That’s good, because for users, Facebook can be a baffling, arbitrary place. The site is simple to join, but frustrating when you get used to using certain options that disappear in a redesign or when you try to do something more complex than posting a status update to the whole world.
So in the interest of helping those who are confounded by Facebook (myself included), here are some answers to problems I solicited from friends who described some of their Facebook frustrations.
Posting and privacy
When Facebook forced all users to switch to “Timeline” view, many options and menus changed, but one of the most important ones is still at the top of the right-hand side of every page. Next to the “Home” button is a tiny triangle that opens up menus for “Account Settings” and “Privacy Settings.”
Below your profile page Timeline photo, you’ll see options for “Update Info,” where you can change your relationship status, where you’ve worked, your contact info and other personal stuff.
Next to that, “Activity Log” shows a list of everything you’ve done on Facebook.
Next to “Activity Log” is a little snowflake icon. Under that menu, “View As...” is a powerful feature that allows you to see your profile page as friends or as the public sees it.
Lastly, there’s a whole set of options within the status update box itself that many users, I imagine, rarely use or may not even be aware of. These include the option to add or remove location information, the ability to set a date and time on a post or the option to add someone to the post.
What you can and can’t do
On a mobile phone, you can’t, among other things, share a post from someone else to your own friends, “Like” a comment on a photo or comment on someone else’s comments.
There’s no easy way to edit a status update short of deleting and reposting. And although there’s a search bar at the top of every Facebook page, it’s useless for searching for anything on your own Timeline.
Facebook’s ability to grab an image from a link you post is flaky. Also flaky are notifications on mobile versions of Facebook; they can disappear and reappear.
You can’t unfriend more than one person at a time. There’s no way to mark favorite posts or bookmark them to see them all in one place later.
You CAN see a specific time something was posted (by clicking on the day) and you can untag yourself from a photo and hide it from your Timeline if someone posts a picture of you that’s embarrassing. (Click the photo, use the “Options” menu at the bottom of the picture or “Remove” to the right of it.)
It’s best to explore the menus whenever there are major site changes and be cautious with what you post at all times. If you’re truly stuck on a Facebook problem, post the question to your friends there.
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