upcoming events in their communi- Working Discussion Forum where shop
Pokes ty and to organize social gatherings. owners are encouraged to post top-
The poke feature is intended to be a Events require an event name, network, ics and comment on discussions about
virtual “nudge” to attract the attention host name, event type, start and end business, news and tech information,
of another user. Hence, most Facebook time, location and a guest list of friends as well.
users use this feature to attract atten- invited. Events can be open, closed or
tion or say “hello” to their friends. secret. When setting up an event the
Typically it is used when a friend user can choose to allow friends to Chat and Notifications
hasn’t heard from you for a while. upload photos or videos. As of April 23, 2008, Facebook Chat
They will poke you and then wait anx- was released to the entire Facebook user
iously for a poke back from you. That Events are a great tool for business- base. Users are only able to chat with
begins the “poke war” until someone es. Adding maintenance workshops on their Facebook friends and on a one-
finally gives in. your event calendar for consumers and to-one basis, although a user may chat
To poke a friend is simple. From even past customers is a great way with multiple friends simultaneously
their “wall” you will see a link under to promote your business in the local through separate chat interfaces.
their photo (if they have one) on the community as well as the online com-
left side. There are several link options, munity. It displays an honest desire to Chat features are a live method
including “Poke” and then their first educate and that you are serious about of chatting between friends. It can be
name. Click on that link and you’ve your desire to help others. particularly useful for communicating
just poked them. with a friend on quick topics.
Networks, Groups and
Photo and Video Uploads Pages
Getting Started on
Facebook allows different net- Facebook
Photos works and groups to which many users Step 1: Set up a Facebook
One of the most popular applica- can join. It also allows privacy settings Account. Setting up a Facebook
tions on Facebook is the Photos applica- on basis of networks. Groups are used account is fairly easy and it’s FREE.
tion, where users can upload albums of for discussions and events, etc. Groups Login to
www.facebook.com and enter
photos, tag friends and comment on are a way of enabling a number of people your information to set up an account.
photos. According to Facebook, in May to come together online to share infor- Don’t forget to upload a picture of
2007 there were 1.7 billion user photos, mation and discuss specific subjects. A yourself for your profile. (figure 1)
2.2 billion friends tagged in user photos group is comprised of, but not limited to,
and 3+ billion photo images served to the following: the members who have
users every day. joined, recent news contents, discussion
board contents, wall contents, photos,
posted items, videos and all associated
Videos comments of such items. In this respect,
During the time that Facebook groups are similar to pages but contain
released its platform, it also released more features.
an application of its own for sharing Individuals or companies can cre- Figure 1
videos on Facebook. Users can add their ate pages which allows users to “become
videos with the service by uploading a fan” of the individual, product, ser- Step 2: Request friends to your
video, adding video through Facebook vice or concept. Pages look and behave Facebook account. There are two ways
Mobile and using a webcam recording much like a user’s personal private to do this. Invite Friends is where you
feature. Additionally, users can “tag” profile, with some significant differ- enter your personal friends’ and busi-
their friends in videos they add much ences. Public Profiles are integrated ness associates’ email addresses into the
like the way users can tag their friends with Facebook’s advertising system, form to invite them to become a friend.
in photos, except the location of the allowing Public Profile owners to easily The Find Friends feature allows you
friend in the video is not displayed. advertise to Facebook’s users. Owners to search your email address book from
can send updates to their fans, which your email program and will invite
This is a great place to post pic- show up on their home page. They also
tures and videos of your shop, your have access to insights and analytics of
family and other topics you think your their fan base.
friends may find interesting.
Groups have had a huge impact
on community-based Web sites. It’s
Events a great tool for socializing with like-
Facebook events are a way for minded individuals and serves a great
members to let friends know about purpose. This is similar to the What’s Figure 2
GEARS January/February 2010 51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74