How to Use Facebook
SIGNING UP TO FACEBOOK
You can use your real name, though: While Facebook its
requirement on using something other than your real name in some case, in general,
the site will force you to use your real name in your profile. Those who don’t
run the risk of having their accounts locked until they prove their identity.
It’s a process, to be sure, so we suggest you use your real name but all check
your privacy setting to save your details by getting miss used.
SETTING YOUR PRIVACY
SETTINGS IN FACEBOOK
Once
you created your account or logged into an existing one. Firstly set your privacy settings so you can
control who has access to your information and profile. These settings are
found by clicking the down arrow located in the right-hand side of the top most
toolbar, under Settings.
If
you’re on a desktop or by clicking the three vertical lines in the lower right
corner and scrolling to the bottom of the resulting menu if you’re using
mobile. Then, look for the Privacy or Privacy
Shortcuts link and click it.
You can set up your privacy defaults.
You have three main settings, plus a custom option for even more control. You
can even change these on the fly when posting content. We recommend that you
avoid leaving your information open to everyone. Remember, what happens on
Facebook doesn’t always stay on Facebook. Here’s what they mean.
1. Public: Everyone can
see your content, including those you aren’t friends with.
2. Friends: Only those who
you’re connected to as friends will be able to see your posts.
3. Only Me: Like it says, this content is hidden from view, and only
you can see it.
If you want more
control, click More options or See
more privacy settings and explore some of the custom options. As you gain
friends, Facebook will automatically add new privacy groups so that posts have
the option to only show to those whom you work or have worked with, schools
you’ve attended, or even people who live near you. It’s pretty cool.
Above
page also houses options to control who
can send you friend requests, as well as options for managing how others on
Facebook can find you. We also recommend surfing around the Timeline
and Tagging tab if you want to further tinker with who can post stuff
to your timeline and whether they can tag you in posts and other content.
Making sure these
privacy settings are how you want them is important. Think carefully about
public photos and information, and consider what your employer or your
grandmother would think of your profile.
MAKING
IT YOUR OWN PERSONAL FACEBOOK PAGE
Facebook is often an expression of the
individual, so why not have some fun with it? Below are some of the many
personal facets you can tweak on Facebook, and what they mean.
1.Profile picture: Upload, snap a picture from your webcam, or choose a photo
from an album to be your default profile photo. Don’t worry too much about size
— Facebook will crop it for you — but keep in mind that your profile
picture will always be displayed regardless of your privacy setting.
2.Cover photo: Upload, take, or choose a photo from an album to be the
default banner photo that extends across the top of your profile. Again,
whatever image you use can be cropped, repositioned, or changed down the line.
3.Update your info: In the “About” portion of your profile, you can enter information
about everything from your work history and education to your favorite quotes
and where you live. This is also where you throw in basics such as your contact
information, age, gender, religion, and relationship status, among other
things. You can even write a brief bio about yourself if you really want to get
into it, or add a line or two to the “Intro” section located directly below and
a little to the left of your cover photo and profile picture.
4. Likes: Search for your favorite bands, sports teams, books,
businesses, and anything else you can think of in the search bar at the top of
the page. Make sure to click the Like button once
you’ve found what you’re looking for. If it exists, there’s a good chance
there’s a page for it.
Finding
your friends on Facebook
Facebook can be lonely without friends,
so fire off those friend requests. Once you’ve collected a few friends,
Facebook will start suggesting other people to be your friend based on
common friends and interests. Below are two methods for finding friends.
1. Search: The search bar at
the top of the page is the quickest and easiest way to find your friends on
Facebook. Just type the name of your friends, family, and coworkers in the
search bar. It’s an easy way to find just about anybody on the site.
2. Import: Facebook gives you the option to import contacts from another location. The site can search through contacts in Windows Live Messenger, AIM, Yahoo, Outlook, and Gmail, as well as most other email services. Go to the Find Friends page to get started.
2. Import: Facebook gives you the option to import contacts from another location. The site can search through contacts in Windows Live Messenger, AIM, Yahoo, Outlook, and Gmail, as well as most other email services. Go to the Find Friends page to get started.
Working
with photos and video in Facebook
While it’s cool to find out what’s
going on in the lives of your friends, photos and videos are much more
interesting to look at. Here’s how to use these features, including Facebook
Live.
1. Uploading
single photos and videos: If you’re just uploading just a single photo, use the Photo/Video option located
atop the spot where you’d normally type the text of your status message. You’ll
just need to navigate to the file to upload it. If you want to add some text to
go along with the photo or video, type it in the text box before clicking the
blue Post button.
2. Creating
a photo or video album: If you have several photos or videos — say from your
recent vacation — use the Photo/Video Album option. This
will group all of these photos and videos together, which, if you’re one for
organization, will leave your photos page cleaner and easier to navigate.
