Facebook Lists

One of the features of Facebook that can help with targeted communication is the use of lists. A Facebook list is just a sub-group of your friends online, but you can use that grouping to target your status update or see only the statuses of people in a certain community.

Create a list by clicking on the "Friends" link under your picture on the left side of the Facebook screen. Then click the "Edit Friends" button at the top of the screen and then click the "Create a List" button. Give the list a name in the top box, then add people to the list. You can search by name, or scroll through all your friends. Once the list is created you can add people easily through a recommendation system and when you add new friends you can assign them to a list.

Now that the list is created, you can put it into practice by clicking back to the feed page. Click the "Facebook" logo in the upper left corner. Now you can click the arrow next to "Most Recent" (click "Most Recent" if you don't see the arrow at first). Choose the title of your new list from the menu that drops down. Now your news feed is only showing the people from the list you just created.

Click in the status update box then click on the padlock icon next to the "Share" button. Select "Customize" then choose "Specify People" from the drop-down menu. Type the name of your list into the box and it will appear like a person in your friend list. Click "Save Settings" and that status update will only go out to the people on your list.

How can you use lists to better communicate online? Do you use this feature?