Social Networking
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This article begins a series with our ‘Social Media Mom,’  Lucy. Someone who, we hope, will demystify the world of social media and show you the benefits of the many platforms you can use to connect and re-connect with your friends and family.

Texting, chatting, status updates, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, email…is your head spinning yet? Sit back, take a deep breath and I’ll take you on my journey with social media.

 

Back when I was growing up in the late 1960s-1970s, the only social media we had were the newspapers. In class, we passed notes to each other. We actually sat down, wrote and mailed a letter. But times change and we must too or we will be left behind.

 

Social media is not as scary as it sounds. I love going on Facebook and talking to my family and friends. I love posting pictures of crazy things that I see and I love playing the many games that Facebook offers. Its a way to stay connected and feel like you’re part of something.

 

I love “tweeting” on Twitter. A “tweet” is a thought that you have that contains 140 characters or less and believe me, that’s a hard thing to do! I also talk to my family and friends and stalk celebs (sorry Mr. Stamos, er @JohnStamos).  Again, another way for us to stay connected to others.

 

Believe it or not, social media sites I will tell you about also offer you incentives to use their services. Yes, GIVE you FREE stuff! And who doesn’t like free? (The baby from the Capital One commercial, but she’s too small to go online.) Go to Google and type in “free stuff” and it will take you on a journey! All you have to do on some of these sites is fill out a survey or give them youre email and FREE STUFF!! I can’t begin to tell you how much free stuff I’ve gotten over the years, it’s great and it’s fun – one tip is to set up a second email account for this if you’re concerned about receiving junk email, also known as spam.

 

You can visit your favorite stores, TV stations, radio stations, read the newspaper or magazines, it’s virtually unlimited and I love it. Nowadays every company has a web site. It has to to keep people informed of their products. Social media sells.

 

I can’t imagine not ever having the internet. In the beginning I was scared of it, now I embrace it because I know that if I don’t, I will be left behind. So, sit back, and take a breath and explore your computer, you might just like it! We’ve come along way from passing notes and Pong!

 

Next time my “101″ on the adventures of Facebook! Yay!

Our Social Media Mom lives in Westmoreland and tweets at @raiderfan615

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