Next Series : Social Networking

Revolutionary new software applications are constantly emerging onto the market. As part of an academic series written on alternative technology, this text presents key information on Social Networking and encourages hands-on learning throughout the material.

Michael Miller has written more than 100 non-fiction how-to books over the last two decades, including Absolute Beginner's Guide to Complete Basics, Windows 7 Your Way, YouTube for Business, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, and the Introduction to Google Apps textbook. His books have collectively sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. Miller has established a reputation for his conversational writing style and for clearly explaining complex topics to casual readers. More information can be found at the author's website, located at www.molehillgroup.com.

Chapter One A Practical Guide to Social Networking 1

Objective 1

Understand Social Networks 1

Objective 2

Recognize the Benefits of Social Networking 5

Objective 3

Comprehend the Hazards and Limitations of Social

Networking 6

Objective 4

Protect Your Privacy 7

Objective 5

Recognize Social Networking Do’s and Don’ts 9

Objective 6

Appreciate How Businesses Use Social

Networking 11

Objective 7

Realize The Future of Social Networking 12

 

Chapter Two Using Facebook: The Basics 17

Objective 1

Get Started with Facebook 18

Hands-On Exercise 1

Setting Up Your Facebook Account 19

Objective 2

Personalize Your Profile 23

Objective 3

Find Friends 24

Hands-On Exercise 2

Finding Friends 25

Objective 4

Manage Your Homepage 30

Hands-On Exercise 3

Using the Homepage 31

Objective 5

Update Your Status 33

Hands-On Exercise 4

Posting Status Updates 34

Objective 6

Communicate with Friends 38

Hands-On Exercise 5

Communicating with Friends 38

Objective 7

Use Facebook Applications 41

 

Chapter Three Using Facebook: Advanced Techniques 47

Objective 1

Share Photos and Videos 47

Hands-On Exercise 1

Sharing Photos and Videos 48

Objective 2

Manage Events 56

Hands-On Exercise 2

Working with Events 57

Objective 3

Join Groups, Networks, and Fan Pages 60

Objective 4

Create Groups and Fan Pages 61

Hands-On Exercise 3

Working with Groups, Networks, and

Fan Pages 62

Objective 5

Network Professionally 68

Objective 6

Manage Your Privacy Settings 69

Hands-On Exercise 4

Managing Privacy Settings 70

 

Chapter Four Using MySpace 79

Objective 1

Sign Up for and Navigate MySpace 80

Objective 2

Update Your Status 82

Hands-On Exercise 1

Set Up a MySpace Account and Update Your Status 82

Objective 3

Personalize Your Profile Page 85

Hands-On Exercise 2

Personalize Your Profile Page 86

Objective 4

Find and Communicate with Friends 91

Hands-On Exercise 3

Find and Communicate with Friends 91

Objective 5

Manage Your Blog 95

Objective 6

Share Photos and Videos 96

Hands-On Exercise 4

Share Photos and Videos 97

Objective 7

Join and Create Groups 101

Hands-On Exercise 5

Join and Create Groups 101

Objective 8

Promote Yourself or Your Band 105

 

Chapter Five Using LinkedIn 111

Objective 1

Sign Up for and Navigate the LinkedIn Site 112

Objective 2

Personalize Your Profile 113

Hands-On Exercise 1

Editing Your LinkedIn Profile 116

Objective 3

Find New Connections 126

Hands-On Exercise 2

Finding New Connections 126

Objective 4

Send and Receive Messages 131

Hands-On Exercise 3

Sending and Receiving Messages 132

Objective 5

Join and Create Groups 135

Hands-On Exercise 4

Joining and Creating Groups 135

Objective 6

Research Companies 138

Hands-On Exercise 5

Researching Companies 139

Objective 7

Look for Employment 142

 

Chapter Six Using Twitter 149

Objective 1

Sign Up for and Configure Your Twitter Account 150

Hands-On Exercise 1

Signing Up for and Configuring a Twitter Account 150

Objective 2

Personalize Your Profile 153

Hands-On Exercise 2

Personalizing Your Profile 154

Objective 3

Tweet 157

Hands-On Exercise 3

Tweeting 159

Objective 4

Follow Others 162

Hands-On Exercise 4

Following Others 163

Objective 5

Search for Hot Topics 168

Hands-On Exercise 5

Searching for Hot Topics 168

Objective 6

Use Twitter Applications 169

 

Chapter Seven Using Virtual Worlds as Social Networks 175

Objective 1

Understand Virtual Worlds 176

Objective 2

Sign Up for Second Life 178

Hands-On Exercise 1

Signing Up for Second Life 179

Objective 3

Personalize and Control Your Avatar 184

Hands-On Exercise 2

Personalizing and Controlling Your Avatar 185

 Objective 4

Navigate the Virtual World 188

Hands-On Exercise 3

Navigating the Virtual World 189

Objective 5

Networking with Others in Second Life 192

Hands-On Exercise 4

Networking with Others 193

Chapter Eight Using Other

Social Media 203

Objective 1

Use Social Bookmarking Services 204

Hands-On Exercise 1

Social Bookmarking with Digg 207

Objective 2

Share Photos with Flickr 212

Hands-On Exercise 2

Uploading and Sharing Photos with Flickr 213

Objective 3

Share Videos with YouTube 218

Hands-On Exercise 3

Uploading and Sharing Videos with YouTube 219

Objective 4

Microblog with Google Buzz 227

Hands-On Exercise 4

Using Google Buzz 228

Objective 5

Create Your Own Social Network with Ning 231

Objective 6

Explore Other Social Media 232

Appendix: Comparing Social Networks 239

Glossary 241

Index 245