by Holly Rogers

Created on: November 15, 2009

A whole new world of connecting with friends has opened up since the establishment of social networking sites like Facebook. Now it is easier to find friends who you had long ago lost touch with than ever before. You can connect with friends all over the world as easy as simply logging on and searching.

When first starting out on Facebook, it may seem a little overwhelming on how to do everything on the site. This is often the case when attempting to find new friends, with many new Facebook users only having those friends who have added them. There are several useful ways of finding your friends on Facebook and soon you too will be adding and connecting like never before.

The most basic way of finding friends on Facebook is by going to the Friends tab at the top of the screen. This is situated next to Profile, Home and Inbox. Once in this tab, you are given the option of looking up friends updates or all friends. However you also have the option to search for friends. In the search box, type your friends full name. This may result in several people coming up with the same name from all over the world. To reduce the number of people, narrow your search to your country. This works if your friends have listed their country details, however not everyone does this. In this search screen, you are also given the option of searching for a person by company or school. This can be particuarly useful if you are still at school or if your friend works for a well known company. Try searching for them by adding in these details. If you have no luck, it may mean this friend is not yet on Facebook.

If you know there are lots of friends from your work or school who have Facebook, a useful option is similar to that suggested above, but instead of typing in a name, only type in the association, such as the company or school. This will bring up all individuals affilated with your work or place of education. Through this you may be able to find a bulk amount of people you know. Once you do find someone you know, simply click on the add friend icon near their picture and it will come up giving you the option of sending them a message. A message is not essential.

The other useful way of finding friends on Facebook is through their association with other friends. If you are already friends with some people on Facebook, have a look at who else they are friends with. You can do this by going to their profile page and clicking on the All Friends link on the left hand side. This will bring up a list of everyone your friend is friends with. If you happen to also be friends with some of these people, you can add them to your friend list. This method is often the best way to expand your social network, as it has a snowball affect and as each new individual signs up to Facebook and begins adding friends, they are given the option of suggesting friends and eventually you end up with requests or finding a whole heap more friends you had not even thought to find.

If you do a thorough search and it appears someone you were searching for does not yet have Facebook, but you do know their email address, you can invite them to join Facebook. Do this in the find friends page by signing into your address book and sending out invites to anyone you hope to join.

By knowing these simple friend finding techniques, you will soon find yourself re-connecting with people from all stages of your past and present and suddenly immersed in a whole new range of social interactions.

Learn more about this author, Holly Rogers.
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