Social Networks and Your Kindle

If you are a Facebook or Twitter user, this may be of interest to you.  If you’re reading and happen across a passage you’d like to share with friends or followers through social networking sites, Kindle gives you the option to post it to Facebook or Twitter.

Registering Your Social Networks

Before you can share what you’re reading, you’ll need to link your Amazon.com account to your account on Facebook or Twitter.

To manage your social networks:

1. Navigate to Kindle’s Home screen and press the Menu button.
2. Select “Settings” from the Home screen menu.
3. Select the “manage” option next to Social Networks on the Settings page.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen to link or unlink an account.

Sharing on a Registered Network

Posting to Facebook or Twitter is as easy as highlighting a passage and adding a comment. When you select the share option, your comments will be sent automatically to your registered social networking sites, appended with a backlink to a web page showing the passage you highlighted.

To create a highlight and note to share:

1. Place the cursor at the beginning of the passage using the 5-Way controller and press down to anchor it.
2. Highlight the passage using the 5-Way controller.
3. Enter your note or comment about the passage you highlighted.
4. Select “save & share” from the options at the bottom of the note window when finished.

If you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account associated with your Amazon.com account, you’ll automatically be prompted to manage your social network registration before your message is posted.

To share from your existing notes and marks:

1. Open the book that contains the note or highlight.
2. Press the Menu key and select “View My Notes & Marks.”
3. Highlight the item you wish to share in your Notes & Marks.
4. Press Alt plus the enter key on the keyboard to share.

You can also navigate to a section in your book that contains a note or highlight, select it with your cursor, and press Alt plus the enter key on the keyboard to share.

How to Send a Twitter “Tweet” With Others:

If you don’t want to use the manage social networks feature on your Kindle, you can do it with the experimental web browser.  I will point out I’m not a Twitter user.  I’ve never really felt the need to “tweet” what I had for lunch, the ferocity of my sneeze (although I will say I had one yesterday that made me feel as if I was about to blow out a tooth filling), nor do I care about what Mr. Demi Moore is doing, either, although I saw on a gossip magazine in the Wal-Mart checkout line he has the largest Twitter following.

Now that I have that off of my chest, I feel a whole lot better now!  There are, however, many of you who are Twitter users – and I understand from a friend you can “Tweet” from your Kindle – I’m taking my friend’s word for it.  It sounds pretty simple – with your Kindle’s wireless on and at the Internet browser, go to www.twitter.com, log in, and start “tweeting” away!

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