How to Meet People on Facebook

Facebook is a monster among Internet social-networking sites. It started with collegiate users, expanded to post-college users and, now, is a favorite for teens and senior citizens. Meeting people on Facebook is easy and fun and can be part of a vibrant and fulfilling social life.

Instructions

1. Sign up for Facebook; it is impossible to contact other users without one. The sign-up process starts right on Facebook's front page and is self-explanatory.

2. Import your email contacts. The sign-up process will give you the option of importing the names and email addresses of everyone listed in your email history. This will allow you to add your friends to your Facebook friends, as well as anyone you've emailed who has an account. When you add friends, Facebook will see whether those people have friends in common and will recommend those friends in common to you under the Suggestions section.

3. Add background information (optional). Depending on your privacy wishes, you may or may not want to tell Facebook where you work or where you attended school. Volunteering that information, however, will allow Facebook to recommend more friends who attended those same schools or worked at the same places.

4. Scan the profiles. Once someone has agreed to add you as a friend, take a look at her profile. It will contain a "wall," where people write comments. See if you know those people, and if you do, try adding them as well. Even if you don't, you may wish to add them is well. Facebook allows people to express their personalities (picking their favorite movies, for example, and posting that information on their page), so if you find someone interesting, write him a message and ask him to be your friend.

5. Look through your friends' friends. Some of your Facebook friends will list the names of their spouses or significant others on their profile. And, every Facebook page contains at least a sampling of that person's friends. Look through both of these and see if there is anyone you wish to add.

6. Play games. Facebook features small computer programs called "apps," many of which are popular games (such as Mafia Wars). These games allow interaction between Facebook users and are a great way to meet people. Find players you think you might like to know and ask them to be your friends.

Tips & Warnings

• There are more ways to meet people on Facebook: you can join groups, view fan pages for your favorite movie stars or musicians or take advantage of one of the many new features the site introduces every few months.

• As with any social-networking site, there is a certain amount of danger to using Facebook irresponsibly. You should not volunteer personal information to people you do not trust, just as you would not volunteer that information to people you meet on the street. Should you decide to meet a new Facebook friend in person, do it in a public place and, preferably, do not do it alone.There are many resources online offering advice on using social-networking sites safely and responsibly. It is best to read through them and take warning.