Understanding Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace for Boomers

In the short life of this blog, the post about Facebook for web 1.0 users has zoomed past hundreds to become number 3 on Google - just behind Techcrunch. It's time to update the post.

Understanding Facebook Basics

Understanding Facebook Basics. August 30, 2007. OK, after a couple of posts which discuss the impact of Facebook on the web, let’s get down to “brass tacks” ...
www.davidrisley.com/2007/ 08/30/understanding-facebook-basics/ - 40k 

Facebook Users Revolt, Facebook Replies

Sep 6, 2006 ... I applaud you for clearly not understanding Facebook. If you look again, you’ll realize that this feature is a long list of teasers that ...
www.techcrunch.com/2006/09/ 06/facebook-users-revolt-facebook-replies/ - 145k 

New Economics of Advertising: HOW-TO: Understanding Facebook for ...

Feb 18, 2008 ... HOW-TO: Understanding Facebook for Web 1.0 Users. Facebook is the second largest social network, and growing fast. In Web 1.0 terms, ...
adecon101.blogspot.com/ 2008/02/understanding-facebook.html - 97k -Cached - Similar pages

Why Social Networks - the Simple Value Proposition

I've encouraged hundreds of boomers to open Facebook or LinkedIn accounts. Most have the impression that they are too old. Social networks are for the young.

One feature may be enough to convince boomers that social networks are for everyone. 

Eliminate menial email and address maintenance

Like mailing lists, email lists change rapidly. At 2-3% change per month, the list is useless after one year without maintenance. 

Using social networks, we link to our contacts. From then on, each party maintains their own contact information. This saves time.

Getting Social

Without connections, social networks seem meaningless. The new user wonders why millions make much ado about nothing. 

1. Import: Start by importing your current address list from Yahoo mail, Google mail, Hotmail, AOL mail, Outlook, or other mail programs. Social networks often automate the access. If all methods fail, export contacts and import.
   
2. Invite: After import, use supplied tools to invite friends to connect. It's a few clicks. No invitation to write. Most networks already tell you which contacts have active accounts. Active friends will accept your invitation without question.
3. Share: Once you have a few dozen connections, it's time to act socialably.

Becoming Social

Your personal homepage shows a summarized feed of news (i.e. news feed) containing updates from your connections. This includes photos, address changes, blog postings, videos, and current status (i.e. what am I doing now.)

With the new Facebook, you can scan the feed, read an item, and comment immediately. This commenting replaces the wall feature - a nice change for the better. LinkedIn has a formal method to write recommendation for friends, but no informal feature for personal exchange.

In a few months, friends from 30 years ago have found and connected with me. Getting caught up, maintaining touch, and exchanging ideas has changed my world for the better.

Beyond commenting on friends, you can proactively manage your feed of information to friends. This is your mini-feed. When combined with the mini-feeds of other friends, it provides the personalized news feed for each friend.

You can post articles from the web, videos from Youtube, or write articles to solicit comment or argument. The original post contains a detailed list of actions.

Fear of change should not stop us. Enjoy the new world.