Review: I’m on Facebook — Now What?

February 18, 2008
/ By Jacob Share
/ 16 COMMENTS

Always with an ear to the ground, my friend and owner of JibberJobber Jason Alba has teamed up with expert Jesse Stay to write a guide to Facebook. Facebook can be really useful in networking towards your next job, but how can this new book accelerate your job search?

The book is called I'm on Facebook — Now What???

What does the book cover?

Here's the table of contents to give you an idea:

Introduction
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Chapter 2: Getting Involved
Chapter 3: Commonly Asked Questions
Chapter 4: Facebook Applications
Chapter 5: Privacy
Chapter 6: Your Facebook Strategy
Chapter 7: Facebook for Business(es)
Chapter 8: Facebook No-No's
Chapter 9: Additional Resources
Conclusion
Appendix A: Non-storable Data

Although the authors claim that no book could have all the answers for everyone, they did a good job of trying to do just that.

Things I didn't like about I'm on Facebook — Now What???

Strange way to start a review, no?

Since I usually try to avoid Facebook from sucking up my time (sorry Net), I was surprised by how much I liked this book. So much so, that it's quicker to talk about what I didn't like since there wasn't much.

Too many comparisons with LinkedIn

As many people do, the authors were right to compare LinkedIn with Facebook. Having also written I'm on LinkedIn — Now What???, Jason definitely has what to say on the topic and the first chapter was a good place to explain how the 2 websites are different. After that however, there were only one or two places that hearing about LinkedIn was really pertinent. Though LinkedIn wasn't mentioned on every other page, by the end of book the comparison was tired.

Unusable recommendations

Midway through the book is a list of recommended Facebook applications. Some of the recommended Facebook apps were in beta (LinkingUniverse) or only accessible to US-based Facebookers (GrandCentral App) so there was no way to try them out in my case.

Things I liked about I'm on Facebook — Now What???

Practical – every chapter ends with action items for you to try out the lessons learned.
Economical – if you're a regular Facebook user or on your way to becoming one, the authors' advice will save you A LOT of time for example with tips about how to manage your Facebook notifications.
Complete – whether you're considering Facebook for personal use and/or business use, Jason & Jesse have it covered.
Readable – the content flows well, making it easy to read, understand and learn.
Personal – Chapter 6's recommended usage by profile – e.g. Mom or Dad, Business Owner, Student, etc. – is a big time-saver to get you moving in the right direction.
Useful – especially pertinent for job seekers, the book has terrific insight about how to brand yourself with Facebook.
Pragmatic – possibly the longest chapter is about privacy – the biggest concern for anyone using Facebook – and discusses when you want it and when you'll be willing to give it up. Plus, the useful appendix to assuage your worries by telling you exactly which information a Facebook application does and does not have access to.

Bonus tip

Buy the cheaper ebook version so that you can easily test what Jason & Jesse recommend as you read along on screen.

Conclusion

Job seekers are already using Facebook to find jobs. I'm on Facebook — Now What??? turns you into a professional Facebooker and will make your Facebook visits more effective in ending your job search the way you desire.

This article is part of InspiringWear's Facebook group writing project, which is part of the Social Media Mega Project.

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About the Author Jacob Share

Job Search Expert, Professional Blogger, Creative Thinker, Community Builder with a sense of humor. I like to help people.

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16 comments

Pete Aldin says

Great review and great tip. I’m yet to be convinced that Facebook is anything other than a massive timewaster – albeit a fun one. I’m still not convinced enough to read the book … but it may be my age and general Scrooge-ey-ness… 🙂

jacob says

Pete,
I KNOW how you feel.

Until I read the book, the phrase I would use was ‘colossal waste of time’ or ‘enormous time suck’ or maybe even ‘serial time killer’. But they’ve opened my eyes to a number of features I didn’t know about and I’m going to give Facebook a more serious go, but importantly- ON MY OWN TERMS.

Pete Aldin says

“Serial Time Killer” – that’s gold!

I like your approach. I’m a lover of intentionality, so finding a way to make something like that or Linked-In work for you is fantastic. I’ve not read either book but I’m about to try a mutually beneficial tactic with Linked-In … when I can get some time away from this social media… 🙂

josh says

IMO, people who waste their time on FB would otherwise waste it on other things anyway, so at least they are being ‘social’ about it in a community.

One of the first lessons in Marketing 101 is that – you cannot create a need. People have needs, you have to know how to satisfy them. Right now, FB is doing that wonderfully where Classmates couldn’t. C’est tout.

I’m cohosting a group on FB that has had some success where a blog or yahoogroup would not. Our problem is that many people aren’t on FB and that as the novelty of FB wears off to many (sane) people, so goes the traffic.

Benji Lovitt says

I can’t believe there is a Facebook book. They’re going to have to update in 6 months.

Ina says

Thanks Jacob! This book sounds realy interesting! How did they manage to actualy write one and publish it in such a short time! I agree, it must be updated rather frequently as FB is changing sooooo fast! (Not that I keep up with all the appications as most are total STK as you said 🙂 )
Thanks heaps!

Jesse Stay says

Jacob,

Thank you for your great comments, and especially your critique. Linking Universe I am told should be exiting beta over the next week or two – keep an eye out! One other app you might want to try if you like the concept of the GrandCentral app but can’t join GrandCentral is the Jaxter app (they are also a client of mine). I believe they target a slightly more international audience.

Jason Alba says

Jacob, thanks for this review. I like the “what I didn’t like” first. I’ll take this away: “I was surprised by how much I liked this book.” Priceless, considering JibberJobber’s last review got a C, so I know how you grade things :p

Regarding the book, we got it out quickly, working together in a complementary fashion. Regarding keeping it updated, we are doing updates on the blog behind the book: http://www.FacebookAdvice.com.

jacob says

Josh – one of the things that Facebook does well is draw people in with all its invitations. If you know someone that might be interested in your group, invite them to it by email and that alone may get them to join Facebook.

Benji – they may have to update it already, but since both the authors have pitched in here I’ll let them take that one.

Ina – glad you liked the read.

Jesse – thanks for the updates. I’ll keep my eyes open and check out Jaxter. Nice how you Utah guys (Utahniks? Utahpians?) stick together 🙂

Jason – I calls ’em as I sees ’em 🙂 Good job, you two.

josh says

I know, I know but some people are simply not internet people, others know better than to get sucked into a STK (I like that acronym!), and then my conscious in insisting people sign up FB. I’ve already seen a couple get sucked in deep.

If anything, I’m sure there’s a rule someone saying not to base an effort on one communication channel. At least couple it with a blog, other website, mailing list, etc…

Jason Alba says

Benji, updating is definitely an issue, both because of Facebook’s progress and the application developers. That is one of the main reasons we have http://www.FacebookAdvice.com, which we call “the blog behind the book.”

Josh – I totally agree with you on both points (not everyone is online and FB shouldn’t be your sole strategy). FB can be a great professional tool, but it shouldn’t be the only tool you use.

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