You may have heard of them, you may even have tried out 1 or 2, but do you really understand the impact social networking sites have? Maybe these  numbers from Facebook will give you a better perspective:

• More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day
• More than 3.5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)
• More than 20 million users update their statuses at least once each day
• More than 1 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) shared each week
• More than 850 million photos uploaded to the site each month
• About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
• More than 40 translations available on the site, with more than 50 in development

Get the picture?

Making the move to the Internet was probably difficult enough, but now you have made the leap, extending your web presence to social networking sites will be much less stressful.

First, let's go over the basics - social networking sites have very little structure. There is no oversight committee deciding what to publish online or to moderate what someone else is posting. Nor is there any hierarchy, everyone has an equal voice. Social networking sites are like family gatherings or school reunions or a church potluck - lots of conversations and connections are taking place and it can seem chaotic and insignificant to a casual observer, but to the participants, it is very significant.

How it works:

• People create personal accounts
• They begin posting about themselves
• They connect with other people they already know, or share common interests
• They interact with each other
• And, they continue to post about themselves and interact with each other

What it isn't

• A substitute for your church web site
• Something to be done as an afterthought
• Something to be ignored or approached casually

You've gotten this far, why not take it a little farther?