Facebook Basics

IntroductionFacebook is the world’s most popular social networking site; with millions of users, you’re bound to know a friend who uses Facebook! If you’re unfamiliar with the site, here are some helpful directions to assist you in getting started.

First StepSigning up for Facebook is easy. All you need is your name, a valid e-mail address, your birthday, and a password you create, and you’ll be on your way! Just go to www.facebook.com; the “Sign Up” application is right on the homepage.

Once you have your account set up, the first thing to do is to fill in your profile.

Your ProfileYour Facebook profile is basically your own webpage. The information in your profile is a collection of facts about yourself: your hometown, your job, the name of the person you’re in a relationship with, your age, etc. You can be as forthcoming as you wish with this information, or you can withhold as much as you’d like – it’s okay to keep things private! Once you’ve acquired some Facebook friends, all your friends can see your profile. This is the “you” your friends will encounter on Facebook – so don’t post anything in your profile you don’t want your friends to see!

Once you’ve signed up, Facebook will take you through the steps of adding elements to your profile.

This is what your Facebook profile might look like:

Your profile has five major components: your wall, your info, your photos, your notes, and your friends. These are accessed by clicking on the links beneath your profile picture. Right now, we are looking at your profile’s info (notice that the word “info” is highlighted in the menu).

Basic info. This info will appear on your profile at all times, and is accessible to your friends.

You can make changes to your profile by clicking the “Edit Profile” button.

Your profile picture. You can upload pictures and make them your profile pic by clicking on “photos” in the menu underneath the picture.

You can adjust privacy settings, logout, and make other changes by clicking “Account.”

This is your profile’s “wall” view. Your wall is the area where your friends can post to you and where all your recent activities show up. Notice that the word “wall” is highlighted in the menu. As you can see, one of Romeo’s friends posted on his wall. By clicking “See Friendship,” you can see all public communication between these two friends.

At the top of the page, you will see, next to the word “facebook,” three icons: (from left) one of two people’s heads (Friend Requests); one of two cartoon talk boxes (Messages); and one of a globe (Notifications). These indicate when you have received either a Friend Request, a Message, or a Notification. The number of each you have received will show up in a red box over the relevant icon. In this instance, the number “3” above the globe icon means that we have received three notifications.

Friend Requests

Messages

Notifications

Search bar. You can insert the names of people you know, groups, or other interests, and see if they have Facebook pages of their own. If you find someone you want to be friends with, you can then send them a Friend Request. If you find a page about an interest or an institution (Sailing, say, or your favorite band), you can “Like” that page and their updates will appear in your News Feed.

You can post something to a friend’s wall by writing in the box that says “Write something…”

Friend RequestsWhen you receive a Friend Request, that means that someone has found you on Facebook and wants to be your friend. You do not have to accept any Friend Requests! The person who sent the request will not be notified that you turned down the request. Only accept Friend Requests from people you know and trust.

Messages, Posts, and NotificationsIt is important to distinguish between Messages and Posts. Messages are private. Only you and the person sending or receiving the Message can read them.

Posts are public. Posts are the updates, links, photos, or just plain thoughts that you upload to the news feed, or to others’ walls, or to the walls of groups or interests you follow. If you Post something to the News Feed, all of your friends can read it. If someone posts on your Wall, you, the poster, and your mutual friends can read it. If you comment on a friend’s Post in the News Feed, friends of that friend can respond to your comment.

Every time something happens on Facebook that involves you in some way – someone “Like”s your post, a friend tags you in a photo, or someone posts on your wall, for instance – Facebook will send you a Notification. If you click on the globe icon to the right of the word “Facebook” on the top left side of the homepage, you can read all of the Notifications you have been sent.

The News FeedEverything that you and your friends do publicly gets posted to the News Feed. When you click “Home” on the top of any Facebook page, you are automatically directed to the News Feed. In other words, the News Feed is Facebook’s default setting – this is where you see what’s happening in real time, as it occurs. As soon as one of your friends posts something, it appears in the News Feed.

You can hide posts (and friends) in the News Feed that you don’t want to see. If you glide the cursor over the right side of any post in the News Feed, you will see a blue “X” appear. Clicking that blue “X” will give you the option to hide that particular post – or to hide every post from a particular friend.

If you’ve hidden someone from your News Feed, you can bring them back by clicking on the “Edit Options” link at the very bottom of the News Feed page. You will then have the option of restoring a friend you’ve hidden to your News Feed, as well as any individual post you’ve hidden.

Comments and “Like”

In the example above, Joe posted something to the News Feed. David clicked the “Like” link; the post now shows that David liked what Joe had to say. (The “thumbs up” symbol means “someone likes this.”) David also felt the need to comment on Joe’s post. He clicked the “Comment” link and posted “I’ll take two, please!” Now Joe’s original post shows that David both liked Joe’s post and commented on it.

Furthermore, someone liked David’s comment – that’s what the “thumbs up” and “1 person” mean. Any comment can be liked, as can any post. If you accidentally click “Like,” you have the option of clicking “Unlike” afterward.

Status Updates, Photos, Links, and MoreThere are different types of communications used on Facebook. The Facebook News Feed automatically assumes that your most common News Feed posts will be what are commonly called “Status Updates.” A Status Update is merely anything that is on your mind that you want to share with your friends in the News Feed. For instance, Joe Collier’s post above is a Status Update. Status Updates are the most basic and common forms of communication used on Facebook. Each one must be under 420 characters long.

In the picture above, the word “Status” is highlighted. If you wish to post any other type of communication to the News Feed besides a standard Status Update, click on its link.

In the picture above, the word “Photo” is highlighted. Once you click on the word “Photo,” you will be given the options for posting pictures to the News Feed. You can upload a single picture from your hard

drive or some other place on your computer; you can take a photo from a camera installed on your computer; or you can create an album and upload more than one photo at a time. The important thing to note is that your picture must be located somewhere on your computer (preferably your hard drive or desktop). If you click on the “Upload a Photo” link, you will follow the directions – first, you will “Browse” for the picture on your computer, then “Select” the picture you want. The picture will then be uploaded to the News Feed, where your friends can see it.

In the picture above, the word “Link” is highlighted. Any other site or location on the internet can be uploaded to the News Feed by copying and pasting its URL to the box above after the words http://. Once you’ve attached the link, you can add commentary.

Videos and Questions are not as frequently used as Status Updates, Photos, or Links. In order to be uploaded to the News Feed, Videos have to be located on your computer, like Photos. Questions are typically polls wherein your friends will be given a series of choices and asked to give their opinion. With both of these options, Facebook will assist you by giving instructions. You can also click the Help link at any time in order to get more assistance.

Chatting

Wrapping UpSo that’s how you get started using Facebook! Now you can find friends, connect with family members, look for others who share your interests, chat about your daily life, and have fun using the most popular social networking site on Earth. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask any of the librarians at the Reference Desk.

Chatting on Facebook is done by clicking on the small rectangle on the bottom right corner of the screen that says “Chat.” It will typically be followed by the number of friends who are online. Any friend with a green circle next to his/her name can join you in a chat. Just click their name, enter a comment, and wait for them to respond. By clicking the small “x” next to their name, you can end the chat. By clicking the “Options” tab, and then selecting “Go offline,” you can use Facebook without being available for chatting.The “crescent moon” shape next to a person’s name means that they are available for chatting, but they haven’t done anything on Facebook in more than 10 minutes. This usually means they may be away from the computer but have left their browser open and their Facebook account active as well. If you are available to chat, you are said to be “online.” “Offline” means you do not wish to chat.