I’ve read that book 3 times already; do we really have to read it again? I found myself typing those exact words when I read the email containing the title that my reading club had chosen for the summer. (The Count of Monte Cristo) But, I found myself thinking the same thing when I saw that I have to read about an introduction to Twitter and Facebook. I already know about the basics of these two forms of social networking. I have been a Facebook user since 2005 and a Twitterer since 2008. I just want to dive in and read how I can be influential without reading this text.

Ironically, tactics and strategy for USENET by Milton Kleim Jr. and the introduction to Twitter and Facebook were not common knowledge, and I learned a lot I didn’t know beforehand. USENET can be loosely applied to the likes of Facebook Groups. When I’ve created Facebook groups, I tell myself the more members, the more powerful and influential the group becomes. But, Kleim reminded me it is the interaction that makes the group powerful and influential. When there is a newbie, give a warm welcome; make the person proud to be part of the group. I also like how Kleim called groups a “weapon.” This imagery made the article more interesting to read. But, the more I thought about it, it is more than an interesting way to make the text interesting; it is the truth.

Creating Facebook groups is a strategy that cannot be taken lightly. Likewise, Dan Shultz and Andreas Jungherr illustrate, Facebook and Twitter can be used to summon an “army.” But, it takes the right person to lead this army. As I mentioned in my last reading blog, you can’t just jump on the bandwagon, you need to take charge and know your goals. I often forget my goal two months after I launch a Facebook group or write a Twitter feed. I need remember why am I doing this. These articles reminded me how important it is to keep your goal as the focal point. It drives you to success. Additionally, I learned that Twitter is more than meets the eye. There a lot of applications like EventBox, Twitterific, and Thwhirl that I can install to become more in tune with my audience. Additionally, I didn’t know that private messaging can be symbolized by “d” or “h/t.” When I searched for these symbols on Twitter, people who used them were “retweeted” more often.

Both Shultz and Jungherr used examples of how these Social Networking sites have made a difference in society, which I found very beneficial. I often think I do not have a voice. The phrase has become cliche, but in reality I do. We live in an age, where everybody has a voice if they know how to strategically project it.

Consequently, these readings served as a good, constant reminder of how to be engaging in the social networking realm. In Count of Monte Cristo, the Abbe Faria tells the naïve Edmond Dantes while in the prison at Chateau D’If: “Haste is a poor counselor” when Dantes thinks his goal is revenge.

At the beginning of this assignment, I was in haste, but once I slowed down and studied the readings, they became beneficial. Likewise, by the end of the novel when Dantes realized the real goal was to find salvation, he states:

All human wisdom is contained in these two words: wait and hope.”

These words are true and can be applied to social networking 164 years later (when Count of Monte Cristo was first published).