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Social Media 101

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Alliance for Safe Kids: 101

Facebook Created in 2004, Facebook is what is known as a "". It's an set up to facilitate people finding and forming friendships with each other through an exchange of different content. Facebook is one of the biggest social networks because of how much you can do with it. How Facebook Works: 1. Find people to connect with in a variety of different ways: Facebook gives you lots of options for connecting with people you know. You can find people to become "friends" with on Facebook based on where you live, go to school, work, or even who else you are friends with. 2. Get the latest updates from top brands and celebrities: Facebook also allows you to follow your favorite corporate and pop culture icons, including actors, athletes, bands, clothing companies, car manufacturers, and so on. Plus, you can also see what's making headlines in sports, politics, science, entertainment, and more. 3. Share news with your connections through text, pictures, videos, and more: You can let your "friends" know what you're up to with photos of your pets, interesting articles, or a video of an activity on your vacation. 4. Keep the discussion going with "likes" and comments: When you see news on Facebook from your friends or the people or brands that you follow, you can "like" what they post to show your appreciation for it, comment on how it makes you feel, or even share it with your other friends. 5. Use chat and messaging features to talk to people directly: Sometimes, you only want specific people to hear or see what you have to share. That's when you can use Facebook's internal email system to send private messages to people, or use the "chat" function to swap text messages and other content with one or more of your friends at once. 6. Get some face time with video chat: Why just sent text messages, pictures, and videos back and forth to communicate with your Facebook friends when you can talk to them face-to-face? Similar to Skype, if you have a miniature camcorder (known as a "webcam") attached to your computer, and your friends do as well, then you can use the "video chat" feature to start a conversation in real time! 7. Join groups of people who enjoy the same things that you do: You can join "groups" on Facebook that are focused on a particular activity or theme. Then, you can post content and discussions that can be seen and contributed to by all group members. Some groups are open to the public, while others require you to be invited in order to join and see them. 8. Organize events in real life: Use Facebook's to set up an event with the time, date, and other details. Then, send out invitations to your Facebook friends, and have them reply as "going", "not going", or "maybe". No "phone tag" or mailing out RSVPs necessary!

For more information visit: https://techboomers.com/p/facebook

AllianceforSafeKids.org | Techboomers.com Alliance for Safe Kids: Social Media 101

Instagram Instagram is an easy-to-use mobile application that lets you capture and edit photos or videos on your tablet computer or smart phone.

How Instagram Works:

1. Find people to follow: If you need some inspiration for what to post on Instagram, or just want to see what the world is up to, you can follow the activity of other people on Instagram. Many other people use Instagram, from celebrities and corporations to budding photographers and blog enthusiasts. Some users may be friends, family members, or other people whom you know! You can connect with them and follow what they do, and they can do the same for you.

2. Hash out a conversation: Once you start following people on Instagram, you're going to see photos and videos that the post. If you see one in particular that piques your interest, you can "like" it or leave a comment on it to let people know what you think of it. Also note that Instagram supports the use of "", short words/phrases/abbreviations preceded by the "#" sign that you can add to your posts or comments to help categorize them. This not only makes them easier to find for you, but it also helps other people find them as well!

3. Upload and edit your own photos and videos: You can put also put your own photos and videos on Instagram. You can use ones that are already on your mobile device, or you can use Instagram to take a new photo or record a new video. After that, you can use filters and other effects to give unique looks to all of your creations!

4. Post your photos and videos on Instagram, or on other social networks: Why just stop at sharing your photos and videos on one social network? One of the major selling points of Instagram is that you can connect it to various other social media services. Then, when you post a photo or video on Instagram, you can share it on your accounts for Facebook, Twitter, , , or Foursquare all at the same time with a few taps of your mobile device's screen!

5. Make your account private if you don't feel like sharing: Are you the shy type who would rather use Instagram as their own private online photo album? No problem! You can set your Instagram account to private, which means that only people whom you approve as "followers" can see your stuff. You can also use "Instagram Direct" to send a private post to a friend that only they can see... it won't show up in any public place on Instagram.

