Facebook

Facebook is a popular social networking Web site that allows users to keep in touch with their friends, family, acquaintances, and colleagues.

Features

To access Facebook, users need to register for a free account. Facebook allows users to join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends (friends, family, former classmates, acquaintances, and co-workers are all known as friends on Facebook) and send them messages, and update their personal profile about themselves.

Organizations such as the Society for Technical Communication can create their own Facebook page, which is a Web page housed on Facebook that comes complete with the following features:

  • A discussion board for people to post topics of conversation
  • The wall, where people can interact and quickly ask questions to others
  • A links section to articles, other Web sites of interest, and so on
  • A list of page subscribers to contact and network with
  • A list of upcoming events that are happening within the organization
  • Related groups that people can explore and join
  • A link that people can click and invite other members to join the group

At least one Facebook page administrator is assigned to a Facebook page, ensuring that all content is appropriate and conforms to Facebook’s content standards.

Benefits

With over 200 million Facebook users, great exposure exists for STC chapters, special interest groups, and organizations to promote their products, obtain feedback, and exchange ideas. Having a Facebook page for the STC Body of Knowledge allows Facebook members to be a part of discussing a range of topics, and work collaboratively to develop new content and review existing information. A Facebook page, provided without cost, is an easy-to-use forum for everyone to collaborate, share ideas, and discuss topics.

Facebook members can quickly do a search for group pages that they can join. By clicking the Join this group link, they have access to updating and contributing to the page, and can quickly contact administrators and other members to ask questions and communicate with them. Both administrators and fans can send invitations to their friends, asking them to be fans of this page, too. Over time, a large number of fans have the capability of reviewing content that a fellow fan has posted and provide quick, immediate feedback.

Facebook appeals to people who are technologically savvy. People who want to stay up-to-date on events and the lives of their friends check Facebook regularly, often responding to status messages and discussion boards using their mobile devices or a Web browser on their computers. Facebook also suits people with lead busy lives, but who want to stay in touch with others globally from one Web site.

Signing up for a Facebook account and being a fan of the STC on Facebook would benefit Maarten Van Gelten. Maarten is interested in knowing how other companies have handled English source to help translate it into other languages and ultimately reduce costs. Maarten can post an open-ended question on the STC on Facebook page, asking fellow Facebook about their experiences and thoughts on this topic in the forum.

Randy Green can also use Facebook to obtain answers to his DITA questions. He can ask STC members about the DITA tools they use to create their information deliverables and their experiences using them by posting his question either on the Facebook wall or in the discussion forum. He can also take a look at the links on the STC page to find more information about single sourcing and DITA.

External Web Sites

Credits

Mary Tan