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It’s highly unlikely you’ve managed to avoid the social networking craze to have swept the globe, but love them or hate them these sites are a great way for us to raise our profile and spread the word about the issues we care about.

Here are some simple instructions to set up profiles on three of the biggest social networking sites.

And if you are already a member of these sites please join up with us!

How to set up a Facebook profile

Setting up a Facebook profile is free, and only takes a few minutes. It’s a great way for us to share our photos and videos, point you in the direction of any recent press coverage, and let you know generally what we’ve been up to. Open your browser, and go to www.facebook.com. There is a big green ‘sign up’ button on the right hand side. It will ask you to fill in a few details, such as your name and e-mail address, then hit the ‘Sign up now!’ tab at the bottom and you’re ready to go. Once you’ve joined you can become a ‘fan’ of Sightsavers. You can find us by using the search function at the top right of the page, but you need to have a Facebook account to join or even look at our fan page…

How to set up a Twitter account

Open your browser and enter www.twitter.com. Click the big green ‘Sign up now’ button on the right.

You will be asked to fill in a few details, including a username for your account, which will appear in the url of your twitter profile. This could just be your name, but be aware that each username must be unique, so if you have a common name it may already have been taken.

Click ‘Create my account’ and you’re away! You can personalise your page with colour schemes and a profile picture. Twitter allows you to ‘follow’ people, such as celebrities, or your favourite blindness charity… Look for us by adding ‘Sightsavers’ in the ‘find people’ box at the top.

How to set up a myspace profile

Go to www.myspace.com. There is a link at the top right of the page, called ‘join up’. Once you click on this, you will be asked to fill in your details, such as name, e-mail address, date of birth, gender, and a unique password.

Your myspace account is now created! When you are logged in you can edit your personal information, upload photographs and invite friends to join.

Myspace allows you to send messages to people in your friends list, or leave a comment on their profile. (Keep an eye out for new bulletins down the left-hand side of your home page – we often send these around as it is the quickest way to contact everyone in our address book in one go.) Be sure to also check out our blogs, which contain our latest news.

To find Sightsavers and add us as a friend, you can use the search function, or simply look up our url which is www.myspace.com/sightsavers. The beauty of myspace is that you can peruse our profile to your heart’s content even if you are not a member of myspace yourself.

Adding Sightsavers as a top friend is a great way to help us raise our profile – we appreciate all the help we can get!