I’ve done it, finally: I’ve joined Facebook. So friend me or whatever it is (shouldn’t it be “befriend”? Perhaps not, since we’re already, presumably, “friends”). Anyway, I took the plunge for two reasons:
1) I had three “friend requests” sitting in my e-mail in-box, and I’ll do just about anything to clean out my inbox. Go ahead, blackmail me.
2) A friend (and brilliant historian) suggested on his blog that Facebook was a good academic networking tool.
Okay, I’ll bite: how is Facebook good for academic network building, exactly? Right now, I’m just trying to avoid friend requests from high school classmates and avoid embarrassing photos. Am I supposed to be posting my latest book reviews? Or should I try to “friend” hot-shot academics? “Dear Professor Wilentz, will you be my friend?” (He’d probably decline the offer).
Bring me into the early 21st century, people.
Facebook was useful to me during comprehensive exams: I could let people know about my progress without leaving the cocoon state of preparing for the next exam. Aside from that? Not much use academically.
Other social networking sites may be more useful. I’m just trying out Graduate Junction, and LinkedIn is the one designed for professional connections and job hunting.
Alarob: I think you’re on to something. I just heard about academia.edu, and I’m giving that a try. Haven’t tried Graduate Junction, though…. Now the question becomes: is it too much? Too much networking!
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When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get
four emails with the same comment. Is there any
way you can remove me from that service? Thank you!