For more information visit: https://techboomers.com/p/instagram

AllianceforSafeKids.org | Techboomers.com Alliance for Safe Kids: Social Media 101

LinkedIn LinkedIn is a social network designed to be used by businesses and work professionals. Individuals can create profiles that act as CVs, and connect with contacts who can endorse their skills. Companies can also create their own pages to advertise to potential partners, and post job openings that users can apply for.

How LinkedIn Works:

1. Put your work experience in front of people looking for it: At its most basic, having a profile on LinkedIn is like having an online version of your resume, which gets you exposure to many more potential employers than distributing resumes by hand. Some of the most influential businesspeople in the world, such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, have profiles on LinkedIn.

2. Make your company available to potential partners: By the same token, many famous companies around the world have company pages on LinkedIn, eager to show themselves off and maybe even hire some new employees.

3. Establish and expand your professional network: Connect with people you know, either professionally or personally. They might point you towards a job you'd like, or you can do the same for them!

4. Show off your credentials: Connections can also endorse your listed skills, and you can do the same for them. Your abilities look a lot more impressive to potential employers if you've got people to vouch for them!

5. Hiring happens here: Companies both big and small post job listings on LinkedIn, so there are plenty to choose from if you're looking to get into the workforce. Or, if you're already running a business and are looking for fresh talent, you can post a job yourself!

6. Get advice from industry veterans: Join groups of people with similar jobs or skills, and have discussions with them about professional matters that you care about. You might get advice on how to take your career to the next level, or find a new job that's perfect for you!

7. News from the working world, at your fingertips: Keep up to date with the latest business and workforce news, either from your contacts or from LinkedIn itself through LinkedIn Pulse.

For more information visit: https://techboomers.com/p/linkedin

AllianceforSafeKids.org | Techboomers.com Alliance for Safe Kids: Social Media 101

Pinterest Pinterest is a that lets you find, collect, and organize interesting image-based things that you find on the Internet, find on Pinterest itself, or put on Pinterest yourself. It does this through “boards” (a series of user-created categories) and “pins” (a series of visual bookmarks)

Pins on Pinterest can be all sorts of picture-based elements: photos, drawings, videos, animations, Internet links... some will even show you the location that they depict on a map! And boards on Pinterest are used for all sorts of different topics, as we'll demonstrate below.

How Pinterest Works

1. Sign up for Pinterest, and let it know what you would like to see. Creating a Pinterest account is fast, easy, and free! Just enter your name, age, gender, and email address, and pick a password (or sign up with your Facebook account instead). Then, pick at least four categories of stuff that you're interested in. This will help Pinterest show you some neat bookmarks right off the bat to get your inspiration going! 2. Create your own custom Pinterest "boards" to organize your "pins". Before you make any bookmarks on Pinterest, you have to have places to put them! You can create categories -- or "boards" -- to store your bookmarks in. Give one a title and a description, and then file it under one of Pinterest's pre-set topics so that it's easier to find. You can even add map locations to your bookmarks for a board, get other people to add their own bookmarks to a board, or make a board private so that only certain people can see it or add to it. 3. Add "pins" to your "boards" from , other users on Pinterest, or files on your computer. Once you have some "boards" to store your bookmarks on, it's time to start making your bookmarks -- the "pins"! If you have a photo, video, or animation file on your computer, you can upload it to Pinterest and make a pin out of that. Or, if you see a pin that you like posted by somebody else on Pinterest, you can copy it to one of your boards. And there are many websites with built-in functions that allow you to quickly and easily turn their content into pins for Pinterest! 4. Connect with friends by linking your Pinterest account to other social networks. Your Pinterest account can be connected to your accounts on other social media websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. By doing so, you can find your friends who are already on Pinterest, and share pins or collaborate on boards together. You can even go the other way and share the things that you find on Pinterest with your other social networks!

