Introduction to Facebook

Facebook is a social media site, which launched in 2004. Anyone 13 years of age or older can sign up for a free
Facebook account with an email address or mobile phone number. When signing up for an account, you will
need to provide your first and last name, email address or mobile phone number, birthdate, and you will need
to create a password. Facebook only allows one account per email address, so if you share an email account
with someone, only one person will be able to use that email address to create their Facebook account.
Facebook also requires that people use their real name and birth date (or the name that you are commonly
known by—Bob instead of Robert), but provides a way for people to include nicknames or maiden names in
their Facebook account profile. If people at Facebook come across an account that looks fake or looks like it is
providing fake information, they may ask the owner to confirm they are who they say they are.

Before creating an account on Facebook, or anywhere else online, it is always a good idea to read through the
Terms of Service so you know what you are agreeing to when you create your account. Two items that are in the
Facebook Terms of Service include:
 “You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared
through your privacy and application settings. In addition:
 “For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content),
you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application
settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide
license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This
IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been
shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
 “When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a
computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a
reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).
 “When you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are
allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to
associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture).
 “You give us permission to use your name, profile picture, content, and information in connection with
commercial, sponsored, or related content (such as a brand you like) served or enhanced by us. This
means, for example, that you permit a business or other entity to pay us to display your name and/or
profile picture with your content or information, without any compensation to you. If you have selected
a specific audience for your content or information, we will respect your choice when we use it.”

How Facebook Works

Facebook is made up of individuals who create a Facebook profile and businesses/institutions that create a
Facebook page. Facebook users can post photos, videos, and text posts about anything they wish. Users connect
with one another by becoming friends of individuals, or by liking or following a business/institution. Once you
become friends with another user, or like or follow a business, you will begin to see their posts on your News
Feed. You will also be able to post things directly to their Timeline, which all their friends will be able to see. If
you want to send a message directly to a person, you can do so through Messenger, which only the sender and
recipient(s) will be able to see. You can update your Status (i.e. share your thoughts, photos, or videos with your

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Facebook friends) by posting to your profile page. What you post will then end up in your friends’ News Feed. If
you wish to react to a post someone else posted, you can do so by clicking the Like button below their post. If
you wish to comment on a post, your can click the comment button below the post and enter your reply.

Starting an Account and Setting Up Your Profile

To start a Facebook account, enter your first and last name, email address or mobile phone number, birthday,
and gender where prompted. Then create a password for your account.

Once you have created an account, you will be given the opportunity to add information about yourself to build
your Facebook profile. This may include information about where you live, work, went/go to school, and your
current relationship status. You are not required to fill in these fields, and should feel free to enter only what
you wish to share. If you do enter information, you can use the privacy controls to limit who sees the
information.

When setting up your profile, you will be prompted to upload a profile picture and a cover picture. The profile
picture is typically a photo of yourself (though it can be of whatever you want). The cover photo can be of
whatever you want. To upload a profile or cover photo, put your mouse over the placeholder for the profile or
cover photo. You will see a box called “Add (or update) profile picture” or “Add (or update) cover photo.” Click
on that box and select Upload Photo if you already have a picture you want to use or Take Photo if you want to
take one with your photo/tablet/webcam on your computer. If you are uploading a photo, a file explorer
window will open which will allow you to locate a photo already on your computer or device. Once you select a
photo, you will be able to position it how you like. Once you are finished positioning it, click Save.

Finding Facebook Friends

Facebook operates based on a network of Facebook “Friends”. These are people to whom you have sent a
Friend Request, or who have sent a Friend Request to you. To find a Facebook friend, type their name into the
search box at the top of the Facebook page and click search. You will get a list of results. You may need to click
on the person’s name to find more information about them. Once you are certain they are a person you want to
send a Friend Request to, click the Add Friend button.

If other people have sent requests to be your Friend, you will see a notification at the top of your screen. Click
on the Friend symbol and you will see any pending requests. You can choose to confirm the Friend request or
delete the request.

You will immediately begin seeing posts your friends make or things that they have liked in your News Feed and
will be able to post in their Timeline.

