Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, Facebook users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region.

Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg along with his fellow room mates at Harvard University. Since then, Facebook has grown to over 300 million active users worldwide.

Facebook Guide

The first thing you have to do to start using Facebook is set up a new account by entering the details in the sign up form on the Facebook home page.

Once you finish creating a Facebook account for yourself and log into your account,  you should do two things namely -

1. Add friends. Enter a name or email id in the search box on top right corner of your Facebook page and find people you know. For example, you could search for classmates and/or coworkers.
2. View and edit your profile – Fill in all your personal details and upload a picture to help your friends recognize you.

Facebook Interface

The Facebook interface is a bit complex and needs some getting used to. The following is a screenshot of my Facebook account.

Different parts of a Facebook account

Wall – Your Wall is a place where you and your friends can post content, such as photos and messages. Your Wall is visible to anyone who visits your profile. You can even import stories, links, and pictures posted by you on various popular sites like Digg, Delicious, Picasa, Your blog, Google Reader, Youtube, Last.fm and more.

Like all things on Facebook, you can have granular control over who sees what part of your Facebook Wall.

Publisher -  This is an editor which can be used to post content like photos or links to your wall. Use the publisher to post for other to see.

Profile -  Your profile allows you to share your interests, activities, and anything else you want to include with people you connect to on Facebook.

Your Facebook profile is about representing yourself and sharing what’s going on in your life with your friends.

Applications Task Bar – At the bottom of  your Facebook account page, you will find a bar similar to the task bar in Windows. This bar contains the Applications menu; links to your Photos, Videos, Groups, Events, Notes, and Links pages; A real-time Chat application and the Notifications menu.

Facebook FAQ

These are some of the frequently asked questions about Facebook and their answers.

Where to get more help on Facebook ?

If you are new to Facebook, start by reading the  New users guide to understand different stuff offered by Facebook. For a more comprehensive help, visit the Facebook help page.

Is Facebook secure ?

Yes, Facebook is secure.You decide who can see your personal details in Facebook.

In fact, Facebook has 3 levels of privacy settings namely – Friends, Friends of Friends, and Everyone.

You can select a privacy setting for every post you make. Whether you are uploading a photo or posting a status update, you control exactly who can see it at the time you create it. Whenever you share something, look for the lock icon. Clicking on it will bring up a menu that lets you choose who will be able to see your post, from Friends, to Friends of Friends, to Everyone.

Regularly visit the Facebook security page to learn about current threats and tips on how to be safe on Facebook and across the Internet.

You can check out the current privacy policy of Facebook at the following page.

If I have questions or need clarifications regarding Facebook privacy policy, whom do I contact ?

You can contact Facebook by filling up the following contact form.

How do you create a page in Facebook ?

Facebook allows each user to create up to 200 pages. You can create a new page in Facebook by visiting the create a page link.

How do I customize or edit a Facebook page ?

You can manage the pages you have created in Facebook by clicking this link. It allows you to change the settings of the page and add or remove the applications you feature on your page.

Another option is to visit Facebook Pages to learn how to customize your Facebook page. It shares news, best practices, and examples for admins of Facebook Pages.

How do I create a Facebook unofficial fan page ?

You can create a Facebook Group to establish an unofficial “fan page”.

What are Facebook Widgets ?

A Facebook widget is a small program that you can put on your website that allows you to publisize your Facebook status and allow you to share anything on the web. To get a list of Facebook Widgets visit the widgets page.

What  is the easiest way to add Facebook to your site ?

Facebook provides  a number of Social plugins which enable you to provide engaging social experiences to your users with just a line of HTML. Because they are hosted by Facebook, the plugins are personalized for all users who are logged into Facebook — even if the users haven’t yet signed up for your site. You can add Facebook social plugins to your site from this page.

What are Facebook Applications ?

Facebook applications are software which can be embedded right into your facebook account. These applications once bookmarked on your Applications task bar can be accessible from the Applications menu. Hundreds of Games, utilities and miscellaneous software have been developed as Facebook Applications. Visit the Facebook Apps directory to browse for and add applications to your account.

I want to change the settings of a Facebook application.

You can change the settings of any Facebook App by visiting the Edit Apps page where you will find a list of all the Facebook Applications you use. Clicking on the “Edit Settings” link of the corresponding application will allow you to set the privacy level of each application.

I have a dial-up Internet connection. And it is taking a long time to log into my Facebook account. Are there any alternatives ?

Yes. For those who are browsing the web from a dial up Internet connection and those accessing Facebook from their mobile devices, there is a lite version of Facebook.

Facebook Lite is a faster, simpler way to keep in touch with your friends. If you like it, you may choose to use it instead of the regular Facebook.

You can access Facebook Lite at lite.facebook.com.

Note: You can switch between regular Facebook and Facebook Lite by visiting this settings page.

What is the easiest way to access Facebook through my mobile phone ?

Facebook has launched two mobile version of their website namely m.facebook.com and 0.facebook.com . You can read more about mobile Facebook here.

Is there any way to preserve the Facebook accounts of dead persons ?

Yes. Facebook preserves the accounts of the dead persons. For that you have to fill in the Deceased Form with all the relevant details and submit it to Facebook. Once it is done, Facebook will memorialize the dead person’s account. Memorializing the account removes certain sensitive information and sets privacy so that only confirmed friends can see the profile or locate it in search. The Wall remains so that friends and family can leave posts in remembrance.