SETTINGS & APPLICATIONS

Facebook is a free SNS (social networking site) that allows you to connect and share with friends and family. You can create a personal profile that includes personal interests, affilitations/networks, pictures and anything else you would like to share with your “friends” – people you have agreed to be added as friends to your profile. Once you establish an account or profile, you can update it as often as you like, add or change pictures or update your status information (just like a diary entry) for your friends to see. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimted number of photos, share links and videos, and play games.

Welcome to Facebook! After signing up for an account, you will see that Facebook has a number of features:

Chat: instant messaging application that allows users to communicate with friends live

Friends: menu option that will let the user see all the people they have connected with and added. Users can also make lists, for example, work, school, college etc.

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Home: menu option that displays a user’s News Feed as well as upcoming Events and any other related links

Inbox: message inbox where incoming and outgoing messages are stored and kept privately (other users do not see its contents only you)

Logout: users are encouraged to click on this when they are done using Facebook

Marketplace: lets users post free classified ads; comparable to Craigslist but listings posted by a user on Marketplace are only seen by users that are in the same network as that user, whereas listings posted on Craigslist can be seen by anyone online

News Feed: displayed on every user’s Home page; highlights information including profile changes, upcoming events and birthdays of the user’s friends. This feature is also customizable depending upon what kind of information the user wants to share with his/her friends

Notes: blogging feature that allows you to write long, detailed notes and to tag friends and embed images

Photos: users can upload photos, organize them into albums and share

Pokes: allows users to virtually “poke” each other

Profile: a user’s personalize page where they can update/change their status, personal information as well as see what is written on their Wall.

Settings: Here, you can customize your account, privacy and application settings (please see below). The Help function can also be found here.

Status: users can inform their friends of their state of mind, whereabouts or actions (very similar to blog-type entries)

The Wall: a space on every user’s Profile page that allows friends to post messages for the user to see. As a result, any messages posted will be seen by anyone who visits that user’s Profile page. This can be taken off with the Settings menu option

How to Manage Your SettingsIn order to manage your account, privacy or application settings, you can click on the Account menu option at the top right hand side of the screen. This is an important feature of Facebook especially for privacy concerns.

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Account Settings

By simply clicking on Account Settings, by default, you are taken to My Account page. Here, you can change your password, networks, language as well as update your Faceboook Mobile settings for your wireless device. You can even control the settings for advertisements that will appear on your Facebook page. The Payments option asks to store a credit card number (this is not recommended).

Privacy Settings

Here, you can control what is being seen and by whom with regards to your profile page, contact information, and applications and web sites. You can also tightly monitor who can search for you. Lastly, you can maintain a block list to control who can interact with you on Facebook.

Application Settings

Below is an example of a user’s applications. Applications can be anything from games to music to groups to events. Applications on Facebook are meant for users to collaborate and share. To protect your privacy, click on Edit Settings for each application

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ApplicationsFacebook applications vary from Games to Utilities to Education to Entertainment and Business. They usually help you to connect and share with friends and others. Some can be Desktop (you have to be logged into Facebook to use it) or Mobile (you can connect via your cell phone). Often, applications are games like FarmVille™, Café Word™ and Restaurant City™. Applications can add value to your Facebook experience however you want to be sure to always manage your application and privacy settings.

Specific Websites for Privacy Issues & Facebook If you want to use Facebook, you should read about Facebook’s privacy settings right away. For example, restricting your profile to “only my friends” rather than “all my networks and all my friends” (which is the default option) is an effective way to protect your privacy on Facebook. Another example, as well, is when you create a photo album to share pictures with your friends, make sure to check off “only my friends” as opposed to “everyone” to ensure that only your friends will see your photos.

You can also use a psuedonymn (e.g. John Smith) rather than your real name. Keep in mind, though, that in order for people to find you, you have to give them the actual name you are using on Facebook – they may not be able to find you otherwise.

Please see the following sites to learn more about how Facebook’s extensive privacy settings can help make your online social experiences safer.

Facebook’s own page about privacy : http://www.facebook.com/policy.php?ref=pf

Illinois State University’s Facebook information page: http://www.helpdesk.ilstu.edu/kb/index.phtml?kbid=1319

‘10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know’ (by All Facebook, the Unofficial Facebook Resource) : http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy

5 tips on how to manage Facebook’s new privacy settings: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/five-tips-to-manage-facebooks-new-privacy-settings/article1417501/

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