3. Using
Facebook Live: If you want to start broadcasting from your mobile device in
real time, all you need to do is click the Live button at the top of
the app, and tap Go Live. You can add a
description to your video, pick a feature, and select your audience. You’ll
instantly begin broadcasting, and you’ll be able to see how many people are
watching and their comments in real time. You only have the ability to go live
on the mobile version of Facebook, but you can watch other people’s videos on
your phone or computer.
Sharing
content on Facebook
Sharing is at the heart of Facebook, so
while you’re ultimately in control of what you share, make sure you’re at least
making it somewhat interesting for your friends. As previously mentioned, you
do have the ability to limit with whom you share every post, so not everyone
has to see it if you don’t want them to. Here’s the basics of what you can
currently share on the site.
1. Status
updates: What’s on your mind? Status updates will appear as posts
on your timeline and News Feed. Here, you can easily share text, photos,
videos, and links with the people of your choice by inserting your content and
hitting the blue Postbutton.
2. Feelings
and actions: Facebook also allows you to share how you’re feeling, or what
you might be doing, in your statuses. They’ll appear at the top of the status update
as something to the extent of “Brie Barbee is feeling amused,” or “Brandon
Widder is watching ‘The Walking Dead.'” You might already do this in the text
of your update, but some prefer to share this way.
3. Check-ins: Want to show off
that you got tickets for the big game or concert? Check-ins give you the option
of choosing a specific location and time when you post. Just click on the pin
icon in the share menu to find nearby locations from a drop-down list, or
simply type in a specific spot.
4.
Life events: Facebook
does a great job of sharing those big, life-changing moments, such as
graduating from college or having a kid. From your profile, all you have to do
is click on Life
Event button in the share menu and choose the type of event.
Then, just enter the specifics.
5. Tagging: The tagging
function allows you to tag your friends and share a post with a number of their
timelines simultaneously. Just type the ampersand symbol (“@”) in the share box
and choose which friends you want to tag from the resulting drop-down menu. You
can always type in a name if the person you wish to tag doesn’t have a Facebook
account.
6. Sharing
on other timelines: Sometimes you may just want to share things with a specific
someone instead of broadcasting it to everyone you know. Luckily, sharing on
someone else’s timeline essentially works in the same way as using the share
box on your own page. Head to their profile page and insert the content, tags,
or place you want to share in the share box on their timeline. Afterward, hit
the blue Post button.
7. Liking: When checking
out what others have shared, be sure to let them know what you think of the
content by clicking the Like button located below
their post. You’re not limited to that type of response, either. You can also
respond with a host of emojis — “Love,” “Anger,” etc. Simply hover over
the Like button to bring up the options, or press and hold the Like button if using the
mobile app.
Facebook gives you
the option to like, comment on, or share pretty much any post you can view on
the site. All you have to do is choose one of the options below the post.
Sending
messages by Facebook
It’s not quite as personal or fancy as
your email, but Facebook is incredibly handy when it comes to privately getting
in contact with people. Or maybe you just want to forego Skype or text
messaging for something a bit more all-encompassing. Either way, Facebook has
you covered.
1. Messages: There a couple ways
to send private message to people on Facebook, and you don’t need to be friends
with someone in order to do so. One way is to click the Messenger tab on the
left-hand side of your homepage, choose the New
Messageoption (which looks like a piece of paper and a pencil), and select
a name(s) from the drop-down menu. Then, enter your message at the bottom of
the screen and click Send. You don’t have to
stay on this page, as new messages will appear along the bottom of the page
while you’re elsewhere on Facebook.
2. Video
calling: Facebook makes video calling a breeze. Just click the video
camera icon in any chat dialogue box to start a video call with one of your
friends using your default webcam. Although you cannot chat with multiple
people at once, you can continue using the Facebook chat while engaged in a
video call.
Other
features
Facebook is continually rolling out new
features and expanding the limitations of what a social networking site can do.
From groups to games, the site is continually pushing the borders and turning
out all sorts of goodies. We aren’t going to dive too in-depth into all of
them, but here are some of the most popular.
1. Groups: These are
a great way to create or join a private space for people who share common
interests. Want to break a Guinness record, or join a group where members sell
concert tickets for face value? There’s currently a Facebook group for both,
just in case you were worried.
2.
Pokes: Whoever
you poke will receive a notification saying you poked them. We don’t fully
understand the point of it, but you can do it all the same. This feature seems
to also get more and more buried with each Facebook update, so who knows if the
feature will be around for much longer.
3. Apps: Facebook
offers a variety of free apps, some of which
are actually useful. Be sure to check out few of our favorites.
4. Timeline: This feature
is basically a profile of your entire life in a virtual nutshell. Feel free to
scroll through your past to check out old photos, posts, and anything else you
may have forgotten about over the years. Timeline wasn’t always required, but
now it is, so get used to it.
