How to Organize Your Facebook Friend List

Facebook is a great website for social networking. However, many people worry about having their work friends on their Facebook, or say they don't feel free to absolutely be themselves on Facebook because their parents will find out a bit too much about their romantic trials and tribulations. Well, you can have your Mom and your sexy friends too! Here is a step-by-step tutorial to creating useful Facebook friend lists. (The images correspond to these steps):

1. Go to Friends > All friends.

2. In the left column, there is a blue button labeled "Make New List." Use this to make lists.

BIG TIP: Make the following groups: Friends, Wall, Photos, Status and/or No Friends, No Wall, No Photos, No Status.

3. Go to Settings > Privacy Settings

4. Click "Profile"

5. Under each of the categories Friends, Wall, Photos and Status, edit the settings to allow only the people you put in the groups called Friends, Wall, Photos, and Status. Or, if you prefer to think in terms of who's NOT allowed, use the groups No Friends, No Wall, No Photos, No Status.

Because the lists are named after the permissions, you will never have trouble remembering who's allowed or not. When you are viewing your friend groups, you can move people freely in or out of these groups.

6. ENJOY THE PAYOFF!

If you organize your Facebook friends in this way, you will find that you are liberated. You can post whatever pictures you wish- just put the prudes in the "No Pictures" list. You can vent in your status updates about work- just put any blabbermouths in the "No Status list." In this way, you can manage all aspects of your profile.

This concept extends to Facebook applications. These applications (such as Notepad or Events) have privacy permissions too. However, unless you are using these applications all the time, it's probably not worth it to have lists called "Notes," "Events," "Links," etc or "No Notes," "No Events," and "No Links."

Here's another way to organize your Facebook friends: have lists called "Inner Circle," "Second Circle," and "Don't Really Know." Then, as a general rule of thumb, add permissions for the "Inner Circle" and limit them for "Don't Really Know." You can move friends from list to list as they become better or worse friends.

Personally, this was how my friend lists used to be organized, and I find that having groups called "Status," "Pictures," "Wall," and so on works a lot better. Trial and error will reveal what works best for you!