Facebook for AAUW

Web address of this document: http://tinyurl.com/aauwfb101
Initial release: November 8, 2007
Current date: August 28, 2009
Authored collaboratively by the AAUW Facebook Strategy group (see below)

Introduction

“Social Networking” is a new concept to many of us, but for the the next generation of AAUW members it’s part of daily life. This document is an introduction and a primer for those who want to explore Facebook as an example of social networking for personal use and to advance the mission of AAUW.

Why Facebook?

Facebook is the fastest growing social networking site on the Internet. Founded in February, 2004, and originally open only to college students, Facebook is now open to high school students and others over 18. Some data as of fall 2007 on the Facebook population includes:

• More than 50 million active users
• An average of 200,000 new registrations per day since Jan. 2007
• The fastest growing demographic is those 25 years old and older
• More than half of Facebook users are outside of college
• Over 55,000 regional, work-related, collegiate, and high school networks

There has been explosive growth since then, and the bottom line is that future AAUW members – of many generations – are already on Facebook. The greater AAUW’s presence on Facebook, the more opportunities we have to introduce AAUW and our mission to future members, partners, and allies.

AAUW on Facebook

AAUW’s history of using Facebook may have started with the organizing committee for the 2006 National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. Since then, and particularly since the spring of 2007 when Facebook opened its membership to the general public, the use has increased. In November 2007 there were more than 40 groups referencing AAUW, and as of August 2009, there are groups for branches, states and special projects, as well as “pages” that some branches are starting to use instead of web sites.

• One group started by AAUW of AL that has become the center of AAUW activity on Facebook and has more than 1500 members
• The AAUW staff used a group to get the word out about the 2009 convention, and is planning an AAUW “page” to be released later this year.
• Several groups related to the student leader conference, including an alumnae group [Find them with a search for NCCWSL.]
• Many branch groups (from CA, AL, LA, and FL) and other groups for branch committees
• Several state groups (SD, CO, WI, IN, OR and more)
• Some states, especially Louisiana, are starting AAUW groups centered on various campuses.
• A group of AAUW members focused on how to leverage Facebook to advance the AAUW mission produced this document

The larger groups are cross-generational and have members from a variety of locations across the country. Most AAUW Facebook groups are open to the general public freely welcoming anyone who embraces the AAUW mission.

Since early 2009, AAUW members have been taking advantage of the relatively new Facebook “pages” to post information. While groups are better for discussions and small, focused efforts, they have no way to “push” information to their members except through the Facebook equivalent of e-mail. However, once a Facebook user becomes a “fan” of a “page”, she’ll get updates from the page just like she sees updates from her “friends.” It’s somewhat like the difference between text-messaging and e-mail and one of the benefits of using Facebook is getting these snippets of information about people and organizations that are important to you — without having to sign up for one more e-mail list!

Since late summer 2007, various experiments have been underway to expand the use of Facebook to benefit the mission of AAUW. These have included:

• Reposting Action Alert information to Facebook groups who are organized around topics that fit with AAUW’s priorities. This exposes many nonmembers to AAUW in a mission-oriented way.
• Experimenting with fundraising strategies
• Reposting the link to the AAUW promotional video on YouTube on groups and individual pages. Each post on a person’s individual page is highlighted to all their friends. Each post on a group’s page is visible to all the members of the group.
• Contacting administrators of like-minded groups — for instance requesting that AAUW be added to the list of resources maintained by a pro-choice group.

Several of those participating in the AAUW Facebook experiment are finding it FUN: connecting with family members and each other in new and different ways, extending their professional networks, exploring the Facebook nooks and crannies.

Again, Facebook is now open to more than just college students. There’s an active community discussing how it can be used for nonprofits in general. If you’d like to join in, it’s a simple signup process – then search for AAUW, join one of the groups, link up with a few friends, watch the action, and start contributing. See below for a tutorial.

You can also contact one of the members of the unofficial AAUW “Welcome to Facebook” Team. Here’s the information you need to find them in Facebook:

Sandy Kirkpatrick facebook.com/sandy.kirkpatrick East Bay, CA Hollins Kate Skegg facebook.com/kate.skegg The Open University

Birgit Pauli-Haack facebook.com/birgit.paulihaack Naples, FL Nancy Shoemaker facebook.com/nancy.e.shoemaker Raleigh/Durham NC

Once you’ve found them, you can click the “send message” link to contact them through Facebook and get invitations to AAUW groups that will provide some orientation.

