Now that you have a Facebook account, let's talk about how it works. Facebook was created by and for millennials who are comfortable sharing every aspect of their lines online. If you are old school like me--or just plain OLD, also like me--you don't want everything you say spread everywhere. How do you prevent the photo of that clever birthday present you bought your spouse from being seen by everyone and their brother?
The answer is don't post the photo on Facebook. The way FB is set up, anything you post is public to some extent. It is easier to manage seeing what other people post than it is to manage what YOU post. Anything you post that only your friends can see can also be seen by anyone they've friended.
What is "friended"? This is the way Facebook allows you to create networks of friends, family and folks with similar interests. You send friend requests, and if someone knows you or wants to know you, they will accept these requests. You will begin to get friend requests also. (I don't accept any friend requests if I don't know the person in real life or have not known them for years via the Internet as I don't like to be bombarded with Buy My Sunglasses or Porn links.) Soon you will see a list of friends on your profile page. (Hint: To get to your profile page, click on your name at the top of the page when you are logged into FB.)
Soon you will see notices of postings by your friends when you log into FB and are on your Home page. There will be a feed of postings in the middle of the page. (Click on Home at the top of the page when you are logged into FB.) You'll also see a list of the groups you below to, if any, on the left side of the Home page. If you want to visit a group, click on its name there and you will leave Home and head there. (Remember, this is how Facebook works on desktops and laptops. Mobile devices are different.)
Want to join a group? Use the search bar at the top of every page to hunt for subject matter like "needlepoint." The last time I counted there were well over 50 groups with needlepoint in their name. One of those groups, large or small, may be right for you. Find a group you are interested in and click on the Join button at the top of their page to be considered.
By the way, when you use the search function looking for names or groups, they will be sorted into categories such as Top, People, Photos, Pages, etc. Click on People and the search results will be just people named Needlepoint. Click on Pages and you will find business profiles like needlepoint shops with "needlepoint" in their name. Click on More, then choose Groups to find needlepoint groups. (Once again, this is how computers work, not smart phones or tablets.)
The largest group for needlepoint is the one I accidentally started over four years ago. Its official name is Needlepoint (I know, very original, but when I set the group up there were NO groups or anything else with the name Needlepoint) so that's what you look for to join. Its nickname is Needlepoint Nation but Facebook won't let me change the name to NP Nation. We are stuck with plain old Needlepoint. Oh, well....
One last thing and we'll stop for now. Facebook has two types of profiles--those for real people and those for businesses. You can tell them apart because your FB account can Follow real people but only can Like businesses. This is important because FB thinks it is important. If you are a shop setting up a FB account for your business, make sure you don't accidentally choose a personal profile. If FB notices, it will make you change to a business profile and will delete your personal profile. This is important in another way in that FB doesn't allow business profiles to join groups. This means in practical terms that a shop owner cannot join a needlepoint group except with their personal profile. Periodically we at NP Nation have members whose account is deleted by Facebook when FB realizes they are using a personal profile for business purposes. You also need to realize that FB absolutely hates any personal profile that doesn't use your real name. If you set up a personal account called Sally Needlepointer on FB to keep your personal account separate from your stitching and someone reports it, FB will demand you show ID with that name or they will also delete your account. The chances you will be caught are fairly small, but....
Next time we'll talk about a tutorial.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 5, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.
