To Delete Facebook Messages
To delete one or more messages within a conversation on Facebook, follow these three steps:
This video will take you through the process of deleting Facebook Chat messages:
The internet has opened up a whole new form of communication that people wouldn’t have even dreamed about a few years ago; so it’s not too surprising that a growing number of them are asking for advice on how to use Facebook. While many of these people are after more advanced information, such as ‘how to use Facebook to make money’, there are just as many who have only clicked on to the site for the first time, and are after advice on what to do next, so here it is.
The first thing to note is that it’s free to join, which, when you think about it makes sense, right? After all, how would you get so many teens on there if there was money to be paid?
How to use Facebook step 1: Decide what you want to join Facebook to do.
If you’re solely on there to meet up with friends, family, and keep an eye on what the kids are getting up to, then there’s no real reason why you couldn’t sign up as ‘yourself’.
If you want to go on to meet people who may have a specific interest, and you’re not too comfortable about giving out your information, then you may want to come up with a persona that will be in keeping with that interest i.e. if you’re on there to meet and talk about the virtues of having a good strong coffee to start the day, then tailor your profile to that interest.
What you decide has some impact on the steps below.
How to use Facebook step 2: Getting signed up.
If you don’t want to give out your personal email address, which may be a wise choice, then you could set up an email address with Google, again this is free to do, and all of the sign-up information will be sent to that account. You will need access to the email account as you’ll have to verify the sign-up details.
If you’re happy enough to give out details about your real date of birth, then do so, if not, pick a day, month, and year that will make you old enough to at least open a Facebook account; making yourself 21 may be a bit obvious.
How to use Facebook step 3: The CAPTCHA.
This is a little system that many sites have been putting in place to make sure that you’re actually a human; odd as that may sound.
There are a lot of people who use Facebook for business, and to help themselves they may create a number of accounts, this, on some sites can be done with bots (small software programs) that create the accounts for them. To try and stop these accounts being created, small programs like CAPTCHA have been used, though not as successfully as the site owners might have hoped.
How to use Facebook step 4: Check your email.
This is where actually having access to the email account that you said was yours is important. You’ll be sent a welcome email, and an email that has a link to click to complete the sign-up process; click the link to confirm that you received the email at the email address you gave them.
How to use Facebook step 5: Find friends, profile information, and profile picture.
On the screen you’ll see a section where you can add friends that you may already have on your email list, if you don’t want to do that, because you’re not really ‘being you’, then you can skip this screen.
On the next page you’ll be given some more boxes that you can complete; they are Secondary School, University, and Employer. As you start typing the name in it may come up automatically – that means there must be other people on Facebook that went to these places, at one time or another. If you don’t want to fill in these details, just skip it.
Next you can add a picture to go with your profile, or just skip that, too, if you’d rather not add one at the moment.
How to use Facebook step 6: Final ‘house work’.
Next you’ll be taken to the ‘Welcome’ screen. On this screen you’ll be able to change many of the details you’ve already entered, add more information, or complete the sign-up if you haven’t done so already.
When completing your profile, if it isn’t one that’s specifically about you, and aimed at friends and family, then you should make the profile about the persona mentioned earlier; don’t give out too much ‘real’ information, and stick with things that will attract people from that targeted group.
How to use Facebook step 7: The fun stuff.
Now you can personalise your profile, search for friends, join groups, add apps, or any of that fun stuff that’s going to keep you up half the night; now that you’ve become addicted to Facebook.
Of course, you should remember that, as with any online community you join, you have to be careful about who you invite to join as a friend, the private information that you share online, and setting up the security.
Now you know how to use Facebook, or at least how to get started using it, and your life will never be the same again, sleep will become a thing of the past for you; but at least you can spy on the kids in comfort.
If you’re the type of person who likes to post holiday photos online even before you come home, we have one piece of advice for you: don’t.
