Facebook will steal your life! (facebook.com)

Member Name: Donnabroom

Product:	facebook.com
Date:	03/07/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

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Facebook: (www.facebook.com):

I want to start this review by saying that this is not a blow by blow review of Facebook but instead a review based on my use of Facebook and the parts that I do/don't enjoy. It could end up being a huge review so I apologise in advance if it goes on a bit!

Now a lot of you will have used/heard of Facebook but those of you that haven't I will give you a quick run-down. Facebook is a social networking site that allows its' members to contact one and another and also to play games, send virtual gifts, post photos and lot's more.

Registration is a simple process and much the same as many other internet registration forms. You just have to fill in some basic information including name, age and email address. You will receive an email confirmation with a link to confirm the registration and that's it. You will use your email address and a password to login although they have recently introduced usernames but I am not sure how that will work.

As a new user there are a few things to bear in mind. Firstly anybody with a Facebook account will be able to see that you have a profile. You can use the settings to restrict how much of your profile people you are not friends with can see but all and sundry will be able to see that you have an account and send you messages. If there are people out there that you really don't want to hear from you can block them from seeing your account altogether. I would advise having a fiddle with the privacy settings so you know who can see what. Secondly Facebook will offer to use your email address book to invite friends; I would recommend caution with this as it will invite everybody, even someone who you have emailed once and you may not wish to invite all those people so either don't use it or really scan the list of addresses it brings up to make sure you get rid of any unwanted ones.

Now you are all set up you will be wanting to add some friends. Adding friends is easy; you can search for them by name, school, town etc and invite them using a link provided on the site. Once you have invited a friend they will have to confirm that friendship and likewise, if someone adds you, you will have to confirm that friendship. You can of course invite people you have never met and even join groups with the aim of getting more friends although these are usually tied to a group or game. You ought to add a photo to your profile to make it easy for your real friends/family to identify you, (unless you don't want them to), although you don't have to and many people use pictures that clearly aren't of themselves.

You can set your 'status', (your status is just a line on your profile that let's people know what is on your mind), as often as you want; I only change mine when I have something interesting to say or something I think is funny, however many people seem to change their status constantly and there was even a story a while ago, (maybe an urban myth), that said a young man had burnt to death in his home because he went back into his burning house to change his status! It's amazing how personal people get with status, I have seen full blown marital rows, break-ups and people getting together all through their status! I prefer to air my dirty laundry in private but each to their own.

Now the main reason I use Facebook is to keep in contact with friends of mine living in York, Scotland and Devon. It costs nothing and it is so nice to be able to chat with them and send them messages. I know I could email but with Facebook I can use the chat feature when they are online and it is almost like 'bumping into' them.

It's really nice to upload photos as well so you can share events with absent friends and family and keep up with events in their lives. You can label the photos, arrange them into albums and 'tag' each person in a photo so their names come up if you roll the mouse pointer over the photo. Do keep in mind though, that Facebook is public so don't put up pictures you don't want everybody to see. I have heard of people's bosses viewing their Facebook profiles so be careful how you conduct yourself. Be aware that other people can put up photos of you as well and tag them. Facebook will not remove photos of you that other people have put because they are unflattering; you need a really good reason. I'm not particularly keen on other people posting photos of me online but I am quite good at camera dodging so it hasn't happened often.

You can create events on Facebook too like parties and re-unions, (bands, pubs, clubs etc use this feature too), which is a great way to invite your friends and it allows them to RSVP easily and reminds people when the event is coming up.

You can also send people things on Facebook like virtual flowers, pets etc to let them know you are thinking of them. I used to love doing this when I was new to Facebook but I hardly ever do it anymore. I guess the novelty wears off after a while and it just becomes a chore.

I particularly like the games/applications on Facebook. It would take me forever to list all the apps/games available so I will pick out a couple of my favourites for you.

> Pet Society: in this game you have a pet and you can choose how it looks and then decorate its' house. You have to visit your friend's pets to earn cash and then you buy items and food in the shop. You have to keep your pet happy, clean and well fed and also earn points to level up. You get points for nearly everything you do with your pet and earn rewards for going up levels. Pet society is updated with new items every Monday and keeps improving. 9/10.

> Castle Age: Castle age is a fantasy based game. It is simple with only clicking needed but for some reason it sucks me in. You click on buttons to do quests which earn you experience which you need to level up. Levelling up means you get tougher and you will be able to do more quests. The artwork is good and the storyline is quite interesting. 8/10.

> Hatchlings: Hatchlings is a really addictive game where you have to collect eggs that are 'hidden' in people's profiles and baskets. There are loads of special eggs to collect and you can hatch them out and get little pets. You need to feed your pets eggs that you have collected or they will run away. New egg designs are added frequently. 8/10.

> Vikings, Pirates, Ninjas: This is quite a new game to me but it is very interesting and allows you to have three characters at once, one Viking, one pirate and one ninja. Unlike a lot of Facebook games this one has mini-games that allow you to regain energy thus enabling you to more quests in a shorter period of time. This is the kind of game that could easily suck up a whole day! 9/10.

There are thousands of other games and applications too and I play quite a lot which can be very time consuming. You can get most of the bejewelled type games, some slightly updated retro games and lot's of word and puzzle games. A major downside to most Facebook games is the way they try to make you play daily. I just have don't have time to play each game daily and I doubt many people do. I don't really like being penalised for having a life! Another downside to the games is that most rely on you having loads of friends, (hundreds in some cases), which is a pain if you only want to be friends with people you already know and penalises people for not having loads of friends.

All in all I like Facebook and use it a lot but it is not without its' flaws. As with a lot of online things, you have to be careful with your personal information, monitor children's use carefully and remember that it is a public place.

Summary: A social networking site