Melody Karle - A Social Media Survival Guide: How to Use the Most Popular Platforms and Protect Your Privacy

A SOCIAL MEDIA SURVIVAL GUIDE

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

6 Tinworth Street, London, SE11 5AL, United Kingdom

Copyright 2020 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

All figures courtesy of the author.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Karle, Melody A., 1979 author.

Title: A social media survival guide : how to use the most popular platforms and
protect your privacy / Melody Karle.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2020] | Includes bibliographic
references and index. | Summary: This book helps those who want to use social
media but are not necessarily Web-savvy navigate the most popular networking
sites available. Privacy and technical information about how social media platforms
function are explained, so everyone can make informed decisions about how to
connect online.Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019038992 (print) | LCCN 2019038993 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781538126790 (cloth) | ISBN 9781538126806 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Social mediaHandbooks, manuals, etc. | Online social networks
Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Classification: LCC HM742 .K375 2020 (print) | LCC HM742 (ebook) | DDC
302.30285dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019038992

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019038993

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

I f you have picked up this book, you likely have at least one social media account. You certainly arent alone: more than 2.77 billion people are using social media in 2019. People all over the world use social media to keep in touch, share news and images, and promote ideas. Even if you do not have a Facebook or Snapchat account, most internet users are exposed to social media networks on a regular basis without even logging in. It is hard to avoid watching YouTube videos that appear in search results, for example. The nightly news and morning talk shows also quote Twitter users, both famous and local. If you are feeling like you dont know enough about the world of social media, this book can help.

This book is intended to help people at all stages of social media discovery. Whether you are already using social media and want to understand it better, or you are trying to decide whether you will enjoy using a certain social media platform, this book breaks down the basics you need to know. Existing social media users are likely to find details about networks that may surprise them. In these pages, you will learn why people choose one platform over another. You will also learn about the terminology used on each platform, as well as the risks and security issues. Overall, A Social Media Survival Guide will help everyday people to figure out how to create and manage their social media experience.

A Social Media Survival Guide is not a guide for businesses or people trying to manage the social media presence of a group or company. There are hundreds of books on that topic, and yet remarkably few for the individual person. Rather than telling you how to sell a product, become an influencer, or build a brand, this book will help you learn how to connect with friends, follow news and events, and find information on your chosen platform. It is for regular users who just want to understand how things work. For that reason, things are explained at a basic level. No previous knowledge of each platform is assumed, and the book offers step-by-step explanations with pictures.

also looks at some basic privacy and safety concerns; these also will be explained further in each network-specific chapter.

through 10 will investigate the most popular social media platforms used most by users in the United States: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, Reddit, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Each chapter has similar sections so that you can compare different platforms and decide what might work for you. The sections include why people use the platform; terminology; instructions for getting started, creating an account, and using the network; and privacy and safety concerns specific to that platform.

offer explanations, terminology, and privacy tips.

, Archiving, Saving, and Legacy Management, explains reasoning and issues related to preserving posts and other aspects of social media. Since many people spend a lot of time on social media, saving posts for the future might preserve memories we would otherwise lose. This chapter looks at the different ways someone can save social media posts and information, including built-in and basic tools, as well as special options.

Whether you are looking to build a LinkedIn account to help you look for a job, or want to waste time browsing the Reddit joke feed, this book can help you get started. Read to give you some basic details and foundation. Then, skip around to the platform-specific chapter you need. Make sure to read the chapters for social media platforms you already use, tooyou will hopefully learn something new that will improve your experience.

S ocial media is part of modern life whether we like it or not. Even if you avoid it in your personal life or limit your time spent on social media, social media comes up a lot. Friends and family post photos and invitations through social media instead of sending e-mails. Our community organizations and churches post to social media instead of sending newsletters or mail announcements as they once did. Television news often shares posts from social media while reporting on everything from the weather to international relations, some from celebrities and political figures but also many from everyday people. In many cases, it is harder to know what is going on without being involved in social media in some way. At the same time, people on social media complain of feeling overwhelmed by their time spent using it. There are also new platforms and applications or apps all the time, and data breaches are common. What is the best way to approach your personal use of social media safely, and without burning out (or burning your computer to the ground)? This guide will help you navigate those challenges to become a conscious and thoughtful user of social media.