Not on Facebook?

Back in October 2007 there was a nationwide news article about the growing popularity of Facebook. Of course we had heard of it but we were not signed up at the time. We decided if social networking was a growing movement we should get onboard. We signed up on October 26, 2007. Our interest in and activity on Facebook has waxed and waned. Currently we're on an upswing. We've been spending a lot of time catching up with friends and sharing what is going on in our lives.

But, there are still a good number of people (even of those who read this blog from time to time) that are not signed up on Facebook yet. Given that fact, I thought it would be fun to share some info about the social networking site.

Facebook was established in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard University student. Initially membership was restricted to Harvard students, then students from other Ivy League schools, then any college student, then high school students, and finally to anyone over 13. According to statistics on Facebook , the site had more than 140 million 150 million active users today . That is a little less than half the estimated US population. At least 38 languages are supported.

The company has grown from a few students to 700 employees, headquartered in Palo Alto, California and Dublin, Ireland. It makes revenue from banner ads, apparently quite successfully. Annual revenue in 2008 was  estimated at $300 million (with a 2007 estimated net income of $47 million).

Now that you know the cut and dried numbers and history, I want to tell you about the fun and cool parts of Facebook. First, only registered users can get into the site. You can't just pop in and take a look around just to see what's going on. I like that.

You have the opportunity to enter a lot of background information when you set up your account -- education, employment, interests -- that all aid in the social networking down the line. You can find people you know on Facebook using that background information. For example, I can click on my high school name (which includes my graduation date) and see the 230+ people in my graduating class that are on Facebook. I may or may not see their profile picture, but I cannot see their profile, pictures, or other personal information until I send them a friend request. Once they confirm my friend request, I can see their wall (updates to their status, photos, groups, etc...) and send them personal messages. It is a great way to catch up with people who you've lost touch with.

You can also have Facebook scan your email contacts (for a variety of mail clients, on a one-time basis) for email addresses that Facebook accounts. I did it during setup and have done it several times subsequently since people join the site every day. After the scan you are presented with a list of registered members and can selectively decide who to send friend requests to.

Another way to connect with people you know is to look at your friends' friends. If you find someone in common, you can send a friend request and connect. Finally, there is a search tool you can use to search for anyone by name.

That is just the tip of the social networking iceberg. You can post personal photos (I recommend carefully checking your privacy settings each and every time to limit who sees them -- only friends can see mine) and tag your Facebook friends in them. When you post a photo or tag a friend in a photo, all your friends will get notifications on their wall (a virtual graffiti-type wall that keeps you abreast of other people's happenings). Other people can also tag your face in their photos and you'll get notified. What a cool way to keep in touch!

You can join groups of people with common interests -- skiing, canoeing, reading, whatever -- and make new friends, too. The possibilities are endless.

Facebook offers applications that they offer and that third parties offer. There are thousands to choose from (with a rate of 100+ being added a day) and share with your friends. I throw snowballs, share endangered fish, send flowers -- all for free. A fun and nice way to stay in touch. You can also get apps that charge for things, which is a boon to their revenue string.

Getting comfortable with the website and efficiently navigating through all the options can take some time. But it is fun and rewarding. The way I see it, if I can connect with one or two people I've lost touch with, I come out a winner.

Have a happy day!