FaceBook as a research tool
Tags: Facebook, socialcomputing
My wife and I took our daughter to visit a private high school yesterday. It is a few hours from home and we are a bit concerned about the distance. Last night I got the idea to search Facebook for recent graduates and message them to see if they would share their experiences with me. I found a great cross section of alumni and messaged a few. Within 15 minutes I received my first response. It was well written and informative. By this morning I had 3 responses, again all well written and informative. One of the respondents was an alumnus of my Alma Mater, Wittenberg University, so his feedback on how the private HS prepared him for college was particularly useful. He also made the following comment, “I like the resourcefulness you’ve found in facebook!”
I’ve used Facebook in the past to get information about companies, individuals and even hobby/interests I have. It is important to be clear and polite in your initial message. State who you are, how you found the recipient, what information you trying to find (clearly), and why you want this information. I’ve found that the majority of Facebook users are more than happy to reply.