people you may know by finding those like you within
your “networks.”
Let’s say, for instance, you were born in 1948 in
Melville, NY and graduated high school from Long Is-
land High in 1966. Facebook, for example, automati-
cally knows who you may know based on others from
Melville who graduated in 1966 from Long Island
High. You can search this list and contact those long
lost friends you haven’t seen or spoken to in 34 years.
As long as the person you for whom you are searching for has a Facebook or MySpace account, you can
find him or her by searching the high school, college,
Going back to the Long
Island High Class of 1966:
It’s graduation day. You’re
hugging friends and family,
knowing you may never see
them again. Some are going
off to college, some are going off to war. For some, the
high school crush they had is
getting married and will officially become the one who
got away. You make vows to
keep in touch and see each
other over the holidays, but
for many reasons, that never happens.
Flash forward 34 years to 2010. You have given in
and created a Facebook account. You log on and begin
to search for friends from that graduation day. One by
one, you find the names of people whom you haven’t
seen in years and start sending them messages to reconnect. Eventually, those messages are answered, and
five days later you’re at your favorite pub or restaurant sharing laughter, and sometimes sadness, as you
reminisce and learn together what the past 34 years has
brought you in life.
When you first get started
with social networking, it’s
disturbing to think that
something can know that
much about you. Remember,
however, it’s all voluntary. If
you don’t want to connect
with people, don’t put in too
much information. If you do
want to reconnect, put in as
much as you can about your
past and present so others
can find you, and you them.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is also a social networking site, and is
based primarily on your career. If you are actively
searching for work, it’s good to have a LinkedIn account. It’s basically a web-based resume that connects
you with people who have worked for the same employer in the past. This can be good for references, etc.
Same goes if you are actively seeking a consulting position in retirement.
LinkedIn has job postings searchable by region as
well. So, if you’re looking to relocate, but want to secure employment ahead of time, search their listings
and see what you can find.
Twitter
To some, Twitter is a passing fad, but others think
it will continue to gain users. It’s a great way to create
a network for yourself and for associates to find out at
any given time what the other is doing without having
to call, email, or “drop by.” More simplistically, it’s text-messaging for the web.
Twitter asks only one question: “What are you doing?” Answers must be under 140 characters in length
and can be sent via mobile phone, instant message, or
the web.
For example, you have ten friends or family members who are “following” you on Twitter (“following”
simply means they are interested in knowing what
you’re up to). You can post to your Twitter account:
“I’m at the coffee shop for an hour if anyone wants to
join me.” Then your ten followers will see your post
and write back or come join you for a cup of java.
It takes a while to get in the groove of “tweeting,”
but as with any new toy, it can become addictive once
you get the hang of it. The best part about Twitter is
it can be done from your cell phone, so you don’t have
to be on a computer.
Just ten years ago, social networking was non-exis-tent. Ten years ago, you still had to call the high school
you went to, get the last known address of the person
you wanted to reconnect with, send them a letter and
wait for a reply. If that didn’t work, you had to call
information and ask for the phone number of the person in the town where you thought they might live
and hope you didn’t bother too many households by
getting the wrong number… and that was just to reconnect with old classmates.
Granted, you may not want to get ahold of all of
your past, and you may not want your past to get ahold
of you. At least now you have a little more knowledge
of how social networking may be useful, should you
be sitting at your desk thinking about graduation day,
1966. |
