Facebook for artists in Ireland
First, let's watch a video of the artist, Lee Walton who created short videos based on his friends' status updates on Facebook in a series called "What my friends are doing."
Beth O'Brien is dancing to her alarm clock. from lee Walton on Vimeo.
Why should artists in Ireland get on Facebook?
As of 21 October 2007 there were about 131,660 Facebook users in Ireland (via mulley.net). As of 15 July 2009 there are 791,320 people who live in Ireland on Facebook. That is a sizeable chunk of the adult population. Though there are concerns about an increasing population being left behind or excluded, Facebook is now a viable place to connect with many people in Ireland- even more so everyday.
A national campaign to gain political traction for artists in Ireland "Making the Public Case for Arts" has been established on Facebook. The campaign calls for artists to stand up and be counted. But with recent concerns about privacy and online reputation management, we are hearing that many artists are still very hesitant about getting on to Facebook.
We don't all work for MI6, but you might like to keep certain information private on your Facebook account. You may also have heard of people getting fired or dumped because of what they posted on Facebook.
The default settings on Facebook are rather permissive. They allow people 'in your network' to alot of personal details, information and images. Of course, you could just NOT put any of that information up, but more and more being on online is becoming an imperative for professional purposes.
The official Facebook Help area page does have alot of information about safety. You may be wondering what are the few things you can do as soon as you make a Facebook profile.
Make Facebook Friends' Lists
You can use friend categories (lists) to separate out your family & close friends, and then your professional connections.
Read how to separate out your friends list on Mashable. Then you can control who can see those late-night photos of you in le discothèque.
Hide yourself in searches: if you don't want to be found
You can also remove yourself from Google searches, and searches within Facebook. If you do this however, you will be limiting your find-ability.
See the article on 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know on 'All Facebook' for details on how to remove yourself from searches.
Get your facebook URL: if you do want to be found
Just recently, Facebook allows people to pick a username which makes an address like facebook.com/something. This will make it easier for people to find you or your online identity. In a sense, this also protects your online identity because you will have control over it.
After you create a Facebook account, visit this page to create a username: http://www.facebook.com/username. You can select a username that Facebook suggests or create your own. Select "Check availability" to check for available usernames. If the desired username is available, click "Confirm" in order to confirm your choice.
This is a sad experience if your name is Mary Smith, but if you're a lucky person your mom and dad gave you a really funky name. Good luck!
I'll leave you with another video from Lee Walton: What my friends are doing...
