Facebook Fundamentals

Remember when friend was just a plain old noun? Well, thanks to Facebook, it's been promoted to a full fledged verb. But if 'friend me' isn't part of your vocabulary yet, don't worry. We're going to break down the fundamentals of Facebook. Life is crazy. I mean, who has time to keep up with all the latest in social networking? I'm Carley Knobloch, and if you stick with me, I'll show you all the tech tools you need to get socially connected. Why are so many people hooked on Facebook? Well, there's never been a better way to stay in touch with so many people all at once. Facebook makes it super easy to find people from your past, and stay in touch with friends and family - whether they live down the street or on the other side of the world. Best of all, you can do this any time, anywhere, from any web-enabled device. Setting up an account is easy. Facebook will walk you through the steps, but here are a few pointers. First, let's put the face in Facebook. You'll have plenty of time later to post pictures of your goldfish, but trust me - use your actual face for your profile photo. That way, people can recognize you. Second, start adding information about yourself, like where you went to school, your hobbies, musical tastes and interests... and don't forget to include your website if you have one. Little details like these are great conversation starters, and who knows? It might help your long lost friend from summer camp find you again. Sharing is the whole point of Facebook, but that brings up the little matter of privacy. You can control exactly how much of your information people see by adjusting your settings. For example, you can set it up so that only your friends or your friends of friends get to see what you post and what's on your profile. Or, if your life is really an open book - Facebook - then you can make it totally public by selecting that option. More on this in an upcoming Facebook privacy episode. Stay tuned. Next, it's time to go friend hunting, so search here for people that you know, and then click here to send a friend request. Once they confirm, you'll officially be Facebook friends. If you become friends with Hannah, chances are you know some of Hannah's friends, you can start sending friend requests to them. Don't be shy, but there's also no need to friend everyone you've ever met. Remember, until you tweak your privacy settings, chances are anything you post could be seen by anyone that you friend, so it's a good idea not to friend anyone that you wouldn't tell things to in real life. Okay, it's finally time to start sharing, and that happens right here in your status box. You can share anything you like, but it's best if it's kind of interesting. For example, I just threw my goldfish a birthday party. That's interesting, right? But that I just woke up from a nap? Not so much. You can also attach photos, tell people who you're with, and where you are. When you're done, it could look like this. Now, I should mention that there is such a thing as over-sharing, not just what you put in the update, but how many times a day you do them. You may be tempted to share absolutely everything that happens in your life, but don't. Seriously, don't. Right over here is your News Feed. That shows you what's going on with all of your friends in real time. You can write comments, click on links, or even like something someone's posted. Oh, look. My husband's having curried fish soup for lunch. Just be sure to get some breath mints before you come home, jeez. There you have it: the basics of Facebook. But, we have barely begun to scratch the surface, so check out other Facebook episodes at eHow Tech, and show us what you've learned by liking and commenting on our eHow Facebook page. Thanks for watching!