7 Things to do on Facebook ...

Search for your classmates, former colleagues and all other interesting people you used to know. They don’t think you’re lame because you actually remember them. In fact, chances are they tried to search for you too, but they didn’t recognize you or failed to get your last name right. Teens these days consider sending friend requests first needy. They play it cool hoping the “mutual friend” will react first. But, we know better than that, right?

There’s at least one thing you and your family and friends living abroad have in common – Facebook. You see, chat programs that need to be installed before use can be a bother sometimes, especially if a person you want to talk to uses a shared computer. Chatting with people you can’t meet live because they are too far away is not lame and it definitely isn’t a waste of time. So, feel free to use modern technology to stay in touch with your loved ones.

Some people say posting pictures on Facebook is lame. I don’t share that opinion, especially if you have made your profile private and viewable to friends only. Sharing pictures is a great way to make sure both you and your friends won’t miss out on anything. It also saves time and trouble because you won’t have to drag your vacation photo album to every get-together and you’ll actually spend that time socializing instead of staring into a bunch of other people’s photos while trying to explain every single detail about yours.

Organizing a birthday celebration or a family reunion has never been easier! Just check out the event section of your Facebook profile, create a new event and set the privacy to maximum so you could control the number of people that will be able to view the details of the event and RSVP. You pay for the Internet anyways, so why not put it in good use? Do you actually have to spend additional time and money on sending out invitations or calling people? Make personal calls to elderly family members only because they probably don’t have Facebook. Younger ones hang on Facebook every day so they definitely won’t miss your invitation.

If you own a small business, advertizing on Facebook could help you draw more customers. You know what makes you different and better than your competition, right? Your loyal customers know that too, and now it’s time to inform others. There is no rule that says your business can’t have its own Facebook page; in fact, all the big brands have it too! Facebook could also help you do marketing research prior to starting a business. That is, if you’re not afraid that somebody will steal your idea. Post pictures of nail art you do, clothes, artwork, whatever and ask people to invite their friends. If you receive positive feedback, go ahead and do it – sort out the legal issues first and start selling by either opening a real store or incorporating an online shopping cart feature into your business’s Facebook page.

Concerts, gallery openings, exhibitions, fairs, parties or reunions – all you need to do is send a friend request or join a group made by your favorite club, artist, organization or magazine. Connect with your favorite brands, for example, and you’ll save yourself the trouble of going to the actual store to check out what’s new or what’s on sale. Everything you’d ever want to know is being announced at least a few days earlier so you’ll never miss out on things again and there will be plenty of time for you to get organized.

There are some pretty sick people everywhere and the only way to protect your child from them is to become a part of his virtual community. If you don’t have issues with Facebook, he/she won’t have a problem accepting your request. Once you’re friends you can see who’s commenting on your child’s photos, how old is the person commenting and what is the nature of those comments. I honestly don’t see this as invading the child’s privacy, after all, I am the child of my parents and I’m only 24 years old. I am in that perfect age when I can understand how teens think while still being aware of the potential risks. Social sites are the ideal lurking place for pedophiles and weirdoes and, although we are not superheroes, we can do something to help “take out the trash” – hit the report button and alert Facebook staff that a potentially dangerous individual is using their site!

Now, aren’t these some useful Facebook activities? At least, more useful than pointless clicking or updating your status every 3,0976 seconds. LOL! Why do you like Facebook and what do you use it for? What pisses you off the most and what makes you laugh? For me it's stupid status updates and Farmville requests! I hate those!

Top Photo Credit: escapedtowisconsin