Still not on Facebook? Here's the first in a series to get you going…

Get on Facebook

Facebook.com is fast becoming the global water cooler around which the world gathers to discuss anything and everything.

To date, according to Facebook, more than 800 million people have joined their community and it continues to grow every day.

Users typically log in to Facebook several times a day and it has become a more important method of communication than email for many.

Some say it is responsible for the recent downfall of several governments in the Arab Spring and is helping the Occupy Wall Street movement gain momentum.

The importance of Facebook as a community and for communication is expected to continue growing. The key to understanding Facebook is to recognize that it functions as a media vehicle for “word-of-mouth” discussions in the digital age.

Many of the points I made about LinkedIn apply also to Facebook but I have highlighted a few extra points that are specific to Facebook.

Get personal with your profile

The first way to get into Facebook is to establish a personal profile and start inviting your friends and contacts to connect with you.

You need to make a choice about whether you want to keep your Facebook profile totally personal – i.e. for family and real friends only – or whether you want to open your personal profile up to business contacts and customers.

More about business profiles on Facebook in my next post…