Ashish Vaswani
One of the most inspiring movies of the year has been ‘The Social Network’. Not only did the makers laugh all the way to the bank, but it also made Mark Zuckerberg a household name in most parts of the world. But what did we, as TSEC engineers learn from it? Is Facebook the new Orkut or is Twitter the future of social networking? Read on to find out.

Most of us would agree to spending roughly an hour on Facebook on an average day. Most of it is spent checking status updates that hardly matter or cracking open fortune cookies that don’t even crumble. With a little bit of thinking, we can change the way we socialize with friends and non-friends.

Facebook is not the only social networking website. Pay a little more attention to Twitter than you already have. If used wisely, it can boost your performance at work and increase your awareness about general issues. The key is to follow the right people. There’s no harm in retweeting @iamsrk’s twets non-stop. But also make sure that you follow another set of technical people to make up for it.

Linkedin has been an underrated networking site among students. But if you start early, you could be a pro at profiling by the time you land your first job. And trust me, it helps a lot. Ensure you display the right combination of skills on your profile to attract prospective employers.

Follow a few techblogs to keep yourself updated about the latest in your field. If you’re interested in cooking, follow Nigella Lawson and Sanjeev Kapoor. The key is to pick and choose who/what you want to follow based on your likes/dislikes. Don’t simply follow someone just because your friends are doing it. Won’t get you anywhere. Just follow your instincts and you’ll end up creating the best online experience for yourself.