Getting Started in Facebook in 5 easy steps

I have lots of friends who say they can’t be bothered to join Facebook because it’s too complicated. Not so! Too time consuming, maybe. But it’s not too complicated. Here’s how to join Facebook in 5 easy steps.

Step 1: type Facebook into the search box on your browser.  You’ll get to the Facebook site, and have the opportunity to sign up for Facebook, which requires your name, email, password, gender and date of birth. The email has to be real, since Facebook sends a confirmation back to it. By real, I mean you can’t use “info” or ‘webmaster” or another generic term, and it has to be a working account.

Step 2: go the email account you used and confirm your email

Step 3: fill in the settings under “profile” with appropriate information. Upload a photograph, preferably of yourself. You can change photos frequently, which is part of the fun.

Step 4: Go to the privacy settings under “account” and decide which parts of your profile you want viewed by everyone in the public, and which should be limited to your friends. “Everyone in the public” is really lots of people, because it includes anyone who is friends with any of your friends. (Sort of like spreading germs by shaking hands, like the experiment in health class.)

Step 5: find friends. You can search for friends individually in the search box, or ask for friends via school or workplaces past or present. Send friend requests. Now you can let people know “what’s on your mind” and voila! You’re on Facebook! Or you can simply sign on to catch the latest photos of your family. You don’t HAVE to write anything, you can just read.

Bonus step: you’ll find a help center under “account” that is filled with helpful information on managing your Facebook account, protecting your privacy, connecting with friends, and building a fan base if you’re adding business pages. Read the instructions and you’ll learn a lot about maximizing your time investment on Facebook.