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Facebook 101

 Confused about how or why to use Facebook? Check out this '101' blog for everything you need to know! 

What is Facebook?
        Facebook is the most popular social networking site today, with 1.4 billion users worldwide. It allows you to connect with family, friends, organizations, businesses and colleagues by posting status updates, and sharing photos, videos and links. 
Contrary to what many believe, Facebook and social media is not just for teenagers. Parents and grandparents are the most rapidly growing demographic on Facebook and social media. Think about everything you're missing out on!

How to create a Facebook account:
Go to www.Facebook.com, and enter your name, email, gender, and birthday to set up an account. The site will also request that you create a password to keep your account secure. 

How to create a Facebook profile:
After you have created an account on Facebook, it's time to create your profile. First, add a profile picture; a profile picture makes it easier for friends to find you on Facebook. To create your profile picture, you can:

1. Upload a photo you already have saved on your computer, using the “Upload a Photo” option
2. Select the “Take a Photo” option to snap a picture with your webcam. 
       
Fill out your information. You can choose how much or how little you want to share on Facebook. You can fill in your education and work history, interests and/ or your relationship status. It's completely up to you. 

        Creating a profile will also create your Facebook Timeline. Your Timeline is essentially, your Facebook profile and all of the posts you share and the posts you are tagged in (posting will be reviewed in the Facebook 201 blog post). 

How to find Facebook Friends:
As soon as you create your account, you will be prompted to find friends using your email address(es). Entering your email address and password and clicking “Find Friends”, will allow Facebook to scan your email contacts for possible friends.          Once Facebook has found your friends, you can choose to select them all or select only a few, and click “Add Friends”. Once the person has accepted your “friendship request”, you will receive a notification message .          You can also search for friends you know using the search box at the top of your profile page. Type in their name and click the search symbol. Once you find the person you're looking for, click on the “Add Friend” button.         You can use the “People I may know” tool in the Search bar as well. When you click on the Search bar, it is the first option. This tool is based on people you are already friends with. 

How to set your Privacy Options:
Click the Gear icon in the top- right corner of the Facebook page. Click on Privacy Setting
Review your options menu allows you to change the basic privacy settings that affect your entire Facebook account. It controls who can see what. You can set the default for who can see any future posts, change who can send you a Facebook Friend Request, who can see our address and phone number, and you can tell search engines not to link to your timeline.          The left menu underneath the Privacy option is the Timeline and Tagging privacy. This menu allows you to control who can post to your timeline, who can see things on your timeline, and how you want to be tagged (tagging is when you or someone else adds links to other people in posts or photos). 

With all that in mind, keep an eye out for our Facebook 201 blog post, where we will give you the basics of posting on Facebook and sharing photos!
 

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