I am a Member > Beyond My Plan

Social Networking Terms

Before getting into the details of why you'd join an online community or how to text message, let's first discuss a few important terms that are very closely tied with the world of social networking.

Profile – your profile is like your online resume. This is where you list information about yourself like your education, interests, favorite book or movie, or contact information.

• You can provide as much or as little information as you like.
• You can upload a picture to use as your profile picture, so that when people search for you, they can recognize you by both your face and your name.
• Your profile is translated into your own personal page, on which people can view your information, look through your pictures, or write you a message.
• Your profile can be completely private (viewable by only people you know), completely public (viewable by anyone who wants to see it), or somewhere in between the two.
• You can also decide that certain parts of your profile are public (like your name, where you work, or your interests), while others are private (your pictures, your "wall," or your friends).

Friends – a friend is a person or group that you choose to "socialize" with. Friends can be social friends, coworkers, family members, groups, organizations, bands – you name it.

• To become "friends" with someone, you must first ask to add him as a friend.
• He is then sent a message that you want to be friends with him.
• That person can then decide whether or not he wants to accept your friend request.
• If he accepts it, you will then receive updates on everything he does while on that particular site.

Status – your status is a text-based message. It lets everyone know what you're doing, if you're around, and how to reach you (assuming you want to be reached).

• You do not have to write a status message.
• There are no rules around it. It's simply a sentence or two (or even a word) that describes how you're feeling, what you're thinking, or how you're doing at the time.
• When you update your status, all of your friends will be notified, and the message will appear on their home pages.

Writing on Someone's Wall/Posting Comments – a wall on Facebook is a virtual bulletin board for posting quick notes or messages to your friends.

• They are "public" in that anyone who has permission to view that person's profile page can see what you wrote.
• This does not mean that a friend's friend has permission to view your profile; all he can see (if he's not your friend and you have your privacy settings set accordingly) is your name and what you wrote on his friend's page.
• If it's something you want to keep between you and your friend, you should send a message.

Send a Message – sending someone a message on a social networking site is similar to sending an e-mail. It is a private exchange between you and whomever you're sending the message to.

• Just as in e-mail, you can send a message to multiple people.
• Unlike wall posts or commenting, you do not have to be a confirmed friend to send someone a message.
• Depending on someone's privacy settings, you might need to know his last name or e-mail address in order to send him a message.

Tagging (To Tag) – tagging relates mostly to digital pictures that are posted on sites like Facebook and Myspace. To tag someone means you're identifying him in a picture by clicking on his face and typing his name.

• Once you've tagged someone, he will be notified.
• The pictures in which your friends are tagged will appear on their profile pages so that their friends can view those photos, too.
• Tags enable you to see who is in each picture; you can hover over someone in a tagged photo and his name will pop up.

Groups – groups are like clubs. They can be based on anything – from being a fan of a TV show, to showing support for a political cause.

• You can join an existing group or you can create your own.
• When you join or create a group, your friends are notified.
• Once you're a member of a group, you'll receive updates, messages, and invitations to events relating to that group or cause.

Apps – the word "apps" is an abbreviation for applications. Apps are add-ons to the social networking site.

• For instance, Facebook has an app for travel, which allows you to mark the places around the world that you've visited, as well as mark the places you want to visit in the future. These facts are shared with friends. The application allows people to comment on destinations, offer travel advice, or ask questions about your experience.
• There are hundreds, if not thousands, of applications and more are created every day.
• These applications often have to be installed but will always ask your permission first.
• They often also ask you for access to your profile information, which is what allows them to share your results with your friends.

Back to Top