Getting Started in Facebook

You can Google “Facebook 101″ and pick a tutorial (for example, Facebook 101 from “What I Learned Today”), or …

1. Go to facebook.com and register.

2. Once past the initial setup, the main content of your home page will show information about what your friends are doing. [This becomes more interesting as you add friends and start noticing that they are joining groups, having conversations, posting web links of interest, writing notes, etc.]  Be sure to get familiar with all the areas of this page:

• In the left-hand column there are links you can use to “filter” the information so that only the information from certain friends or only a certain kind of information shows up. Facebook will make some guesses at how to group your friends, but you can add your own “friend lists” to use in with these filters. Click “Friends” from the top menu to find the “create a list” link. Click the “News Feed” link to show everything again.
• In the right-hand column, you’ll find items that are popular with your friends, upcoming events and birthdays, and you may see ads and suggestions for new friends, groups and pages.

3. Find others on Facebook.

• You can search (box in upper right) by name and then either send people a request to be friends, or just send them a message.

• If you put “AAUW” in the search box, you’ll find several AAUW groups, pages and members who list AAUW in their profiles. Look through the groups’ member lists and you may find others that you know and want to invite to be Facebook friends.
• Click Friends > Find Friends, and look for the “Search for People” section where you can enter someone’s name or e-mail address to see if they’re already on Facebook.
• Facebook is more fun if you have at least a few friends who are regular Facebook users so that there’s something new about them on your home page when you log in to Facebook.

4. Join a network – geographically or one based an your “alum.xxx.edu” or “mycompany.com” e-mail address.

• By default, members of networks share information about each other that is hidden from other Facebook users. Check your privacy settings to change what you show to others.

5. Join an AAUW group.

• Search for “AAUW” and you’ll see several groups. Click on one, then click the “join this group” over on the top right. Your name will then pop up along with the other members of the group.
• Once you’re in a group, when you click your “groups” link in the lower left, you’ll see your groups. They’ll be listed in the order of how recently their profiles have been updated.
• If you participate in a group discussion, you’ll be notified when anyone replies to one of your posts
• Two groups, in particular, are recommended: “AAUW: American Association of University Women” and “2009 AAUW National Convention: Breaking Through Barriers“

6. Explore Facebook as an alternative to e-mail for communicating with acquaintances, friends, and family.

• Use the search function to find the likely Facebook users in your life, or invite friends to join you on Facebook.
• Enjoy the way Facebook keeps your conversations in separate threads.
• Join other groups (for fun, for work, for other volunteer activities) and share information with the group without worrying about mailing lists and spam filters.
• Share links and photos in a way that lets others comment (without generating long e-mail chains that clutter your inbox).
• Take advantage of features like your status update, the ability to write on friends’ walls, and discussion boards that give you a quick way to broadcast notes to many people (and get quick updates from your friends).
• Think of Facebook as the cyberspace version of the student union — connecting with friends of friends, noticing postings on bulletin boards, and getting your own message out to the community
• Note that when you make a comment on someone else’s post or click the icon to say you “like” a post, you’ll get notified about the other comments added to that thread. So, participate! It’ll make Facebook more interesting as you see others’ comments.

7. Explore the other Facebook options.

• Post your events and they’ll be visible to your friends who can then share them with their friends
• Consider buying an ad to advertise your events to targeted demographics
• Explore the Facebook applications (from shared bookshelves, to travel maps, to movie recommendations, to …) — check out the ones your friends are using. Adding them is usually just a matter of a few clicks.
• If your branch doesn’t have a web site, explore setting up a Facebook group or page as an alternative to a traditional site. It’s quick, easy, and free – and can be advertised as your “web address” to prospects and the public. If you do have a web site, a Facebook page can be a supplement to it to get you more visibility in Facebook. (Ex: AAUW NC page. Pages are more flexible than groups since you can add applications to pages, and updates to pages will appear on the fans’ home pages.)

8. Evaluate your Facebook experience, and share your opinions.

• Tell your friends about your experience. Facebook may not be for everyone, but we all need to understand how this new technology is changing online communications.
• Watch for updates to the “social networking” landscape — prepare to make informed decisions about participation for yourself, your branch, and AAUW in general.

Read more

• http://www.web2learning.net/facebook-101- a step-by-step introduction to the details of Facebook

• https://docs.google.com/View?docID=dg5fnwtg_0c7srw2wx&revision=_latest – Facebook 102 for AAUW, a sequel to this document
• http://del.icio.us/tag/aauwtech+facebook or http://del.icio.us/tag/aauwtech+socialnetworking (automatically updated, annotated lists of references recommended by members)