The Alumnae Association Invites You to Network on Facebook
About Facebook
Facebook is a social networking website founded in 2004 and currently used by over 200 million members. It allows users to find and connect with friends through educational, professional, geographic and other criteria through the use of a personal “profile” on the site. Users create and personalize their profile to include as little or as much information as they choose, make decisions about what portion of their information is available for public view, and choose the other Facebook users they wish to select as “friends”.
Users may also create or join groups of users with shared interests, such as alumnae/i association pages, hobby or special interest groups, sports fan clubs, civic involvement groups, etc. The Alumnae Association of Trinity College maintains a Facebook group page which is open to all alumnae and students. If you are already on Facebook, please consider joining the Trinity Alumnae group to keep up on Trinity news. Just type “Trinity College, Washington, DC Alumnae” in the search field in the upper right hand corner of your profile page to find our group page. To become a fan of the University page, type “Trinity Washington University” into the search field, and then click “become a fan” in the lower left corner of the page.
If you are not yet a Facebook user but would like to be, the following steps will help you get connected. All new users should read both the instructions and the privacy guidelines before considering creating a profile.
1. Go to website www.facebook.com
2. Enter your information in the appropriate field (name, email, etc.)
3. Build your “friend” list
a. Facebook will offer to search your existing email contact list for addresses of existing users. This is the fastest way to find people you already know who have Facebook profiles. You will be asked to login to your email to perform the search.
b. You will also be asked if you would like to “invite” non-users from your email list to join Facebook. We do NOT recommend that you choose this option, as most people do not welcome unsolicited email invitations.
c. You may also choose to skip this entire step and create a profile in which you manually add contacts later on. If you are new to social networking and/or the web, this is the recommended option. You will always have the option to add friends after you get to know the site better.
4. Once you have created your profile, simply type the words “Trinity College, Washington DC Alumnae” in the search field in the upper right hand corner of your profile page. Click on the resulting link to view the page, and join the group by clicking on the “join this group” option in the upper right hand corner. To become a fan of the University page, type “Trinity Washington University” into the search field, and then click “become a fan” in the lower left corner of the page.
Preserving Facebook Privacy: Three Simple Steps
Facebook, like any other website, requires some diligence on the part of users to maintain their desired level of privacy and prevent the inadvertent distribution of personal information. There are some simple steps users can take to safeguard their information and control who can find them through Facebook.
1. Keep your password unique. Do not use the same password for Facebook login as you do for other sites. Additionally, Facebook gives users the option to create a security question which must be correctly answered in order to retrieve or change your password. It is strongly recommended that users choose this extra security option. Click on the “settings” link in the upper right corner of your profile page, then click the “security question” link and create your question.
2. Choose how visible you are to others. Click the “settings” link in the upper right corner of your profile page, then click “manage” next to the menu item “privacy”. From here you have the option to choose who can search for you, what they can see of your profile, and who may view your Facebook activity. For those new to Facebook, we recommend the most restrictive privacy options be exercised until you get to know the site and can make more experienced decisions about your profile privacy. These options include the following category pages:
a. Profile: select the “only friends” option for all fields, then click the “contact information” tab and select either “only friends” or “no one” for all fields (this will be clearer to you when you are viewing the page.)
b. Search: Uncheck all of the field options
c. Newsfeed/Wall: Uncheck all of the field options, then click on the “social ads” tab, and select “no one”
d. Applications: Click the “settings” tab and choose the “do not share my information” option
3. Read the permission scripts. Facebook will never retrieve or share information without asking you first. Read the “do you give permission for (fill in the blank)” questions carefully before you click any tab that says “I accept.”