Chapter 16. Using the Social Features of Your NOOK

As I’m sure you know, Facebook and Twitter are big deals these days—everyone is sharing everything. The NOOK makes this sharing even easier. You can share your reading status, share quotes, and rate and recommend books. You can share to specific contacts, on BN.com, Facebook, and Twitter. Because many of these options overlap and at the same time are scattered across the interface, this chapter focuses on Facebook sharing and the NOOK Friends app.

You can access the Facebook social features by double-tapping a cover image and tapping Share, tapping More and then tapping Share from the Reading Tools toolbar, or tapping Share from the Text Selection toolbar. Now let’s deal with each of these contexts in turn.

Using Share from the Library or Reading Tools Toolbar

Double-tapping a cover either from the Library or from the Reading Tools toolbar displays the View Details Screen. Tap Share and then tap Recommend to see your recommend options: Contacts, Facebook, and Twitter. Tap Facebook and then Next to see the Facebook Recommendation screen—if you are not currently connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot, your NOOK asks you to connect to one.

To post to your Facebook wall:

1. Tap Post to My Wall.

2. Type your message that will appear. As you type, you see the number of available characters (max of 420) go down, giving you an indication of how much space you have left.

3. Tap Post. Your NOOK sends the recommendation to your wall.

If you want to post to a friend’s wall, tap Post to a Friend’s wall and then tap Select Friend. You can search for a name. To select a friend, tap the button on the right of the name. Tap Done. Type your message and then tap Post. Your NOOK sends the recommendation to your friend’s wall.

Some other options you have are: Post Reading Status, Rate and Review, and Like on Facebook.

• Post Reading Status: This option enables you to post how far along you are in reading this NOOK Book to Facebook or Twitter. A brief headline indicating how far you are into the NOOK Book and its title is followed by the synopsis of the NOOK Book as found on BN.com.

After tapping Share and tapping Post Reading Status, tap the check box for Facebook or Twitter (or both) and then tap Post. The update is sent.

• Rate and Review: Tapping this allows you to rate and review the book on BN.com, which appears on the B&N book’s specific web page. You must provide both a rating and either a headline or review before you can post. After you tap Post, the information is sent to BN.com.

• Like on Facebook: This option enables you to post to your Facebook wall that you like this book. Tap this link and your NOOK makes the connection that you like that NOOK Book.

Using Share from the Text Selection Toolbar

Use this share function when you have a quote you want others to see. You can share on Facebook, with a contact, or on Twitter:

1. Press and hold the word you want to start the quote.

2. When the Text Selection toolbar appears, finish highlighting the quote by dragging to the end of the text you want.

3. Tap Share.

4. Tap Facebook, and then tap Next.

5. Tap either Post to My Wall or Post to a Friend’s Wall.

For Post to My Wall, type a message and tap Post.

For Post to a Friend’s Wall, tap Select Friend. Select your friend and tap Done. Type your message. Tap Post.

The appropriate wall or walls are updated.

Using NOOK Friends

NOOK Friends is, to quote B&N, “the place for people who love to share their love for reading!” Here, you can connect with friends to lend and borrow books, see what your friends have been doing, and other things.

You access NOOK Friends by double-tapping a cover in the library and tapping Share. Then tap View Friends’ Activity. You are already set up with an account. NOOK Friends shows what your friends have been reading, what they are recommending, how far along they are in a book, and more. If you tap Details, you are shown the details for that title.

Adding Friends

If you want to add a friend or accept a request, tap Settings from the Quick Nav Bar, tap Social, and tap Manage My NOOK Friends. A screen appears with your existing friends. If you tap one of your friend’s name, you see a screen that show which of their books are available to borrow. Tap Requests when someone requests to be your NOOK Friend, which you can accept or decline. Tap Sent to see which NOOK Friends requests you have sent.

To send a request to become a NOOK Friend, tap the plus button. The Add NOOK Friends screen appears.

All Contacts displays to see all of your contacts. Tap Invite to invite that contact, and they are sent an email as well as see the request on their NOOK. Tap Suggested to see a filtered list of your contact that B&N knows already has a B&N account. You can also add a new contact by tapping Add New. Enter their first and last names and the email address. Leave the Invite as NOOK Friend check box marked to send that contact a request to become a NOOK Friend. Tap Save to send the request and save the contact.

Controlling What LendME Books Your NOOK Friends Can See

Ever had a friend see a book of yours and request to borrow it and you felt that you had to loan it even though it was the next book you wanted to read? Well, on your NOOK, you can hide any of your NOOK Books that have LendMe capability so that your friends cannot see it to request to borrow it.

First, make sure you have an active Wi-Fi connection. Then from the Quick Nav Bar, tap Settings, and then tap Social. Tap Manage Visibility of My LendMe Books. On the screen that appears, you see a list of any LendMe books you own that your friends could request. To turn off specific book from being seen, scroll to that title, and tap Show so that the slider changes to Hide. Tap Hide to switch it back to Show.

If you don’t want to show any of your LendMe books to your friends, tap the check box with the long label Show All My Lendable Books to My NOOK Friends so that the checkmark is removed.