Facebook: It’s all about branding yourself.
Facebook is a great way to display conversational involvement. Although face-to-face communication may be the best illustration of conversational involvement because of the emphasis on attentiveness and responsiveness; Facebook is a more interesting case to explore- because of perceptiveness. Perceptiveness: be aware of how others perceive you. I am the sales-person of me. I need to be aware of how I market myself, especially on public networking sites like Facebook. Being perceptive does not mean that I do not post pictures, comment on pictures or hide in a place of complete shelter from anything imperfect; it means that I am conscious of what is being put out to the public. Here is my philosophy: anything I wouldn’t say or show to my grandmother doesn’t go on my Facebook page. I want people to have an accurate reflection of who I am so I don’t hide everything.
Check out my video below! (Yes, I really did find those pictures on Facebook!)
Facebook Do’s:
Post information worth sharing to the public. See example below:
Otterbein Softball Lands in Top Ten of NFCA’s All-Academic Teams! 🙂
Otterbein College softball
September 30 at 6:45pm · Comment · Like · Share
Network with your friends and family members. Being in college takes me away from my family that lives two hours away. But, being friends with my step-mom and sisters on Facebook allows them to keep up with what’s going on in my life. Although I have regular phone calls with my family, they don’t always get to see my pictures of when I went out to eat for my birthday with my friends, or what I wore to a costume party. I tell them about it, but they don’t get to experience it with me. Facebook provides a bridge to close that gap of being away from my family.
Remember birthdays. Remembering all of your friends birthdays can be a huge task– well with Facebook, you are able to have a reminder about everyone’s birthdays! (Don’t get me wrong, I still buy cards and send them to the important ones.)
Facebook Don’ts:
Don’t post information no one cares about. I’ve been guilty of this, but this is not what Facebook is meant for. Facebook is a way to share information, not give everyone an agenda of your day. This makes you lose credibility as a competent online networker. See example below:
Brice Royer Sitting at school killing time by taking quizzes on facebook
59 minutes ago · Comment · Like
Don’t put anything on Facebook that you wouldn’t show or say to your grandmother. Don’t swear incessantly and don’t post pictures that are inappropriate (you are the judge of inappropriate).
Things to remember about Facebook:
- It’s a public forum, no matter how private your settings are.
- It’s a great way to meet people and keep up-to-date with old friends.
- Interact! It’s a social networking site, that’s what it is made for.
- Facebook is a great way to have an involved conversation. It is functional in that aspect. Consider the three items for conversational involvement: responsiveness, perceptiveness and attentiveness. Now consider how responsive, perceptive and attentive you can be with all the functions of Facebook.
- Facebook Wall Post: Post on your friends walls
- Facebook Picture Album: Capturing all the important and fun events in your life and sharing them with your friends.
- Facebook Comments (Wall, Status, Pictures): Interacting with other’s pictures, walls and statuses is a way to build your network. Consider constructing a thoughtful response.
- Facebook Messages: This is a way to communicate with someone (or group of people) in a private manner. If you have something to say that is personal, send them a message– don’t make it public.
- Facebook Chat: You can talk with people who are online at the same time you are! How responsive!
- Facebook Events: Organize a group of people to celebrate a birthday or special occasion. An event wall becomes and open platform to have a discussion in one place about the event (any questions can be answered for everyone to see)
- Facebook Groups: You can start a group if you are passionate about cause. It is a platform for discussion and interaction.
Takeaways:
I tend to disregard the naysayers of Facebook because I see the benefits of Facebook and appreciate the functionality of the site. It is important to be perceptive when using Facebook. Read about what everyone else is doing and interact with them– it’s a shared space meant for the exchange of ideas. What better vehicle for conversational involvement.
How Much Do You Facebook?
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