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(More customer reviews)Even since doing his LinkedIn book, people have been asking Jason Alba if he would do a Facebook book, and his response has been, "na, I'm not crazy enough to do this twice!" Well in his Jibber Jobber blog post, on December 3, 2007, Jason admitted, "Apparently, I am crazy enough."
Similarly, despite the fact that I know business people who are on Facebook, I've felt it would be crazy to venture out beyond my LinkedIn comfort zone. Then I read Tory Johnson's article, "Get Hired in '08: Workplace Trends to Put You Ahead," and realized that I'd be crazy not to. After all, as a career consultant and personal branding strategist, I ought to be in the know about this important social networking site. So, within minutes, I'd dashed off an e-mail to Jason asking if he still needed early reviewers for the book. Minutes later, I had my review copy.
Frankly, my situation was not really "I'm on Facebook, Now What???" Rather, it was this: I'm not on Facebook, what am I missing? Happily, I was about to find out with this terrific book, coauthored by Jason Alba and Facebook expert Jesse Stay. Just browsing through their book, I saw it is an outstanding "how-to" manual that clearly lays out what to do - and more importantly, what not to do! And after I actually read it, I was not disappointed. With its rich content, well-documented resources, tips, and end-of-chapter Action Items, this is a must-read guide for novices and experienced users alike.
Bolstered by their view that "understanding what Facebook can do for you is a requirement in today's business world," I plunged into the first chapter, "Getting Stated." After reading reasons for professionals to get involved, I moved swiftly to the section on navigating Facebook, and felt I was ready to jump in - but didn't. And while I could have opened my account after reading the first three chapters, I chose to read the remainder of the book. If you do not yet have a Facebook account, I recommend you do too. Why? As Alba and Stay point out Facebook is a feature-rich environment which means that it is complex; so, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.
In Chapter 2, the authors discuss getting involved by connecting with friends and by joining groups, and then in the next chapter they move on to commonly asked questions. In Chapter 4, they provide an extensive and clear treatment of major third-party applications. If you are interested in developing Facebook applications, this chapter provides important background - but this is also a great chapter even if you simply want to enrich your Facebook experience with some of the many useful and fun third-party apps. Chapter 5 is a very good treatment of how to maintain your privacy. I see it as required reading - especially if you want to harness the power of Facebook without compromising your information. Alba and Stay do a great job of identifying issues, and include a great example of the initial lack of an opt-in feature for "Beacon," an application allowing your friends to see your online purchases.
In Chapter 6, the authors turn their attention to Facebook strategy. They are clear that while Facebook is a way of living, it is critical to determine your goals to help ensure you optimize your time. With that, they list examples of potential uses for specific groups of people: students, employees, business owners, and moms and dads.
If you are a business person, you will want to also pay attention to Chapter 7 which deals with how to promote yourself or your company (hint: as in real life, etiquette and community are keys to success). As well, business and professional users, in particular, should pay attention to Chapter 8 on Facebook no-no's which outlines key elements of Facebook's Terms of Service, points to other resources on conduct, and perhaps even more importantly addresses some unwritten rules to follow to avoid embarrassment. Finally, in Chapter 9, the authors discuss additional resources; they also provide their conclusions.
Bottom Line: as the authors point out, even if Facebook is a bit hyped, there are practical reasons for investing the time and effort to become a part of it. Perhaps for careerists and business people, the single most powerful reason is that it is offers another way to grow your network in an online environment that is feature rich and even a bit hip! So, if you're ready, make sure to get a copy of I'm on Facebook, Now What???
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I'm on Facebook--Now What: How to Get Personal, Business, and Professional Value from FacebookFacebook is one of the hottest websites in today's world, and is having a major impact on career and business. This book explains the different parts of Facebook and helps you understand how you can get the most out of your Facebook account. It helps you understand what you could or should do in Facebook to further your career, business, or job.
This book will help you come up with your own action strategy to get value out of Facebook. It will help you understand the possibilities with Facebook to figure out you can do to optimize the use of this tool.
The intended audience includes professionals interested in their careers, marketers, business owners, and anyone involved in promoting a cause (personal or business) through new, hot technologies.
Contains a foreword by Lee Lorenzen and an afterword by Robert Scoble
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