Facebook for Grown-Ups

$24.99 US 323 pp. ISBN 078974712X Published October 2010 Que Michael Miller, Author

Facebook started out as a social network for high school and college kids. But now grow-ups like you are getting connected, too -- even if you use Facebook much differently than your kids do. If you're a grown-up looking to join the Facebook bandwagon, Facebook for Grown-Ups is just the guide you need. You'll learn how to use Facebook to reconnect with old friends and family members and keep them up-to-date on what's happening in your life.

Facebook for Grown-Ups shows you how to open a Facebook account, find new friends, post status updates, and share family photos and videos. You'll learn how to become a fan of your favorite performers and companies, join a business network, and create your own topic-specific groups. And if you're worried about privacy, Facebook for Grown-Ups shows you how to keep your personal information from becoming public knowledge. You'll even learn how to keep track of what your kids are doing on Facebook -- without them knowing it.

Read this book to discover how grown-ups can take advantage of everything Facebook has to offer. It's not just for kids anymore!

Introduction

Here's how the book starts, taken directly from the introduction:

A confession:

I'm not as young as I used to be. Back in the day, I used to be known as a young Turk, a whiz kid, a young man with potential. But I'm no longer Turkish, don't have a lot of whiz left, and long ago gave up on realizing that potential thing. I got older.

Somewhere along the line I acquired a big house and a bigger mortgage, got married (to my high school sweetheart), and inherited kids (well, stepkids) and grandkids (also stepped). I look at what all the younger people in my household are doing, and realize that I'm not doing anything remotely like that anymore. I'm an old guy kind of set in his ways--including the way I use technology.

Now, I write a lot of books about technology. To some degree, how a 50 year old person uses Windows is pretty much the same as how a 20 year-old person does; Windows is Windows, after all. I get by.

But there's this new thing called social networking. It's technology related, because you have to use your computer (or, in the case of the youngsters, your cell phone) to do it. And from what I've seen, how the young people use social networking is quite a bit different from how my wife and I do it. There's a definite generational difference here.

Which is where this book comes in. Facebook for Grown-Ups focuses on the biggest and most happening social networking site, Facebook, and how people of our generation are using it. Trust me, we don't use Facebook the same way our kids do. It's a different experience for us, and one that has to be learned.

Did you know, for example, that you can use Facebook to keep in touch with all your family members--including distant relatives? Or that you can find long-lost friends on the Facebook site--including that cute guy you had a crush on back in high school? Or that you can share your family photos with these friends and relatives? And keep them updated on what you're up to these days?

That's right, grown-ups use Facebook to get connected with the people we know today, as well as those we knew in years gone by. We also use Facebook to keep tabs on our kids, to drop them a note from time to time, and to see what mischief they're getting themselves into. (And they are getting themselves into mischief, trust me.)

The key is figuring out how to find all the people you want to find, and to share all the information you want to share--without sharing too much personal information about yourself. There's a bit of a trick to doing the social networking thing while still maintaining a semblance of privacy online.

I try to cover all that in this book. My focus is on using Facebook, yes, but as responsible adults--not as carefree kids. Because, let's face it, we haven't been carefree kids for quite some time now. Sad, I know, but true.

Table of Contents

Want to know more? Then check out the book's table of contents:

Part I: Getting Started with Facebook -- and Social Networking
    1.    Welcome to Facebook -- It's Not Just for Kids Anymore
    2.    Signing Up and Getting Started
    3.    Getting Around the Facebook Site

Part II: Facebook for Friends and Family
    4.    How to Find Old Friends -- and Make New Ones
    5.    Visiting Friends and Family on Facebook
    6.    Keeping Tabs on Your Kids
    7.    Organizing Your Friends List

Part III: Keeping in Touch with Facebook
    8.    Updating Your Friends on What You're Doing
    9.    Exchanging Private Messages
    10.  Chatting with Your Kids -- Live

Part IV: Sharing Your Life on Facebook
    11.    Sharing Family Pictures
    12.    Sharing Home Movies
    13.    Sharing Birthdays and Events

Part V: Doing More with Facebook
    14.    Personalizing Your Profile Page
    15.    Becoming a Fan
    16.    Meeting Others in Groups
    17.    Networking for Business -- and for Jobs
    18.    Finding Fun Games and Applications
    19.    Using Facebook on the Go
    20.    Buying and Selling in the Facebook Marketplace

Part VI: Basic Facebook Housekeeping Chores
    21.    Keeping Some Things Private
    22.    Managing Your Facebook Account

How to Buy This Book

Facebook for Grown-Ups is available at bookstores everywhere, or you can order the book online by clicking the button to the left.