Facebook For Dummies, 5th Edition

Chapter 17

Ten Frequently Asked Questions

In This Chapter

• Bring back the old Facebook!
• How do I convince my friends to join Facebook?
• What if I don't want everyone knowing my business?

Having worked for Facebook and on this book for several years, I know a lot about the specific complications, confusions, and pain-points people come across while using Facebook. At dinner parties, group functions, family events, or even walking across the street wearing a Facebook hoodie, someone always has a suggestion or a question about how to use the site. It's understandable. Facebook is a complex and powerful tool with a ton of social nuances, many of which have yet to be standardized. There are a lot of different features, and Facebook changes a lot. Each year, Facebook modifies parts of the site, redesigns how certain pages look and feel, and adds features. To keep up on what's happening with Facebook, you can like the official Facebook Page, found at www.facebook.com/facebook, and you'll get updates straight from the horse's mouth.

What follows are the questions I hear most often from friends and family (and the occasional message from a stranger who really needs help), often with strain in their voices or pain in their eyes. The goal of highlighting the more complicated questions is to save you the stress of encountering these issues and wondering whether you're the only one who just doesn't get it.

Do People Know When I Look at Their Timelines?

No. No. No. When people see stories ...