What's the point of adding friends on facebook?

[Isaac]

So I've been on facebook for a while and since yesterday I've been posting stuff in a group, managed by a school club I joined.
1. I've been getting and sending private messages.
2. Posting comments on walls.

So far, I like it. It's just a big webforum. Is there any point in adding people as friends? It's already doing everything I want it to.

[Foil]

It's fundamentally a permissions mechanism. Many privacy settings (like who can post on your wall, or whose posts/photos/notes you can see, etc.) are 'friend-only'.

I find it pretty useful.

Edit: You'll find that the way people handle friend-requests varies. Some people friend anyone and everyone, others (like me) will turn down friend-requests from people they don't know or barely know.

[Isaac]

Ok, so I guess I might use the add friends feature, but only if there's info we'll need to be sharing for a period of time.

[CDN_Merlin]

Adding friends is a way top re-connect with old friends that may have left your school or whatever. I only add people that I was good friends with in HS or afterwards and not people I never talked to.

[snoopy]

I have my facebook account locked down as tightly as it will go - if you're not my friend or I'm not in your group, I'm really hard to even find.

I also turn down friend requests of people whom I don't know.

[Isaac]

When you say you like something on a wall, that means you subscribe to that thread?
I had to Like my club before being able to post on their page. So to Like something means to subscribe, yes?

[CDN_Merlin]

Everything on FB forces you to either join, allow them to post on your wall or like it to be able to use the app/group. It's all a gimmick so they can get access to your personal info. You can't search for me on FB cause I'm locked down.

[Krom]

You can't search for me on facebook because I don't have an account there at all.

[Isaac]

You can't search for me on facebook because I don't have an account there at all.

I actually made one for the reason that it could keep someone from making a fake account with my picture and name. Facebook seems to becoming more like an online ID as time progresses. I figured I'd at least have something that clearly identifies me, so it's impossible for a faker to have a more authentic looking facebook profile than me. Yes, I realize how silly that all sounds, but it costs nothing to set one up. Plus, temporarily, I have a reason to use it because of a school club. It's searchable and I expect employers to check up on it in the future. If someone had made a fake version of my profile before I did, like a competitive coworker, they could make a profile that could get me fired. I'm not saying this is a common problem. It's just something worth protecting yourself against.

[Krom]

I actually made one for the reason that it could keep someone from making a fake account with my picture and name.

From the looks of it anyone could still create a duplicate account with your name on it.

[Isaac]

Except you'd be comparing a new account with an old account that has history going back for a long period of time. There's more reasoning written after the first line of that post you've quoted.

[Duper]

I'm with Krom on this.

It's not entirely secure, no matter what they say. Even still. FB is little more than a way to peddle "soft gaming" these days. I had an account a while back until I was getting so inundated with game join requests from "friends" that I got really tired of deleting a ton of spam. Zinga is making a killing off of FB.

[TigerRaptor]

You can't search for me on facebook because I don't have an account there at all.

How about Google+. Google is every ones friend.

[Isaac]

Actually, I don't mind playing with new toys that google comes out with.

[TigerRaptor]

Just don't get caught using a made up name. Google nuked a bunch of G+ accounts because people didn't use their real name.

[Heretic]

You can't search for me on facebook because I don't have an account there at all.

Amen Brother. A lot of tech people refuse to join any social network.

[CUDA]

You can't search for me on facebook because I don't have an account there at all.

X2

[dissent]

I keep my friends list pretty limited. Some of those friends don't, however.

[Avder]

Count me in with the "not on facebook" crowd. I just never saw the point of crap like that and myspace. If theres someone I want to talk to, I can already call, email, or instant message them. Why should I bother posting the minute of life online for anyone to see? If someones interested, they can have a conversation with me.

[Top Gun]

Count me in with the "not on facebook" crowd. I just never saw the point of crap like that and myspace. If theres someone I want to talk to, I can already call, email, or instant message them. Why should I bother posting the minute of life online for anyone to see? If someones interested, they can have a conversation with me.

I don't know what everyone else uses it for, but I personally use it to keep in touch with people that it would be inconvenient to do otherwise, and indeed to track down people that I probably wouldn't be able to find otherwise. Calling or messaging someone is all well and good, but it depends on having their contact information first. If you don't, you're screwed before you start.