I’ve recently re-signed up with facebook…I signed up once before for about eight hours and deactivated my account. I just did not get it. I’m still a little confused by some of the little applications that people have installed on their pages (more about that later), but at least this time around I have a better understanding about the networking power of facebook.

I used to think of facebook as a networking site for teenagers (my niece has an account for god’s sake). Well, I was wrong. Facebook is not just for teenyboppers, it’s a great networking site for entrepreneurs, bloggers, family, and friends.

I’m addicted and I only signed up yesterday. I spent the entire day adding cute little applications to my page and sending out my friend requests.

Here’s what I like about facebook so far:

1. I can connect and network with people that I normally would not network with. Alexandra Brown added me as a friend today. Okay so she also has over 2,000 other friends, but still…..I feel special.

2. I get to let my “friends” have a glimpse into my life. I can add photos, reveal my likes and dislikes, my friends can see what I’m reading, see my favorite music, my interests, the lists go on and on.

3. I can join groups that are specific to my interests. I’ve joined a few Virtual Assistant groups and connected with some great VA’s.

Here’s what I don’ t like about facebook:

1. The “owned” application. Something about it just rubs me the wrong way. Apparently you can buy people with this application. I won’t discuss this application any farther, maybe I just don’t understand it.

So to sum it all up:

I’m enjoying my facebook experience, true its only been 24 hours but I can’t stay away from the darn site. I’m starting to come out of my shell and network more this year and the rewards have been abundant and I’ve met some really great people thru networking.

You see, I’m a newbie online networker. In my offline life, I’m miss social butterfly. If there’s an event or function, I’m there. Online networking is a little different to me and I’m still learning.

This is what I’ve learned so far about networking online:

1. Connect with people outside your online clique. Yes, I’ve discovered that there are some online cliques (I’m not in any of them, but they do exist). It’s not networking if you’re interacting with the same people day in and day out. You have to travel outside your comfort zone and add new people to your circle. Networking is all about connecting with people!

2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or leave comments on Twitter, facebook, or someone’s blog. No ones gonna know you’re out there if you don’t make your presence known.

3. If you’re business networking, be careful of what you say. I’ve stopped following quite a few people on Twitter that I’ve admired online for years because of some of the things that they Tweet about. Some of it is really offensive and not funny. Is it really necessary for you to tweet the “F” word in every post? You don’t need to say everything that’s on your mind. However, if you’re networking with family and friends then that’s an entirely different story.

As I’ve said I’m pretty new at online networking but I am learning a lot and meeting a lot of great people. If you have any networking tips, I’d love to hear them. Leave me a comment below!

Also, if you’re on facebook, add me as a friend!

Technorati Tags: alexandria brown, networking, social networking, twitter, facebook

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