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Posting Content to your News Feed or Timeline
To post content on Facebook, click in the Post Something box at the top of your News Feed. If you just want to
post text, you can start typing and click “Post” when you are done. If you want your post to include photos or
videos, click the Photo/Video button below the text box. A file explorer window will open and you can select the
photo or video you wish to include. You will be given the opportunity to type something about the photo and to
tag friends. Tagging someone means you associate their name to the picture. You may choose to do this if you
are, for example, uploading a picture that includes someone else. Once you are finished, click Post.

Posting Content on Friends’ Timelines

In addition to posting content in your Timeline, you can also post content of your Facebook friends’ Timelines.
You can search for them by name in the search box at the top of the page and select their profile from the list of
results. This will bring you to your friend’s timeline. At the top of the page you will see a box that says “Write
something to *friends name+…”. Click in that box and enter your message, photo, or video. Remember—things
you post on your friend’s Timeline can be seen by all of your friends and all of the friends of the person whose
timeline you posted on.

Interacting with Other Peoples’ Posts

There are a number of ways for you to interact with the posts your Facebook friends make, whether you come
across that post in your News feed or on your friend’s Timeline. Below your friend’s post, you will see a section

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that allows you to choose from three methods of interacting with their post. Below that, you will see comments
others may have posted.

Your first option is to react to your friend’s post. Previously, the only option was to “Like” a post. Now Facebook
has provided other options, each with their own symbol:

Like Love Haha Wow Sad Angry

If you wish to react to a post, let your mouse hover over the “Like” button, which will open up the full set of
reactions you have to choose from. Then, click the reaction you wish to use.

Another option is to “Comment” on their post. To do so, click in the box labeled “Write a comment…” and type
what you wish to say. You may also post pictures. When finished, tap the enter key on your keyboard to post the
comment.

The third option is to “Share” their post. When you share someone’s post, an exact copy of their post is posted
on your Facebook timeline, showing that you shared it from the originator’s post.

Controlling Your Privacy

An important concern many people have when creating an account is controlling who sees what information.
Some information is always public—that is, anyone can see it and there is no way for you to limit it. That
information includes:
Name
Profile picture
Cover photo
Gender
List of your networks
Age range
Language
Country
You are able to control who sees all other information. The first place to start is the in the Settings of your
Facebook account, which you can find by selecting the arrow in the top-right of your page and clicking on
“Settings”; then click on “Privacy”. This allows you to set a default audience for all the information on your
account or that you may enter at a later time. Depending on the field, your options may include:
“Public”—anyone will be able to see your post
“Friends”—limits the information to people with whom you have chosen to become friends
“Friends of friends”—limits the information to your Facebook friends and their Facebook friends
“Friends except” and “Specific friends”— allows you to limit which of your friends sees your post
“Only me”—no one will be able to see the post but yourself
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When you post something, you will be able to adjust the default setting by for that specific post using a blue
button next to the Post button. It will allow you to choose your audience. There are a couple of important things
to note about this system. If you make a post and limit it to your Friends, a friend has the option of sharing that
post and selecting their own audience, including making it public. Additionally, when you comment on a Friend’s
post, whatever audience they selected to see the post will see your comment.

When you post on Facebook Pages and public groups, anyone who can see the Page or group can see your post
or comment. Generally, when you post or comment on a Page or to a public group, a story can be published in
News Feed as well as other places on or off Facebook.

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Timeline Review
When you are tagged in a post by a friend, the post will appear in your Timeline and your News Feed. Timeline
Review allows you to choose whether posts you are tagged in appear on your Timeline. Keep in mind that posts
you're tagged in can also appear in News Feed, search and other places on Facebook. When people you are not
friends with tag you in a post, they automatically go to Timeline Review. To turn the feature on for everyone, go
to your settings and select “Timeline and Tagging.” Turn on the feature that says “Review posts friends tag you
in before they appear on your Timeline.”

Messenger
Messenger is a tool on Facebook that allows you to send messages directly to a person or a group of people.
Sometimes referred to as “Direct Messaging,” this system works similarly to email or text messaging, where only
the person you select receives the message, as opposed to posting to someone’s Timeline where others could
see it. To view your messages or send someone a message, click on the messenger icon in the blue menu ribbon
on the top of your page. It will display recent messages and have a link to a dedicated messenger page that will
allow you to see all your messages.

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To see a message, click on it from the list. A window will appear at the bottom of your screen that shows the all
the messages that you have sent to this friend. To send a new message, click on “New Message.” A message
window will appear at the bottom of your screen. Can type your message (including photos) and send it.

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