INTERNET
Embracing Facebook and Twitter
by Bill Koelzer M
ost everyone has heard of Face- book and Twitter. But … what do they do, why are they so
popular and how do you get involved?
Facebook While some consider Facebook a use-
less waste of time, others value it as a pleas- ant and organized way to communicate with remote family members, business as- sociates and customers. Even senior citizens, who thought the
Internet was beyond their grasp, have been trained by web savvy grandkids about how to get onto and use Facebook to stay in touch with family. The Facebook site, only seven-years-
old, has reached over 800 million users in the world as of September 2011. Facebook lets you create a personal
profile, add other users as friends, and ex- change messages, including automatic no- tifications when friends update their profile. You simply register online, and then use the site. Once connected, you can create or join common-interest user groups organ-
ized by school or college workplace, or for basically any reason. You can put “friends” into lists such as “People from My Hometown”, or “Really Close Friends”. The name Facebook is the nick-
name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by university ad- ministrations in the United States to help students get to know each other. Facebook lets anyone who declares being at least 13- years-old register and use the site. A recent movie, “The Social Network,”
tracks the process and people during the period of Facebook’s invention. Getting started on Facebook is super-
easy. Even one who is not web savvy can create an account in minutes. Full instruc- tions and spoon-fed steps are found at:
https://www.facebook.com/help/?topic=s ignup.
Twitter Twitter, too, was originally ridiculed for
sending inane messages on the web. But just as with Facebook, Twitter is a quick, ef- ficient way to inform scores of people, of
a happening, event, news, etc. in seconds. Twitter, begun in 2006, defines itself
this way: “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate
blogging and social media service. TwitPic is often used by citizen journalists to up- load and distribute pictures in near real- time as an event is taking place. In May 2011 the innovative website
Tweetathief was launched, which uses numerous social networks alongside a Twitter app to allow people to post lost, missing, found and stolen pets, people and items. Like Facebook, Twitter is free to join.
Many people sign up using different lo- gons and passwords thereby creating sev- eral Twitter accounts, one for each group
and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. People write short updates, often called “Tweets” of 140 characters or fewer. These messages are posted to your profile or your blog, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twit- ter search.” Even our police force uses Twitter. Wikipedia notes: “Many police officers
use Twitter to provide details on their daily routine and send appeals for information regarding crimes they or their organization are investigating, in an attempt to widen the number of people being reached by these appeals.” The American Red Cross also uses
Twitter to exchange minute-to-minute in- formation about local disasters including statistics and directions. TwitPic is a website that allows users to easily post pictures to the Twitter micro
of friends, relatives, and customers. Busi- nesses often create special dedicated Twit- ter accounts to alert far reaching networks of sales people or world-wide employees of fast-breaking events, price changes, etc. Signing up for a Twitter account is so
simple. Just go to http: //tinyurl. com/3rc7eny and do what it says there. By the time you are done you will won-
der why you took so long to enjoy these two terrific tools for communicating with others, finding old friends, and beginning a new and enriching online experience that even five-year-olds master almost im- mediately. So, if you’re one of those who aren’t YET a Facebook or Twitter user, fear no more. These may seem like they are too new-fangled for you, but once you try them there’s a real good chance that you’ll get “hooked”. And your family and friends will love you for doing it! b
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