Getting Around LinkedIn

This is the fifth in a series on Social Media.

LinkedIn is the social network for businesspeople and professionals. It works on the principle of six degrees of separation. The idea is that you can find and connect to your business contacts and then to their business contacts. You can post your resume, write recommendations for others, and keep your contacts informed of changes in your professional life by simply updating your profile.

When you log in to LinkedIn, you are taken to your Home Page. At the top is a bar with links to Home, Profile, Contacts, Groups, Jobs, Inbox, Companies, and More. Next to that is a search box to help you find People.

• Home is the main page. This link also gives you an opportunity to advertise.
  
• Profile is all about you. This is the most important page; so, it's a good idea to fill out your profile as completely as possible. You can also make your profile public and searchable. Under your profile is a new feature that allows you to describe your books if you are published or your patents if you have any. There is also a listing of all of your recent activities and blog posts, if you feed your blog(s) to LinkedIn.
  
• Contacts shows your connections in alphabetical order, a search box, and a way to add and organize connections.
  
• Groups has links to Groups you may like, a directory of Groups, a way to create a group, and Groups you have started. Groups are a great way to promote discussion and share information, as well as promote your business. The rest of the page is devoted to Groups you belong to.
  
• Jobs is all about finding, posting, and managing jobs, as well as solutions to hiring problems. You can search for jobs and see those you may be interested in based on your profile
  
• Inbox is for mail. You can accept invitations, view messages, compose messages to others, and keep track of messages you have sent or archived.
  
• Companies allows you to find companies you're interested in and follow them. There is also a list of companies you may wish to follow. You can see how you are connected to a company, who recently joined the company, and where they may have worked in the past. There is even an application on businessweek.com where you could click an icon to see how you are connected to the company featured in an article.
• More contains one of LinkedIn's most popular features—Answers— a discussion where people can ask and answer questions. If you are a contributor, you will be ranked by the quantity and quality of your Answers. This is a great way to gain visibility by demonstrating your knowledge and expertise. More also provides links to a Learning Center, a way to Upgrade Your LinkedIn Account, and your personal Applications.
  

Under the bar is your photo, a place to write what's on your mind, and a button to share what you have written. Under that are updates on what your connections are doing. In the smaller right-hand column are People You May Know, so that you can build your network. Under their pictures are paid Advertisements.

At the bottom of every page are Customer Service links. One of most interesting is Tools, where you can choose among LinkedIn's Productivity Tools. These include an Outlook and a Browser Toolbar, an E-mail Signature, a Mac Search Widget, and a Google Toolbar Assistant.

Take some time to get to know LinkedIn on your own. It is a powerful social networking site for professionals, authors, and people in the business world.

Getting Around Your Facebook Home Page

This is the second in a series of blog posts about social media.

Facebook can be overwhelming without a map or step-by-step instructions on how to navigate the pages and links. When you log in to Facebook, you are on your Home Page, where you will see banners, columns, and links that provide information or lead you to other pages. This post is a map of your Home Page.

Across the top of your Home Page is a blue bar. Reading from left to right, you will see the word Facebook, three little icons, Search, Home, Profile, and Account. The icons are:

1. Friend requests from people who want to be your friends (You will also find this elsewhere on the page).
   
2. Messages are from people who are your friends and want to hear from you.
3. Notifications alert you to people who have written on your Wall (more about that later).
   

Under the blue bar, there are three columns. Working your way down the left-hand column are your picture, your name, Edit My Profile, News Feed, Messages, Events, Friends, Create a Group, App Requests, Ads and Pages, and Friends on Chat. It is easy to get lost in all of these links. Here is a quick rundown:

• Edit my Profile takes you to your profile page, which contains as much information as you wish to include about yourself.
  
• News Feed shows you what people in your network (friends) have posted. You can also view these posts in the middle column.
• Events list friends' events, birthdays, and occasions that have already taken place (so you know what you missed).
  
• Friends is a repeat of people who want to join your network, as well as recently updated profiles.
  
• To Create a Group on Facebook, just click this link and fill in the blank.
  
• App Requests are add-ons to Facebook that help you connect to other people. There are also lists of your own apps and those of your friends.
• Ads and Page allows you to set up a page for your business or book. Your Page differs from your personal profile in that it is strictly for professional purposes.
  
• Friends on Chat alerts you to who is available for instant messaging. If you send that friend a message, he or she will probably respond.
  

In the middle column there is an announcement about your New Profile and a link to Learn More about it. Under that, in a white bar, are News Feed, Top News, Most Recent, Share: Status, Photo Link, and Video. The rest of the column is devoted to what your friends are doing and saying in each of those catagories. If you have many friends, that can keep you reading all day.

• News Feed, Top News, and Most Recent all take you to friends' posts and provide a place for you to post your comments.
• Share: Status has a box for you to fill in your news, thoughts, or comments; Photo allows you to post a photograph or create an album; Link lets you insert a link to a URL; and Video is the place to record and upload a video.
  

The column on the right begins with Events and See All, which shows all events your friends are planning and a place for you to enter your own event. Under that is Find More Friends and pictures of people who have found many of their friends through Friend Finder. Finally, there are five headings: Sponsored, Create an Ad, Requests, Pokes, and Get Connected.

1. Sponsored is for paid ads others have posted.
   
2. Create an Ad is a fill-in form to place your own ad.
   
3. Requests is another way to see friend and application requests.
   
4. Pokes are short notes from friends who ask you to "poke back."
   
5. Get Connected helps you find friends who are Facebook, are not on Facebook, or are here because of you. It also explains how to connect with others on your mobile device.
   

You can see how the many ways to connect and communicate might seem like a maze if you are new to Facebook. Just remember the purposes of this fastest-growing social media site. It's all about making connections, networking, and showcasing your business. and, you can do it all on your Home Page.