Here are some tips and tools for making the most of social networking.
Socialbakers provides statistics about social media usage in various countries.
What can you use social networks for?
- What is Web 2.0?
- Ten Commandments of Social Media
- Top 6 Social Media Mistakes and How to Fix Them
- Using the Network for Business Success – a reminder to keep an eye on what others are saying
Which networks to use?
- Blogging vs Twitter examines the time commitment required and messages shared
- Getting started with Facebook
- Facebook 101 for Business: Your Complete Guide – although slightly out of date, it gives an excellent step-by-step look at what to consider when setting up your own profiles, how to manage friend lists, and setting up a Facebook page.
- The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Marketing
- How to spot Facebook scams
- Create a Facebook Like button for your web page
Privacy
Facebook privacy is constantly changing, but here are some useful tools and advice regarding privacy.
- Facebook privacy basics
- What does Facebook publish about you and your friends?
- The Hidden Secrets of Online Quizzes
- Twitter Guide Book
- Storify provides a way to curate tweets into “stories” (see an example of a Rotaract Twitter chat story)
- How to opt out of Linked In sharing your data with third parties
- How to Create a Company Profile on LinkedIn
- Fix your LinkedIn Company Page
Blogging
Popular free blogging software includes WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr.
URL Shorteners
As the name suggests, these are useful for sharing long links which wrap over many lines by providing a much shorter version (or memorable version) to take you to the same page.
- Bit.ly is a URL shortening service which enables you to bundle multiple links in one short address. This is the service used by Twitter.
- Goo.gl is a URL shortening service offered by Google.
- TinyURL was the first URL shortening service, and offers the ability to specify your own memorable URL rather than just being assigned random letters and numbers.
Other Useful Web 2.0 Tools
- Gravatar enables you to associate an image with your email address. If you comment or join a gravatar-enabled site, your central photo will automatically be used as your avatar.
- SlideShare enables you to upload documents, powerpoint presentations and short videos, which can be embedded in a web page rather than having to download the document to view it. A SlideShare app on Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to showcase your documents within you own profile.