Family and Child Online Safety Blog - SafetyClicks

An article I read recently points out some of the unwritten rules of Facebook status updates. Your status update should be something of interest, it suggests. "Interesting" means different things to different people.

In looking at my own Facebook page, here are some ways my contacts, or "friends" use Facebook status updates.

One friend updates to say where he is working for the day. (He works remotely some days, some days in one office, some days in another office.) His status serves as a notice to colleagues where he can be found.

Another friend constantly updates everything he does. Every day. All day. It is annoying.

* Tip: You can hide status updates from a specific person, but still be connected to them on Facebook. To do this, click on "Hide" and choose "Hide (friend's name)"

Some use their status updates to promote what they are working on. A new article published, a new song written, or an upcoming show.

Invitations to play games, join causes, etc. Some people love them. Some people hate them. Either way, if you are on Facebook, you probably have your fair share of invitations about various games and causes.

* Tip: You can hide each game, cause, etc. To do this, click on "hide" next to one of them and choose "Hide (name of game, etc.). You will still get updates from that friend, but will no longer see that game on your updates.

A few people I know quote movies or song lyrics to express how they feel that day.

Using tools to tie together several social networking tools, some people update their Facebook status and Twitter profile every time they post to their blog (a social networking trifecta). Some of the tool options to post to both at once are Tweet Deck and LifeStream.

Many people I know use Facebook to share pictures of their family. When there is a new picture posted, it normally shows up as a status update.

How do you use your Facebook or Twitter updates? What do you love or hate about them?