Written by Dave Awl, $19.99; Peachpit Press; 216 pages
The wit of Chicago gay writer and performer Dave Awl comes shining through in his new book titled, appropriately, Facebook Me! A Guide to Having Fun With Your Friends and Promoting Your Projects on Facebook.
I am usually not a user of "how-to" books, preferring just to jump right into Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the social media world. Facebook Me! Is about as different from a how-to manual as you can get. Even if I didn't participate in the Facebook cult, I would have found this book enjoyable. It not only lays out the process of how Facebook works, but it adds humor to very practical insights about the mega phenomenon sweeping the globe.
Facebook recently changed its design, which means parts of the book will need updating. But it doesn't really matter. The basic way Facebook works is unchanged, and Awl's wonderful prose makes it an important and worthwhile read for anyone using the site for social, non-profit or business purposes. He has sections on privacy, applications, photos, videos, groups, pages, ads and everything else you need to know.
"Facebook is constantly evolving, so I knew while I was writing the book that by the time it made its way to readers some of the pictures and instructions would no longer exactly match what's on the screen," Awl said. "But the most important parts of the book are still timely. The heart of my book is its big-picture content—explaining how people can use Facebook effectively to spread the word about creative projects and events, and helping readers figure out the etiquette of social networking. I'm working on plans to set up a blog where I can post updates about changes to Facebook and other social networking sites."
Awl said he is not a fan of most of the recent Facebook design changes: "I think they made the site more visually confusing and harder to use for most users. But I'm optimistic that over time some of those problems will get fixed and the design will improve."
As a media person, I appreciated the useful tips and numerous examples and illustrations that make it easier to communicate exactly the information you want posted to the world. Since joining Facebook late last year, I have actually found it extremely useful to my "old media" work. For example, I have read great opinion columns posted and requested reprint permission for Windy City Times. I have found and interviewed subjects for dozens of news articles and features. I have found new promotional partners for Windy City Media Group. Windy City Media Group and Nightspots post weekly updates and photos for our fans ( please friend us! ) . I also created a group for Hannah Free, the film I am producing.
And probably most important, and most frustrating to a media company, I am seeing a huge change in the way LGBT groups are communicating their events. Many are ignoring the traditional press releases sent out to media and instead just posting on their Facebook pages. While this gets them exposure to their known universe of supporters, they are missing out on communicating events to the greater LGBT community. So I Facebook them but also let them know to also send traditional press releases out, or you won't get into most calendars, or get covered by traditional LGBT media and Web sites.
Awl's book is highly recommended even for the more experienced Facebookers out there. More important, Awl understands that Facebook is just part of the way people, organizations and businesses need to share information. Sometimes, you might want to pick up a phone, or meet for coffee.
