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What is Facebook? A Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started

Unless you have lived in a cave for the last couple of years, you have likely heard of Facebook. More and more, it seems like you can't get far without hearing it come up in conversation, on TV or in the news. So let's take a step back and DeGeek Facebook and what it is all about.

Facebook describes itself like this:

"Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet."

This is a fairly accurate description of the site. Facebook is a Social Network, which is a term used for web sites that are designed to connect people. Some social networks are designed to connect people with similar interests virtually, while others are designed to connect you to people you know or have known in the real world. Facebook is a bit of both, and is used by people to connect with old friends, classmates and even family, but is also used to connect people on any number of topics.

Growing by almost half a million new users daily, Facebook has quickly become one of the most popular social network on the web, so there is a good chance a number or your friends, colleagues and coworkers are members. (If you happen to be between the ages of 35 and 54, you are in the fastest-growing demographic group on Facebook.)

Each Facebook user has a "profile," which is essentially an easily updateable autobiographical snapshot, containing:

• A profile picture, which is an image of yourself that will be seen by other users when scanning other users' information.
  
• Demographic data, such as age, hometown, college, high school, employers, marital status and more.
• Groups that the you are a member of on Facebook, such as "poodle owners united" or "I heart cheese."
• Hobbies and interests, including favorite music, sports teams, books, activities and more.
• Facebook Wall, which is a place for your friends to write you a message, which will be viewable by all your other friends.
  
• Status bar, which gives others a view into what you're are up to. "Steve is waiting for Santa," or "Tammy is getting ready for vacation."
  
• Photographs, both those that have been uploaded by you, and those that have been uploaded by other users and have been "tagged" as having you in them.
  

A profile can have as much or as little of the info noted above, its all up to you. Share what you feel comfortable sharing. Once your profile is up, the only thing left to do is get some Facebook "friends" and connect. You can search for a specific name, email address, a high school class, or by a former employer. Once you are friends with another user, you can also take a look at who they are friends with and connect with those you know also.

It may seem like a daunting process to get up and running, but the process of using Facebook is very easy and can be very rewarding and fun. Once you join, the site will walk you through getting up and running. Give it a shot, see who you find! If you need more, check out  Facebook Mania's detailed guide for beginners.