How to get Warcraft in your social life and news feeds

So, you've just started playing the World of Warcraft, and you're thinking to yourself, "This is awesome. I love this. I'm all killing kobolds and slaying dragons. Too bad I have to work in the morning." (Or, alternatively, you might lament having to go to school in the morning.) And you think to yourself, "I spend half the day on Facebook, anyway. How can I get my Warcraft on in Facebook?"

OK, a little hyperbole there, but you get the point. Not only has Blizzard promoted its social networking channels, but I actually had a reader write in with a similar question:

So with that in mind, let's talk about how you can get Blizzard's information -- and WoW Insider's, too -- right in your social networks.

FacebookCraft

Facebook is one of the two most popular social networks, so it's no shock that Warcraft enjoys 2.7 million likes there. You know, it's Facebook. You've probably heard of it.

What's really cool is that Warcraft's Facebook is populated with content all the way back to 1995. While I'm not certain how much of that content was backdated in the Timeline, you can find plenty on the Facebook Page to keep you entertained for hours. Exploring the photos, history, and random conversation can easily eat up a day or two.

The Warcraft Facebook page is updated fairly regularly. Blizzard shares news, pictures, and community updates on a reasonable schedule. If you're a regular Facebook user, you shouldn't feel like you're getting spammed by Warcraft.

Your intrepid WoW Insider team also lives on Facebook. We update with most of our hot news stories, and a thriving community regularly chats about the game. It's a good place to meet other WoW players without resorting to the official forums.

For the Twitter!

Twitter's the other member of the Big 2 social networks. Again, you've probably heard of it. It's a great place to express your WoW haikus in 140-character segments.

The rabbit hole for Twitter goes pretty deep. Start with the basic Warcraft Twitter account and see how that suits you. If you enjoy reading about the game on Twitter, you'll quickly find yourself following more and more Twitter celebrities. Warcraft is pretty good about sharing Twitter handles, so you'll be able to build up an impressive Twitter WoW list pretty quickly.

And yup, WoW Insider is on Twitter also. We occasionally run contests, ask questions, and generally chat with the community using the social network. If you're a Twitter fan, we'd love to hear from you there.

YouTube lives on

Zounds! Blizzard even has a YouTube channel. If you loved that Chuck Norris commercial, checking out the YouTube channel will let you enjoy the flying-spin-death kick in beautiful HD.

The YouTube channel isn't as active as Blizzard's other official social channels, but it does see some action. Mostly, all the cool the previews and commercials show up there, so it's a good place to get that information. The Blizzard-branded YouTube channel will go even a little further for you.

Which is best?

I find myself checking out Facebook more frequently than Twitter, but your personal preference will play a role here. The YouTube channel is cool but doesn't see nearly the frequency of updates Facebook enjoys. If you were only going to choose one channel to follow Warcraft, I'd definitely go with Facebook.

Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to everything you need to get started as a new player, from how to control your character and camera angles when you're just starting out, to learning how to tank, getting up to speed for heroics and even how to win Tol Barad.