by Bobby Coles

Created on: July 24, 2009   Last Updated: May 07, 2012

Facebook is currently being used by approximately one quarter of a billion people, more than one hundred million of whom log on each and every day a minimum of one time. This gives an accurate reflection of the trend-setting capability of Facebook.

If a journalist wants to be in touch with the everyday comings and goings, then becoming involved in a social networking website of this enormous magnitude could surely be a wise decision.

There are many ways to use Facebook, and for a journalist, it is a great source for linking, blogging, and getting feedback from the people that read the news. Facebook transcends age, gender, socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity.

From school children to their grandparents, there are all sorts of representation on Facebook. An effective journalist will tap into this vast resource, and figure out how to best promote him or herself.

On Facebook, there are ways that you can profile just yourself, or you can create a space to showcase your journalistic endeavours in business form. Either way, you can certainly reach a wide scope of people in a very short amount of time, which is one of the fundamentals of journalism. Link to your best stories, and watch the audience grow.

Journalists need to be poised at the precipice of the nation's pulse, ready to pounce on a breaking story. Journalists need to know what is going on around them at all times, and should be prepared to take notes at the drop of a hat.

A social networking site like Facebook should have all journalists clamouring around it night and day. Facebook can be quite an effective tool for journalists, if they use it properly.

The most effective ways for journalists to use Facebook involve networking, joining as many groups as possible, and basically getting a feel for the thoughts of people throughout the world on a daily basis. The portion where people are mentioning what they are thinking at that moment can give valuable insight into what has caught people's attention on that particular day.

This is also a great place for the journalist to mention his or her latest writing effort, which gives instant status update to all of the people that have access to that journalist's profile. By getting your information out there in this manner, many people will have the ability to quickly peruse your writing while they are currently engaged in a stimulating bout of picture scouring.

When using Facebook, a journalist should drop links to their own website on their main page. This

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