Facebook: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals) [Paperback]

The Facebook online social network site has become a phenomenon with over 50 million account holders registered with the "online village." It is easy to open an account and almost immediately set up online relationships with friends, coworkers, and community groups. Like its online rival, MySpace, Facebook's features include easy ways for people and (businesses) to connect via blog features, online groups and networks, photo and video sharing, text messaging and postings, and an elaborate tracking system which stores Facebook's activities and allows access to that data to other FaceBook users and even to others not directly connected with Facebook.

The book, "Facebook: the Missing Manual," is designed primarily for the non-technical computer person who wants to join the fun and business of using Facebook. It is a basic primer describing how to use and enjoy the Facebook features --from registering, setting up a profile, finding and inviting friends to join your personal network, joining groups and networks which share your interests, playing with both silly and serious applications, and using Facebook for business purposes, even for job postings and searching.

The book is a relatively short 268 pages, given its layout of large-sized text, much white space, and the presence of numerous full color screenshots illustrating step-by-step instructions on using Facebook. Geeks and nerds probably will not find much value in this book, but computer neophytes will enjoy its simple, yet comprehensive, approach to its topic.

More importantly, in my view, not just for neophyte users but for many of those already using Facebook, is the books' most useful theme which is learning how to understand the privacy issues involved in using Facebook. Facebook's most salient feature is its activity tracking system which stores data on nearly all Facebook activities and provides ample means of access to that data by other Facebook users, data-mining companies, and even third-party businesses which track off-site consumer activity like shopping, - and up to recently - without a user's active consent .

Once data is entered into a Facebook account, it never disappears, not even after one deactivates the account. For those users comfortable with sharing nearly everything about themselves online - personal information, candid videos and photos, and the like, this state of affairs can have enormous practical consequences either now or later, both good and bad. Facebook's privacy preferences are mostly of the "opt out" nature, so if you don't pay attention to the consequences of even the seemingly most innocuous user configurations--for example, activating any third-party applications no matter how silly, allow the developer full access to your personal data--privacy-related problems can develop.

The book is filled with tips and practical suggestions at every section providing information on what can happen with these your and your friends' data and what steps one can take to protect your privacy expectations. Those tips alone justify the price of the book, for yourself, (or as the case may be), your kids, or grandkids.

I bought both this and Facebook For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)). This book did include some tips not present in Facebook For Dummies, but didn't have many of the tips found in Facebook For Dummies. I also felt like Facebook For Dummies did a better job of explaining why Facebook does things a certain way, and how the whole system works together. That's probably a result of Facebook For Dummies being written by Facebook insiders, while The Missing Manual was written by outsiders.

Ideally, buy both and get the benefits of both books. But if I had to just have one, I would probably go with Facebook For Dummies.

So let's say you're someone who hasn't dabbled much in the Web 2.0 world, and you're wondering what all this talk of Facebook is about. Or, you're a parent and you've heard media reports of how dangerous Facebook can be for your kids if they're not careful. If you want to get a overview of the site without getting totally bogged down in the details once you log on, Facebook: The Missing Manual is a good option to pursue. You'll find out the reality of what Facebook offers, why people find it appealing, and what sort of security matters you should keep in mind as you (or your kids) establish a presence there.

Contents:

Part 1 - From Signing Up to Staying Connected: Getting Started; Joining a Network; Finding and Adding Friends; Sending Messages to Friends; Exchanging Automatic Updates

Part 2 - Interest Groups and Shopping: Participating in Groups; Facebook and the Real World - In-person Events; Going Shopping

Part 3 - Doing Business with Facebook: Hiring and Getting Hired; Collaborating on Projects via Facebook; Advertising on Facebook

Part 4 - Privacy and Power Tools: Customizing Facebook and Adding Applications; Playing It Safe - Facebook Privacy; Facebook Mobile

Part 5 - Appendix: Getting Help; Index

The book starts off with the basics... how to sign up, create your identity, and what sort of groups you could join. I immediately learned something in that area when it came to what groups you're allowed to join in terms of locations and schools. I didn't realize there were the restrictions that required you to have an email address from the school you were associating with. There's also the information on how to send messages to others you know on Facebook. All that's pretty basic, and you could likely get most of that from just logging in and going for it. It's when you get to the following parts that you start to see some of the additional power that may not be readily apparent unless you dig deep on your own. For instance, I wasn't aware of being able to place ads, setting up group collaboration, or looking at Facebook as being a portfolio of your work that a prospective employer might see. Probably the most important part of the book is the section on privacy. It's tempting to want to load up all sorts of details on yourself, but it's really not a wise idea. Vander Veer does a good job in outlining where you should be drawing the line, as well as what risks you take by adding Facebook applications or not restricting your profile properly.

While I do have a Facebook presence already, I came away from this book with a greater understanding of how you could use the tool for more than just "poking" your friends. Many of the features of Facebook have stand-alone equivalents (such as blogs, picture storage, etc.), but you may choose to want to keep everything in one single place for easier integration. And if you're the parent who wants to know what your kids are up to, you'll be able to discuss Facebook with them without all the associated hype and hysteria so often present in media reports.

One thing to keep in mind, however... Sites like Facebook change often with little tweaks and new enhancements. While this book will cover the basics well, don't be surprised if there's a new feature that's not covered at all by the time you read it, or if the screen shots don't match exactly. Such is life in the world of Web 2.0.