For more information visit: https://techboomers.com/p/pinterest

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Snapchat Snapchat is a social messaging application for mobile devices that allows the exchange of stylized photos or videos ("snaps"), as well as text messages ("chats"). Snapchat's defining feature is that the majority of its content deletes itself after being viewed, and/or after a relatively short amount of time.

Snapchat is mostly used by younger people, such as high school students or college/university students. However, it is becoming popular among older generations as well, as a way to more privately share messages and pictures with their loved ones.

How Snapchat Works:

1. Find friends to communicate with over Snapchat: There are plenty of different ways to add contacts to Snapchat. You can search for people by their user name, have Snapchat look through your device's address book, scan someone's Snapchat identity code, or even add someone who's looking for Snapchat friends nearby!

2. Send a quick photo or video that deletes itself upon viewing: Take a picture or record a video, and then send your "snap" to your friends on Snapchat! You can choose how long that you want others to be able to see it, and when that time is up... poof! No trace of your content!

3. Dress up your "snaps" with special effects: Express yourself through your snaps! Decide whether or not they'll have audio, add a caption or emoji, draw on them, or apply an artistic filter. Do whatever you think will help get the point of your message home, because your recipient can only see it once!

4. Send text messages that also self-destruct: Think that words are enough to get your meaning across? Pick a friend on Snapchat to send a message to, type in what you want to say, and then send away! When they receive the message, it will be gone as soon as they close the chat window.

5. Share a day in your life with "": You can also add your "snaps" to your "story" to show people what you do throughout the course of a 24-hour period. Unlike regular "snaps", ones added to your "story" stay there for at least 24 hours, and your friends can view them as many times as they want! You can also check out stories from other companies and organizations!

For more information visit: https://techboomers.com/p/snapchat

AllianceforSafeKids.org | Techboomers.com Alliance for Safe Kids: Social Media 101

Twitter Twitter allows people to post updates of where they are, what they're doing, or what they're interested in. Since each post has a 140 character limit, most people post frequently and get right to the point. This allows you to post need-to-know information quickly so your friends and family can get an idea of what's going on in your life right now.

How Twitter Works:

1. Show everyone who's behind the chatter: Create your profile with a photo, mini bio, background picture, color scheme, and more!

2. Brevity is the soul of wit…: You only have 140 characters with which to make a message on Twitter, so be brief! Not to worry, though: 140 characters is enough to share pictures, hyperlinks, or even videos (if you're using Twitter's mobile app)!

3. Follow the tweeting of your favorite brands and celebrities: Lots of celebrities, organizations, and interesting people use Twitter. You can follow along with them, so you'll never miss an update of what they're up to.

4. See what people are talking about: Twitter uses a system called "hashtags" (words, abbreviations, or phrases preceded by the "#" symbol) that let people organize their posts. You can use this system to see what the popular topics on Twitter are. It might even lead you to important news updates!

5. Spread the word with retweets: Did you find a post on Twitter that you liked so much that you just had to have it for yourself? Use the "retweet" function to copy someone else's post and share it on your own blog… giving credit to where you got it from, of course.

6. Invite others to join the conversation: If you want to make one of your posts about someone in particular, you can "mention" them by adding an "@" symbol before their user name (e.g. "@barackobama"). This will make the post show up on your blog, and on their blog as well.

7. Send a tweet to someone special You can also send a "direct message" to another Twitter user if you want to discuss something with them, but don't want to share it with people who may be following your activities.

For more information visit: https://techboomers.com/p/twitter

AllianceforSafeKids.org | Techboomers.com Alliance for Safe Kids: Social Media 101

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The Internet is a wide and wondrous place, but it doesn't have to be intimidating. Sure, there are over 175 million websites on the Internet today (and that's just counting the ones that people actually use), but Techboomers has done the sorting and heavy lifting for you.

Techboomers maintains the largest online library of quality, up-to-date information and tutorials regarding the most popular and useful Internet-based products available. The educational content is always be free and fully accessible without needing to create an account.

Techboomers works to empower adults to become Internet experts within their personal networks in such a way that builds both their connections and their confidence with using technology.

For more information visit: https://techboomers.com/

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