building relationships with transparency rather than busting someone's door down with a sales spiel, then you can easily block that person. End of sentence.
Use Twitter to reinforce your relationships on Facebook and on LinkedIn. Twitter, for me, represents a melding of the relationships I have on those other two networks. After all, friends sometimes become business colleagues and business colleagues sometimes become friends. What better way to bring both types of relationships out of the closet than to test the Tweeting waters together?
Use Listorious with vigor, because you will learn how you rate your followers...in my circumstance, I use Twitter mainly for writing and writing associations, and I have nice lists started for publishers, local writers and other writers. As time goes on, I'll add categories for writing genres, which can help me keep track of various writers as well as help build an audience for my own writing.
This same strategy can apply to you as a designer, artist or developer. Create categories for your followers (even if you have up to 1,000 followers, all it takes is a few hours per day for about a week to categorize your followers), and build lists on Listorious. You'll develop a larger following as people want to be noticed on your lists. That's just how that works.
Linda Goin
Linda Goin carries an A.A. in graphic design, a B.F.A. in visual communications with a minor in business and marketing and an M.A. in American History with a minor in the Reformation. While the latter degree doesn't seem to fit with the first two educational experiences, Linda used her 25-year design expertise on archaeological digs and in the study of material culture. Now she uses her education and experiences in social media experiments.
Accolades for her work include fifteen first-place Colorado Press Association awards, numerous fine art and graphic design awards, and interviews about content development with The Wall St. Journal, Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, and L.A. Times.