October 2009 Program: Untangling Web 2.0

The October program featured speaker Christine Cupaiuolo, who gave advice on navigating the social networking programs that make up Web 2.0.

Cupaiuolo was one of the first bloggers for Ms. magazine, and she founded the online magazine PopPolitics.com. She is currently helping nonprofits like CWIP understand what makes Web 2.0 so valuable in a culture that is moving rapidly towards web-based social networking. Web 2.0 refers to the social media that has taken the web by storm. Unlike Web 1.0, which refers to the one-way street of going to websites to find information, Web 2.0 involves tools that allow users from all over the world to interact with one another.

Web 2.0 helps users build and manage relationships. Most social media tools allow users to create personal profiles and to give "status updates" on their projects. These status updates can be changed as often as the user likes, and other users can comment on the status or offer advice. Web 2.0 gives users a chance to become more focused on giving feedback and building relationships than on getting a job or a sale.

However, like any other relationship, social media relationships require a time investment. In order to maintain "good social karma," social media users must provide updates and respond to others' comments. Any new social media user should start small, be flexible, and use tools like iGoogle to help organize and filter updates so that everything is on one webpage.

Cupaiuolo reminded CWIP members to "think before you link." Users must watch what they post in social media because they don't know who may be reading it. According to a CareerBuilder.com survey, around 45% of companies google potential job candidates and could look at their Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles, etc. to see if they even want to interview certain candidates. An inappropriate profile photo or a crude status update will affect a company's first impression, and could stand in the way of finding the perfect job.

However, authenticity is key in social media. So how can you bridge the personal-to-professional gap? One solution is to add privacy settings (if possible) to your social media accounts. Applying privacy settings allows you to be authentic while maintaining professional distance from people who aren't close friends or relatives.

Cupaiuolo used the term "ambient awareness" to describe how reading a user's postings over a period of time can give you an overall impression of the person. This is similar to how a Georges Seurat painting looks like a lot of tiny dots up close, but takes shape as the viewer step farther and farther away. To give a good but authentic impression of yourself, post one quality comment on your network every day or every other day rather than five random comments every day. Quality, not quantity, is key when establishing yourself in social media.

For more information on Web 2.0, visit Christine Cupaiuolo's website at www.christine2.com.

Kim Mackey is new to the Chicago area. A Delaware native, Kim was most recently a Project Editor for nursing textbooks at F. A. Davis Company Publishers in Philadelphia. She is currently a part-time freelance editor and a full-time job sleuth who hopes to become part of a Chicago editorial team very soon. She ca n be reached at kmackey25@gmail.com.

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