Okay so I decided to try to catch up a little and got me a very pretty, HTC magic andriod phone it has a bunch stuff I have no idea how to use, but my dimness is not the point of this it is that I decided to to start with the social networking stuff you know the stuff people have been using for the last 5 years and I literally did my first text like two days ago… i’ll let the snickering die down. so please to you trusted folks twitter, facebook, anything else??? the whole thing seems a little overwhelming so if there is a good how to, or some tips on the whole thing i would be in your debt.
First step: you should make yourself a Facebook profile. Think of it as an entry point to social networking. There’s more out there, such as Twitter for microbloging, LinkedIn for professional networking etc., but your Facebook profile can really serve as a drop point. It can be a training ground to learn the ins and outs of basic social networking (i.e. finding people, posting status updates, communicating) in the short-term, and it can be a hub to connect your disparate accounts on other social networking tools down the road.
Yeah, facebook is a lot of fun, especillay if you have interesting friends that use it. Be sure to adjust the privacy settings to how you want them on facebook though.
FB is good - so is MySpace, especially if you are into music
MySpace seems to be more popular with the younger-teen set, but if you’re a garage band, you’re supposed to have a presence there. I think it’s a law or something. 
Facebook’s big benefit is that it makes it easy to get into social networking while maintaining enough structure that you’re not instantly awash in the pure torrent of incoherent and unreadable messes of a typical MySpace page.
That does happen, eventually, in the form of app status updates from all your friends who play Bejeweled and Mafia Wars and stuff, until you learn to filter those, your Facebook experience will grow cluttered, but on the other hand, you’ll receive valuable information as to which of your friends are playing games all day instead of working. 
XKCD nailed MySpace in this:
I would hold off on FaceBook until you have more experience with social networking. It’s easy to put too much of yourself out there.
Twitter is probably the way to start, and likely the easiest to manage from your phone.
You’re more likely to connect with friends and family with Facebook than Twitter. Twitter’s popularity is huge along the intersection of the geeky and severely attention deficit disordered, not so much “normal folks” just yet. I represent both parties, and actually use Twitter to update both my Facebook and homepage, heh.
Facebook, on the other hand, let’s me stay in touch with everyone else.
FAcebook has allowed me to reconnect with lots of family members and old friends from the past. And there are some semi fun games (read bored time useruppers) on it.
Facebook, as everyone has said, is pretty much The Thing now.
Someone warned me that if you fill out your full info and leave your privacy wide open, you will not believe the deluge of people from your entire life who will track you down and follow you – within ten hours of signing up.
MySpace is good for music, but it’s filled with so much clunky bullsh*t it’s hardly worth it beyond that. And design-wise, it’s like nine steps behind everything else going on.
Twitter is some next-level stuff. It’s like a big ball of everything the internet does: IMing, RSS reader, chat room, social networking, microblogging, what-I’m-doing-now, etc. Its stated use of telling everyone what you’re doing now is misleading. It’s waaaay bigger than that.
Oh yea - like Pirates, Mafia Wars, FarmVille. Like I need more games to suck up my spare time. 
Seriously - if you join Facebook, I agree with the comments to limit content. I have mine setup so that people have to ask me if it’s ok to add me to their friend list. And only my friends can see the majority of my stuff. I don’t want everybody and their dog able to access my profile!
Concur. I have my Profile really locked down so only friends can see my profile and have to send request to befriend me. I even have some pics that are limited to only the people tagged in the to see them
Same here. I get so sick of all the space wasted on requests for Mafia Wars, FarmVille…etc. It seems that the whole of my HS graduating class are finding me and wanting to be my friend. Now after 32 years of no contact…I have to wonder WHY NOW! I’m still never going to a class reunion! LOL
my continuing adventures in the modern age; I started to set up a facebook account and got a little bit concerned about all the info they wanted… and the tin foil hat voices won out… i just don’t like a lot of personal info on the web… but i did jump on the twitter followed a bunch of people around here and elsewhere. seems pretty cool… so i guess its a baby steps kind of thing…:o
I can understand your hesitation. You are completely justified in it. However, keep in mind you are not required to put most of it on your profile at all. Only put up what you are comfortable with as well as until you get more familiar with how to set up your privacy settings.
I as always bow to your wisdom
Pike… pike… pike… pike…