It’s not that you shouldn’t trust your friends — but, unless you have your privacy settings tuned just right, those boastful (sorry, totally deserved) photos of you skiing in the Rockies or sunning yourself in San Tropez will soon be accompanied by insurance pix from back home of your empty house and sadly depleted contents.
Yep, burglars have joined the other 500 million or so users of Facebook, and they’ve discovered it’s a grand place to stage a shopping spree.
We don’t want to encourage any larcenous activities so we won’t go into any detail about just how burglars can access your vacation information — but read here about some light-fingered looters in New Hampshire.
Or watch and learn from this tale of woe:
Facebook is a social site where family and friends can keep in touch and share information. Facebook is also used by businesses for marketing. It’s a fun site, but it can be confusing to use at first.
Many books have been written about how to use Facebook. There are books for beginners with simple tips and books for the more advanced user. When learning how to use Facebook these books can give you a good start. There are courses you can get on line that also teach you how to use Facebook (and we have a video course coming up which also covers How to Use Facebook in detail).
Before you start using Facebook there are six things you should know and keep in mind. These tips apply to everyone, both beginners and advanced users. They may just seem like simple common sense things, but you’d be surprised how many people forget them.
1. Keep Private Information Private
This is a biggie. Too many people put their email and physical addresses on Facebook. Some people put their telephone, or cellphone numbers on Facebook. This information can easily be found by the wrong people if you just put it out there for all the world to see. You can share private information privately, but never just put it out there.
2. Change Your Password Frequently
This is another biggie. Too many people use the same password for everything and they never change it because they want a password they easily remember. Remember hackers are everywhere. The best way to prevent unauthorized access to your account is to change your password regularly.
3. Limit Your Friends
Don’t automatically approve every friend request. It’s a good idea to limit your friends to family and people you know personally. Good people abound on the Internet, but so do people you want to avoid. Remember the adage, “Better safe, than sorry.” Limiting your friends will go a long way to keeping you safe.
4. Use Groups (Lists)
By setting up groups on Facebook you can filter content. This means you can decide what each group is allowed to see. Facebook calls groups lists, so lists means the same thing as groups does on other social networking sites. It’s as handy way to organize your site.
5. Add Photos And Videos
A good way to make yourFacebook pages exciting and interesting is to add photos and videos. Sharing photos and videos is fun and it’s a good way to let people see for themselves. A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is even better. Facebook makes it easy to share these memories.
6. Use The Best Apps
Since Facebook became wildly popular thousands of software applications (Apps) have been created to add fun and functionality to your page. A good idea for choosing Apps is to pick Apps that complement your personality and interests.
The more you use Facebook the easier it will become for you. Soon you’ll be surprised you ever got along without it. So give Facebook a try, be safe, and have fun.
How do YOU use Facebook?
With more than 500 million users around the world, there are plenty of ways that the site is used that we never would have guessed.
In the latest issue of the Jordan Times, a banker’s wife lets us in on some little Facebook secrets:
For some strange reason, most bankers remain the most reluctant of Facebook users. Ask them why, and they will come up with vague and inconclusive rejoinders. But the fact remains that Mark Zuckerberg’s invention is completely wasted on these financiers.
Be that as it may, it does not stop the relatives of these bankers from becoming addicted to it, especially their spouses. They, and I count myself as one, are a formidable lot and have signed up for it in large numbers.
We exchange everything, from photographs, daily news bites, status uploads and recipes to travel plans, childrearing tips and nuggets of gossip or family stories, among other things. It keeps us instantly connected with our friends who are scattered all over the globe.
To brighten things up, this networking site occasionally dedicates particular weeks of the month to our near and dear ones. For instance, there was a mother’s week, quickly followed by a father’s week, which was then proceeded by a daughter’s week and then a son’s week.
There is an usual spiel attached to the format, which reads almost like a greeting card with sentiments like, if you have a child who means the world to you and is your constant source of pride and joy, copy and paste this on your profile.
