Creating your Profile.
What exactly is your Profile, and why is it important to be as detailed as possible or fill it in at all? Well, other users will have a job finding you using SEARCH, which works by using the information that you place into your Windows Live Profile page. It is also the first choice that users are presented with when they click on your picture or Avatar that you use around Windows Live. The more detailed as possible you can make your Profile on Windows Live, the more likely people will be able to find you and then invite you to join their Networks. So let’s begin shall we?
1. Edit Profile Details.
Starting from the page that loaded once you had created your Live ID, click on Edit Profile Details at the top. You will then be taken to the edit details page, which contains a set of different headings as follows, NAME, PICTURE, PERSONAL MESSAGE, ABOUT YOU, FAVOURITE THINGS,SOCIAL, EDUCATION AND WORK INFO. Now we will work our way through filling all of these details in about yourself.
2. Name.
a) Click on the Name title, or the blue Edit to be taken to the NAME page where you can input your name. Enter your first name in the box. NOTE. This first name will be visible to everyone on the internet. You can use a Nickname if you do not want to use your own name.
b) Now enter your last name. You can decide who sees your last name, if you do not wish anyone to see it, then do NOT tick the box underneath. TIP. If you prefer to not disclose or use your last name here at all, then just place a – dash in the box instead. When you have completed filling in the name boxes, then click on SAVE.
3. Picture.
Using a small picture of yourself on Windows Live helps others to see both what you look like and also they will be far more inclined to investigate further when they can see you. It makes it look as if you have made some sort of effort and intend to ‘stick around’ if make use of a picture. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a photograph, you can of course use an Avatar instead, but its so much more personal to include a photo.
a) Click on Edit under the grey figure in order to access the YOUR PICTURE page.
b) Choose a picture of yourself (or an Avatar if you have one on your computer) by clicking on the BROWSE button and then load up a picture from your picture files. TIP. If you own a webcam, you could use that to take a picture of yourself.
c) Once the picture has uploaded, then just click and hold to ‘drag’ the sides of the orange box around until you are happy with the position of the picture. You can see what your Windows Live picture will look like in the lozenge to the left. When you are happy with the position then just click on SAVE.
4. Personal Message.
This is entirely optional, but you can enter a message that will be placed at the top of your Profile page for all your visitors to see, and make them feel welcome. You can put anything you like here such as ‘Hi, I am new here’ or ‘Welcome to my Profile’ for example, its completely up to you.
5. About you.
Clicking on the next choice will take you to the INFORMATION ABOUT YOU page where you can give more details about yourself, including your interests, which are searchable by other users, so let’s work our way through these.
a) AGE. You don’t have to fill this in if you don’t want, it can be left blank.
b) GENDER. Again, you have the choice not to disclose whether or not you are male or female.
c) OCCUPATION. You can state here what your job is, or state that you are retired, a housewife, or anything you wish to imply is your occupation.
d) LOCATION. Again, this is entirely up to you as to whether or not you want other users to know roughly whereabouts you are, or you can put a looser term such as ‘Here in the UK’ or even ‘sat at the keyboard’ its entirely up to you.
e) MORE ABOUT YOU. This area allows you to put in some more detail about yourself that other users might be interested in knowing.
f) INTERESTS. This area is particularly important because it allows other users to see you if they happened to conduct a search using their interests, and one of your interests were the same. So say you liked watching ‘Star Trek’ and they do a search trying to find other users who also like Star Trek, then they can find you as long as you have it listed in your interests. So be as detailed as possible, and separate each interest with a comma.
When you are happy with your completed information, then click on SAVE.
6. Contact Info.
Before filling in your Contact info and to protect your privacy for now, it might be a good idea to set up this feature just for you to be able to access, until we get around to setting up the different permissions later,
a) Click on Contact Info to be taken to your Contact Info page, then click on the blue choice at the side of shared with: (it is probably currently set at My Network) so click on that to be taken to the Select who can view your contact info page, and make sure that all of the boxes are unticked and then click on SAVE.
This will ensure that all of your personal details such as e-mail address, IM address, home address and telephone number are only accessible by you. Now you can fill in all of your contact details in the boxes provided.
b) Once you have completed all of the relevant details, then just click on SAVE. NOTE. You do NOT have to fill all details in, this is entirely up to you as to whether or not you intend to let others know either individually or later when you have formed a Windows Live network, any of these personal contact details.
7. Favourite Things.
Again, this area is important because it allows others to both search your favourite music, books and films and also informs other users that you intend to ‘stick around’ if you take the time to fill these details in, and it is so easy to do!
a) Click on the Favourite Things heading to be taken to the Favourite things page. Now click on the blue Add your favourite music.
b) Click on ADD FAVOURITE ARTIST and then fill in your favourite band or singer in the top box.
c) Now add a favourite album or CD to the next choice.
d) Next click on the SEARCH tab on the right hand side, and your favourite album cover will be shown, plus the website box will now be filled in for you with an Amazon address where you album can be bought. The album cover will also be shown inside your favourite things. NOTE. If you prefer, and you know that particular artists website, you can of course input that URL into the website box. When you have filled in the details for all of your favourite music, then just click SAVE.
Now you can move on to filling in the details for any favourite books that you have read. So click on the blue add your favourite books to be taken to the Add Favourite book screen where you can fill in all of the details. Again you can search for the jacket cover of your book from Amazon, and this will then show in your list of favourite things.
Repeat the same procedure for adding all of your favourite films including doing a search once you have added the title of your Movie or film so that you can then show the DVD cover in your list of favourite films.
8. Social.
The next area is your Social details, so click on the Social title to be taken to the YOUR SOCIAL INFO page. This page will be seen by everyone who has access to your Profile page, but you can adjust the permissions for it later if you so wish. The choices to fill in are about your personal relationship, whether you are interested in making friends, dating, activity partners or business networking, your home town (and again you do not have to fill any of this information in if you don’t want to) Places where you have lived, what sort of sense of humour you possess (if any!) your choice of fashion and finally your favourite quote. When you are happy with the information that you have supplied, click on SAVE.
9. Education.
This area is concerned with any colleges or universities that you may have attended, and if you are interested in getting in touch with anyone from your college days, then you can fill the information in by clicking on the Education title.
10. Work Info.
Again, filling the info in for this category is entirely dependent on whether or not you want other users to have access to your work details. It is not compulsory,
Once you have completed al of these details, your profile information is complete and you can return to your profile page to see how other users will be able to view it and just to check that everything seems in order. NOTE. You will notice a new box informing you that you need to set up permissions, so I think that we might tackle that area next.
TG
