how social networking can help your support group

How social networking websites can help your group

Louis Yung-HoiNew Media Adviser

Contact a Family

What we will be covering today• Getting to know each other• What is social networking?• What do you already know about it?• Challenges in running a support group• How are others using it?• Social networking – Privacy and safety

Getting to know each other…

Introduce yourself to your group with your name, what you do and one interesting

fact about yourself.Then, you will introduce the new friend

you have just made to the rest of the group.

Now that we know each other…

We are now a group of individuals…

…with a common interest…

…sharing information with each other about who we are and what we do.

Now that we know each other…

We’ve just made a network!

Social networking websites work in a very similar way…

Seemingly random individuals…

…sharing a common interest to build networks…

…and groups within those networks.

The “I Love Pie” Society

Summary• Social networking is an increasingly popular way

for individuals to communicate online one-to-one or in groups.

• By starting a profile and adding friends to your network, you can build communities with others who have similar interests to you.

• It encourages interaction and the exchange of information among your network by allowing you to share pictures, video, internet links and audio.

• Most social networking websites are free to use and quick to set up.

Quiz:What do you already know about social

networking?

What do you already know about social networking?

• What percentage of adult internet users in the UK have set up their own profile on a social networking site?

– 5%– 22 %– 70%

What do you already know about social networking?

• What percentage of adult internet users in the UK have set up their own profile on a social networking site?

– 22 %Almost half (49%) of children aged 8-17 who use the internet have set up their own

profile on a social networking site.

What do you already know about social networking?

• Facebook is the most popular social networking website in the UK, but how many of us are using it?

– 7 million people– 2 million people– 679,441 people

What do you already know about social networking?

• Facebook is the most popular social networking website in the UK, but how many of us are using it?

– 7 million people

That’s just in the UK alone! Worldwide, there are 80 million active users and this figure continues to grow with the 25+ years olds being the fastest growing

demographic.

What do you already know about social networking?

• Which of the following is NOT a social networking website?

– MySpace– Bebo– Hi5– Donny Osmond’s Pancake Palace

What do you already know about social networking?

• Which of the following is NOT a social networking website?

– MySpace– Bebo– Hi5– Donny Osmond’s Pancake Palace

A bit of a trick question! Whilst Donny Osmond has not launched a social networking website for pancakes aficionados, he easily could make his own group on any of them.

Brainstorm:In your experience, what challenges do

you encounter in running a support group?

How can social networking resolve these challenges?

• No setup costs with basic technical skills needed to start.• Ease of communication across your whole group• Accessibility• Time saving• Fundraising tools• Organize and publicise events• Media rich content (videos, pictures, audio)• Encourages involvement within your community• Can encourage real life interaction• Global and regional reach, no geographical bounds• Ease of moderation

How are other support groups using social networking?

You’re likely to find support groups on one or more of the top social networking sites used in the UK. These are:

People Affected by West Syndrome (PAWS) are a support group who use Facebook to stay in touch with their members, keep them informed of events and news, whilst providing a place for parents, relatives and friends to share their experiences with each other.

Parents of Children with Autism use Bebo to write blogs for their community. Blogs are very much like diaries, but having them online allows you to share your posts with others. Bebo also allows you to create polls and discussion forums so you members always have a place to express themselves.

Cancer Research UK have used MySpace to publicise their Race for Life campaign, a great way of rallying support for a specific event inside and outside of your networks of friends. On their page, you can find information how to take part as well as ways to donate to the cause.

MySpace, Facebook and MySpace recognise the potential in using social networking for charity work and non-profit interests, so they have started their own pages to help publicise causes , groups and charities.

Contact a Family have profiles on all of the sites mentioned today, but we’ve gone one step further in getting parents to meet from the comfort of their homes by creating a virtual advice centre in Second Life.

Create your own character (known as an avatar) and talk other people in the virtual world.

Summary

• Social networking websites offer a number of tools to allow you to effectively communicate with your community, such as:– Blogs (online diaries)– Event listings– Message Boards/Discussion Forums– Instant Messaging– Social media (pictures, videos and audio)– Contact Lists

Privacy and Safety• MySpace, Facebook and Bebo (among other sites) have

implemented many security measures to make sure your information is kept secure and not used for malicious purposes.

• You can change your privacy settings to allow only certain trusted members of your network to view your profile or make comments. Don’t leave your profile open to personal information, photos or videos that can be reputationally damaging.

• Whilst online threats on social networking websites are a reality, it is very easy to avoid such an encounter by being vigilant – the same way you would be if you were meeting strangers in a pub.

Any questions?

Thank you for listening!

We will now have a 15 minute coffee break.

Return for 11:45 for a one hour workshop showing you how easy it is to set up a profile

and start a group on Facebook.