Why Facebook is important

This week we were asked to make a professional Facebook page as a kind of online business card for potential employers to reference. I think that such a thing is important for every up and coming academic not only to put their name out into the world, but also as a resource for others to track said person's interests and hobbies, as well as their perspective on many national and international issues. Facebook is an excellent way to share photos and just by simply clicking the "like" button on a page, one can follow postings made by individuals and organizations that are tailored to their own personal interests.

Facebook is a highly interactive site that allows people to update their status, post pictures and links, and "creep" other people's Facebook pages to learn a few things about them. (EVERYONE has creeped a page on at least one occasion, even you). I think the main use of Facebook is to keep in touch with people who you don't see on a regular basis, as you can learn about what is new in their lives just by reading their status updates. A downside to using Facebook in this way is that I find it almost becomes a popularity contest i.e. who has the most friends, whose life is the most exciting, who went to which party etc. On the other hand, Facebook can be used in a purely professional manner as a way for businesses and organizations to update people who are interested in them and also as a means of networking their respectful business. I think that the Edmonton Humane Society does a particularly excellent job of this on their Facebook page.

I think sites like Facebook are an extensive resource of knowledge, and even if the knowledge is not pertinent to one's degree or bachelor of whathaveyou, I find myself thinking in a more worldy fashion because of the way others think and interpret things.

For this ALES 204 assignment, the main goal that I perceived of having a professional page aside from a pre-existing personal Facebook page is that when you are applying for a particular job and the employer googles your name, what you don't want showing up are a bunch of pictures of you doing a keg stand. What you DO want is a respectful image of yourself to be portrayed through the images and content on your page that make you unique and PERFECT for said job. Making a page such as this will be useful for future careers because employers can learn more about me and the type of person I am simply by checking out my Facebook page which will have all of my most current and up-to-date information for them to reference.

The class that I am doing this all for has their own Facebook page! Check it out. http://www.facebook.com/pages/ALES-204-Dr-Laccetti/311657842204554?ref=ts

picture of my ALES 204 Facebook page