Even if you're not on Facebook, odds are you've heard of it. Facebook is a social platform that is pretty easy to understand! The main idea is to post a status when you want your friends and family to know what you're up to. Whether it's about a class you went to at Rochester Brainery (and loved, we hope!) or just the fact that you're having a good day. Once you post your status, you've made it past the hard part! Now, anyone who you've become friends with on Facebook will be able to see your post and "like" it or comment on it.The other cool thing about Facebook is that it's pretty simple to upload a picture, whether from your computer or through the Facebook App on your smartphone. Today you can find multiple generations on Facebook and it's something that is keeping families connected. Suddenly you can see real-time pictures of your grandkids, children, the family beagle- and share your own photos with them, too!
Are you nervous about who is seeing your information? On Facebook there is a special section for privacy shortcuts were you can decide who can see your stuff. You can limit it to just friends or the entire Facebook world, the choice is yours! Just remember, just because you use Facebook doesn't mean you have to be addicted to it (like the entire population of 20-somethings). There's a lot more to learn about Facebook, but this quick introduction will help you discover a world that's not as intimidating as you thought.
Fun Facts:
- There are 1.23 billion monthly active users (don't be the only one left out!)
- In just 20 minutes over 1 million links are shared, 2 million friend requests are accepted (and some denied), and almost 3 million messages are sent!
- The 35+ demographic now makes up for over 30% of the Facebook user base! (We told you, everyone uses Facebook!!)
To visit Rochester Brainery's Facebook click here.
Twitter is the perfect social media if you prefer to post short, quick updates. Twitter limits what you and others can say to 140 characters. Now you don't have to be on a social media site where people ramble and spout off their day in essay form (you know who you are, Facebook abusers!).
When you post to Twitter it's called a "tweet." You can "favorite" a tweet, which is similar to a "like" on Facebook, or you can retweet (RT) a tweet, which is similar to "sharing" on Facebook in the sense that it shares someone else's post in your feed. While you become "friends" with people on Facebook, or they can "like" your business page, on Twitter people "follow" you. It's the same terminology for personal use or business use.
A pretty cool aspect of Twitter is the amount of celebrities who use it. Since Twitter is so easy to use and update a lot of celebrities choose to use Twitter, which means you can follow (or stalk) Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Daniel Tosh, and many more. Also, Twitter is pretty caught-up with privacy concerns and you have the option of who you follow on Twitter. Also, you can make it so anyone who wants to follow you has to be first approved by you.
A helpful tool for businesses is that you can connect your Twitter and Facebook pages so when you post something to Twitter it will automatically update your Facebook page. Just be mindful of the fact that while it's okay to post 5 times a day on Twitter, that may be too much for Facebook.
Fun Facts: - There are about 1 billion tweets posted per week! - There is a 182% increase in the number of mobile Twitter users in the past year. - Katy Perry is currently the most followed person on Twitter with 50,649,660 followers!
To visit Rochester Brainery's Twitter click here. Also, we have a class on Twitter coming up: "Twitter For Beginners!" Sign-up here!
Instagram is the perfect social media for you if you would rather show your life through pictures as opposed to words. Honestly, sometimes things in life just can't be captured in words! Instagram can be viewed online, but you can only post to Instagram through an app on your smartphone. With Instagram you simply take a picture, choose a filter (if you want!), write a quick description (if you want!), and post it to your profile! It's as simple as that! You don't need to be a technology wizard or a professional photographer - we sure aren't!
Back to the idea of the filter... Once you've chosen the picture you would like to share a filter can be used to add effects to the picture. For example, there are filters that are black-and-white, add a border, or just add a lighter tint of color. Fair warning, sometimes choosing a filter can be hard- there's so many fun options!
Instagram works similarly to Twitter concerning privacy. You can choose who to follow and whose picture's you will see, and you can make your profile private so only those who you accept as friends can see your pictures! To visit Rochester Brainery's Instagram click here.
Fun Facts:
- So far there has been 16 billion pictures shared!
- On average 55 million photos are uploaded every day
- There are 1.2 billion likes daily!
If we haven't convinced you yet that social media is pretty cool, give us one more shot! Pinterest is a platform that is definitely one of the most creative and interesting. Pinterest can be confusing to understand through explanation, which is why we suggest you make yourself an account and just start experimenting!
The general idea of Pinterest is to allow people to find things from the web that they care about. Do you care about healthy eating? Tons of information. How about just looking at cute puppies? Pinterest has thousands of pictures. Do you want to learn how to knit a scarf? Pinterest has tons of tips, hints, guidelines, even tutorials! Once you make your account you have the ability to create your own boards. You can name your boards and pin pother people pins, or create your own pins, for these board. Goodbye 1,000, unorganized bookmarked recipes- just pin them to your "Dinner Ideas" board!
Fun Facts:
- The average time spent on Pinterest is 15.8 minutes! (Learn a delicious new recipe in 15 minutes? Done!)
- Half of Pinterest users have children! (Hello moms and dads!)
- The largest user demographic is ages 25-34. To visit Rochester Brainery's Pinterest click here. Also, we have a "Using Pinterest" class coming up soon at Rochester Brainery! Sign-up here!
If you've been hesitant to try social media sites that's ok! But we want everyone to see the good in social media and see why we love it so much! So just does us a favor. Try these social media sites out, or even a few others you've heard of. If you don't like them, oh well! But we have a feeling you're going to find at least one you love.
Also, if you'd like to learn even more information about social media, read Mike Johansson's post here. Mike has recently taught a class at the Brainery and helped a lot of people understand social media!