Introduction to Online Social Networks (and how they can help you lose weight)

February 4, 2008

Over the past few years there have been some amazing advances in social networking across the Internet.

I’m sure you’ve heard of MySpace and Facebook, two of the biggest online communities in existence, but there are literally hundreds of websites that allow you to connect with people in similar ways – chances are there will be at least one out there that you will find useful.

Originally these social networking hubs were very much the domain of the ‘younger generation’, but more recently have become popular with all walks of life (much to the annoyance of many teenagers who now have to deal with their parents understanding how to use Facebook and invading their circle of ‘friends’). The ease of connecting to people all over the world who share similar interests to you, and the depth and simplicity that you can interact with them is on a scale we have never seen before – the general public is only just starting to wake up to these possibilities. It doesn’t matter if you are a teenager wanting to find a group of friends to talk about the Indie music scene, a professional wanting to network with other people in their industry – or an average person trying to lose weight, wanting to build a support network of friends going through a similar stage in their life, the use of online social networks makes connecting with the right people a breeze.

All the networks behave a bit differently, but the main concept that we are interested in here is the ability to interact with a group of people that you choose to interact with. Think of web based forums – if you’ve been a member of one somewhere before you’ll know they can be a great place to meet people with similar interests and share some really useful information… which is great, but they do have at least one major drawback, you have no control over who else becomes a part of that group. With most social networks that control is in your hands – you choose your ‘friends’, and you choose whether to be part of a small tightly knit group or to continue growing your group and becoming part of a larger, more diverse group – the way you approach it is totally up to you, you’re in control and it couldn’t be easier to get involved.

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

The main network that I’m interested in right now is Twitter. Twitter is a very simple system that is quite similar to Instant Messaging. All messages (they call them ‘Tweets’) are limited to a maximum of 140 characters (so you have to keep things short!) and are sent instantly to your group of ‘followers’ (people who are interested in what you have to say). Of course people can then respond back to you in real time, giving you that instant connection with your circle of friends.

Twitter was originally conceived to answer the question ‘What are you doing?’ and as such, many comments still posted to Twitter are kind of mundane (eg. ‘just going to hang out the washing…’) – for some people, that’s the kind of interaction they are looking for, others look for something more interesting. The point is you can choose the people you want to follow and block out the chatter from those you don’t. Personally, I’m looking at building a community of Twitterer’s that are interested in losing weight and supporting each other to help them achieve that goal, if you think you would like to be part of a community who regularly interacts like ‘Hey, just found this excellent recipe for honey, soy, teriyaki chicken wings – check it out’ (one of my faves btw), or ‘a chocolate bar on my desk is mocking me (looks so yummy, grrr)… how do you guys get past the temptation?’, then rock on over to Twitter, create an account, then point your browser to my Twitter profile and click ‘follow’. You’ll then hear everything I have to say, and once I follow you I’ll hear everything you say too!

If you’re still a little confused, I’ll put together a post for tomorrow that focuses on how to get started on Twitter and walk you through each step, as well as show you some excellent desktop applications you can use (to make it even more like Instant Messaging) so you don’t need to log into their clunky web site each time.

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February 4, 2008 | Filed Under Social Networks, Weight Loss Tools 

Comments

2 Responses to “Introduction to Online Social Networks (and how they can help you lose weight)”

  1. How ANYONE can start Twittering like a pro in under 5 minutes | Lose 40kg - Weight Loss Blog on February 5th, 2008 12:50 pm

    […] Introduction to Online Social Networks (and how they can help you lose weight) […]

  2. 5 Weight Loss Tips For Counting Calories (Or Should You Even Bother?) on February 8th, 2008 7:58 am

    […] This article is from Lose40kg.com, my personal weight loss blog. It is a journal of my goal to lose 40kg (88 lb) in 12 months and the desire to create a supportive community of people who are trying to lose weight and the sharing of information on that subject. You can also follow me on Twitter, for more information see my post on Introduction to Social Networks (and how they can help you lose weight). […]

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