There is usually a burst of cyber activity after this, as many members, especially of the feminine variety, rush to comply. They also add extra mushy and emotional messages in the end of the passage that declares further love and devotion to their offspring. It is highly entertaining to say the least.
I would observe this entire scenario quite dispassionately and not get involved in the proceedings. But a few days ago, I was introduced to something called spouse week. It declared that if I had a spouse who was my best friend, worked hard for me, was with me through thin and thick and thicker, who loved me when I was at my worst, who I was proud to be married to, I should attach it to my profile.
Sweet.
So what about you? How do YOU use Facebook?
One of the common questions of Facebook newcomers: how to use Facebook Chat.
This video provides a worthwhile overview:
If you have just joined Facebook, one of the first pieces of advice we should give you is Stay Safe. Whenever a crowd gathers, that also attracts pickpockets and other lowlife in search of easy pickings. When that crowd is quite big (500 million or so, say), expect more villains than a Dan Brown novel.
You also have to contend with the reality that Facebook is constantly tinkering with its privacy settings, which makes life more than a little difficult for users. Here’s how Facebook currently segments the information it gathers:
You can choose which information you make available, and which permissions you allow:
This video dispenses helpful advice on the topic:
Here are seven helpful tips to keep all of your personal information safe from prying eyes:
Tip #1 – Adjust Your Friends List – Your friends should be grouped according the importance you place on their relationship to you. This ensures only the most vital information is shared with exactly who you want it to be. Group your friends using the following classifications, “Family”, “Friends”, and “Professional Relationships”.
Tip #2 – Make Sure you are Not in Facebook’s Search Results – If you do not want random people finding you, just remove yourself from Facebook’s search results. Of course, old friends will not be able to find you either.
Tip #3 – Remove Yourself from Search Engine Searches – This will stop people from using Google, Yahoo, or Bing from being able to discover you.
Tip #4 – Do Not Use an Embarrassing Photo or Video of Yourself – Of course, we all think they are quite cute when we first take them, but just imagine what your boss will think when they happen to see it for the first time.
Tip #5 – Do Not let People See your Contact Information – One way to ensure you will be receiving 1,000’s of spam emails is to let the entire world know what your email address is.
Tip #6 – Make sure you Use a Very Strong Password – Whatever you do, please do not use your first name and then 1, 2, 3 after it as your password. Be a little creative, and take time to store it somewhere safe, so you will have access to it when you need it.
Tip #7 – Be Careful of your Posts – Please do not assume that only your friends will be able to read what you have to say, since you never know, do you? If you have some personal information that is extremely delicate you want to pass on, just send an email.
With any luck, you will find the above seven tips very helpful, and you will put them to good use. If you do decide to follow this advice for beginners regarding privacy on Facebook, then you can be sure that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
The Huffington Post offers up useful advice on nine Facebook scams to watch for. They’re highlighted below (click through to a specific listing for more details)
The Nine Most Common Facebook Scams:
None of these scams is particularly unique to Facebook — they’re fairly widespread on the web — but many Facebook users are much more trusting in that environment (and why not — you’re amongst friends), which can magnify the impact of a successful scam, especially if it seems to come from a (virally-compromised) friend.
These days, if you have a smartphone (such as an iPhone or an Android-powered mobile) you’re probably aware of local businesses trying to tempt you with discounts and bargains – triggered when you’re in the neighborhood thanks to social services such as FourSquare.
Now Facebook has joined in the fun, rolling out Facebook Deals around the world. This video explains the idea:
Facebook Deals launched in the U.S. in November 2010 and by the end of January 2011 deals were also available in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Look for yellow or green tickets when you check in to places in those countries.
Check out the Facebook Deals page at http://www.facebook.com/deals, where you can learn more and find deals being offered near you.
If you’re going to discuss something personal or confidential with a friend on Facebook, don’t post it to your wall where everyone can see it. Send them a private message instead. Click on the “Messages” link on the left hand column of your Facebook pages.
