What is Facebook?
On May 14, 2007, Facebook launched Marketplace, which lets users post free classified ads.
Facebook is one of the most complete web applications in the sense that it integrates many web 2.0 tools in one.
How do I start on Facebook?
Most people only allow their friends to see their Facebook profiles. So if you really want to find out what Facebook is about, you really need to create an account.
Go to and click on Sign up. Follow the easy steps and you’re ready!
Once you do get an account, befriend with UNI!
To make friends, click on the upper menu “Friends”, and then “Find Friends”.
You can enter people’s email addresses or scroll down and choose to “Search for people” by entering someone’s name. Type “UNI globalunion” and then “Add as Friend”. We will get a message and add you to our list.
Please also join the UNI group!
Go to your “Home” (top menu) and search for Groups, which are in the applications to the right-hand side of the webpage.
Type “UNI global union” in the search bar for groups. Once you’ve found it and opened it, you can click to Join it too.
Finding friends and groups to join is what will turn you into an active “Facebooker”. Why not start by looking for your own members by entering their names or email addresses in the search? And then colleagues from the international labour movement too!
You may want to create your own union’s group and invite your members to join it.
What’s in Facebook for unions?
If you’ve created a Facebook profile and/or group for your union, you now have a new way of connecting both with your members but also with a wider international audience interested in your work. You can spread your news more easily to your new Facebook friends which is a nice alternative to email or even SMS. You can create Events (for example real meetings that will take place in your country) in Facebook and inform all of your “friends”, ask them if they intend to attend, and interact with them around the event. Post news, photos and videos around the actual meeting on Facebook too!
You’ll soon discover once you’re in, it’s hard to stop (like peanuts!).
A number of unions are already using Facebook, for example the Spanish UGT, Prosa – the Danish union, the French CFDT, the Banking union of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Labourstart (with more than 1800 members). If you are one of them, let us know: !
It’s worth contacting them on Facebook and learning from their experiences. Make sure you join their groups as well.
Facebook doesn’t just happen on its own: it’s important to be pro-active and find new friends to join your groups and discussions as well as joining other people’s groups, to see your own network grow.
Here are some statistics(Dec. 2008):
UnionBook
As Facebook is commercial enterprise, it also exists primarily to make money.
Labourstart () launched in December 2008, offering a place for union people to connect online. It’s the equivalent to Facebook for the union social networking world.
UnionBook isn’t here to compete with Facebook. But there are things UnionBook does and Facebook can’t do:
1. UnionBook is non-commercial -- and that means no paid advertising on the site.
2. UnionBook respects users’ privacy -- which means that they’re never going to use personal details for commercial marketing.
3. UnionBook is owned by, and designed to be used by, trade unionists. So unlike Facebook, they welcome unions to create groups, to recruit members, and to campaign on their website.
If you have a Facebook account, by all means keep it. But do consider opening an account on UnionBook too, to specifically network with fellow union activists around the world.
Also read: How does UNI use Facebook?Uni GlobalUnion
Create your badge
Facebook is a social networking website with 140 million active accounts (Dec. 2008). These people use it to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos and join causes & groups.
Here are a few of Facebook’s features:
- The Wall, a space on every user's page that allows friends to post messages,
- Photos
- The News Feed, which appears on every user’s homepage and highlights information including profile changes, events, birthdays etc.
- Notes, a blogging feature that enables users to import their blog posts from their original blog websites,
- The Chat, for instant messaging with online friends,
- and Status, which allows users to inform their friends of their whereabouts and actions.
On May 14, 2007, Facebook launched Marketplace, which lets users post free classified ads.
Facebook is one of the most complete web applications in the sense that it integrates many web 2.0 tools in one.
How do I start on Facebook?
Most people only allow their friends to see their Facebook profiles. So if you really want to find out what Facebook is about, you really need to create an account.
Go to and click on Sign up. Follow the easy steps and you’re ready!
Once you do get an account, befriend with UNI!
To make friends, click on the upper menu “Friends”, and then “Find Friends”.
You can enter people’s email addresses or scroll down and choose to “Search for people” by entering someone’s name. Type “UNI globalunion” and then “Add as Friend”. We will get a message and add you to our list.
Please also join the UNI group!
Go to your “Home” (top menu) and search for Groups, which are in the applications to the right-hand side of the webpage.
Type “UNI global union” in the search bar for groups. Once you’ve found it and opened it, you can click to Join it too.
Finding friends and groups to join is what will turn you into an active “Facebooker”. Why not start by looking for your own members by entering their names or email addresses in the search? And then colleagues from the international labour movement too!
You may want to create your own union’s group and invite your members to join it.
What’s in Facebook for unions?
If you’ve created a Facebook profile and/or group for your union, you now have a new way of connecting both with your members but also with a wider international audience interested in your work. You can spread your news more easily to your new Facebook friends which is a nice alternative to email or even SMS. You can create Events (for example real meetings that will take place in your country) in Facebook and inform all of your “friends”, ask them if they intend to attend, and interact with them around the event. Post news, photos and videos around the actual meeting on Facebook too!
You’ll soon discover once you’re in, it’s hard to stop (like peanuts!).
A number of unions are already using Facebook, for example the Spanish UGT, Prosa – the Danish union, the French CFDT, the Banking union of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Labourstart (with more than 1800 members). If you are one of them, let us know: !
It’s worth contacting them on Facebook and learning from their experiences. Make sure you join their groups as well.
Facebook doesn’t just happen on its own: it’s important to be pro-active and find new friends to join your groups and discussions as well as joining other people’s groups, to see your own network grow.
Here are some statistics(Dec. 2008):
- 2.6 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)
- More than 13 million users update their statuses at least once each day
- More than 700 million photos uploaded to the site each month
- More than 4 million videos uploaded each month
- More than 15 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) shared each month
- More than 2 million events created each month
- More than 19 million active user groups exist on the site
- More than 35 translations available on the site, with more than 60 in development
- More than 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
UnionBook
As Facebook is commercial enterprise, it also exists primarily to make money.
Labourstart () launched in December 2008, offering a place for union people to connect online. It’s the equivalent to Facebook for the union social networking world.
UnionBook isn’t here to compete with Facebook. But there are things UnionBook does and Facebook can’t do:
1. UnionBook is non-commercial -- and that means no paid advertising on the site.
2. UnionBook respects users’ privacy -- which means that they’re never going to use personal details for commercial marketing.
3. UnionBook is owned by, and designed to be used by, trade unionists. So unlike Facebook, they welcome unions to create groups, to recruit members, and to campaign on their website.
If you have a Facebook account, by all means keep it. But do consider opening an account on UnionBook too, to specifically network with fellow union activists around the world.
Also read: How does UNI use Facebook?Uni GlobalUnion
Create your badge
UNI has a profile and a number of groups on Facebook – please befriend with us and join our groups as explained earlier!
We’ll keep you up-to-date with breaking news and events, put you in touch with fellow union activists and respond to your messages and notes directly.
We’ll join in to your groups and help you spread your message in Facebook and beyond.
More help:
- Contact me: webmaster[a]uniglobalunion.org
- Visit: where web 2.0 tools are explained in quick and simple videos (in English) – really worth having a look!
Facebook
