While Facebook's business model has evolved away from just Facebook.com to include its mobile incarnation and other associated apps, the old common website is still the favored venue for many. And why not? Facebook.com one of the most superior public-facing websites out there.
Facebook is a magnet for some of the top engineering talent in the world, so it stands to reason that the company would boast one of the world's most complicated and multi-faceted websites. It rivals many standalone software apps with the sheer amount of personalization, tweaks, and tinkering accessible to visitors.
In fact, there are so many things you can do on Facebook.com that you probably don't know about them all.
And we're not even talking about the third-party Facebook apps or browser add-ons, we're talking about all the recognized, baked-in, easily accessible functions that are just a few clicks away. As you'll see in our slideshow, there are even some features that appear to be leftovers from bygone eras that we're not even sure Facebook still knows are there.
So, take a look at our slideshow and awaken your inner power user social super star who is just waiting to break out!
1. The Facebook Inbox You Didn't Even Know You Had
If you have been on Facebook for a while, you possibly have a folder full of unread messages that you didn't even know you had: the "Other" communications folder.
To review your messages, click on "messages" in the top left column (or conversely, just click on the messages icon up at the top). By default, you'll find yourself in your main Inbox where you find all the messages you've obtained from your connections. However, if you look straight to the right of your "Inbox" at the top, you'll find the "Other" folder.
The Other folder is where Facebook sends all the messages from people you are not connected to. As a tech journalist, mine is filled with P.R. peoples blindly pitching apps and other techy doodads in my direction. I was never notified about these messages and never even knew about it until I clicked on the folder. But now that I know they exist, I can just go ahead ignoring them.
Last year, Facebook experimented with permitting members to pay to reach the inboxes of non-friends. Fees started at $1 and went all the way up to $100 for Zuck himself.
2. See Who's Snooping In Your Account
Want to know if someone is logged into your Facebook account without your authorization? First, go to your settings page. Under the Security folder, you'll see the link "Where You're Logged In." Here you will find all your active Facebook log-ins from both desktop and mobile. It will (usually) provide data on the location, browser, and device. If something seems fishy, you also have the ability to "end activity" from person or all devices.
This also comes in handy if you logged in to your friend's computer or on some public laptop, but forgot to log out.
3. Make Facebook Upside Down or in Pirate Speak
Remember 10 years ago, when Pirates were all the rage for a minute? Well, at one point the Facebook engineers got swept up in this ironic buccaneer frenzy and designed a peculiar Easter Egg that allows you to translate your Facebook interface into Pirate or Upside-down speak.
Does this sound appealing to you for some reason? Go to General Account Settings > Langauge and you can change your settings to either "English (Pirate)" or "English (Upside Down)." Think that's a whimsical little function that you will never ever get sick of?! You're wrong. It's actually quite annoying.
4. Create an Interest List
There's a little-known Facebook function boringly called "interest lists." It's basically Facebook's edition of Twitter lists (and should not to be confused with Facebook's "Friends lists"). Interest Lists are curated collection of posts from websites, companies, or individuals that you follow in one streamlined feed (e.g. "indie hip-hop" or "local restaurants"). Interest lists may be kept private just for you or some friends, or can be made public for the world to follow.
To access interest lists, scroll down to the "Interests" link in the left column, hover over the header and click on "more." On the next page, click the "+Add Interests" button and you will have the option to search and follow other publicly available interest lists or create your own.
5. Detail Your Facebook Romance
If you want to see the detailed Internet history of you and your significant other, you will see the complete Facebook history with whomever you are listed as in a relationship with ("us," get it?). If you're not listed as being in a relationship, it will just go to your regular page because Facebook thinks that you are just in love with yourself.
6. Transfer Files over FB Chat
If you open a FB Chat window, there's a little gear icon in the top right corner of the window. One of the options is "Add Files...” which will allow you to upload files straight from your computer to transfer over. The receiver can just click on the included link and download them from there.
7. You Can Embed Public Content
Like other social media sites, Facebook allows you to embed publicly accessible content on your webpage. Just click the pull-down menu in the top right of the file and click "embed" to place the code wherever you'd like.
8. There's Lots of Secret Emoji on FB
Emoji. They take away some of the horrible pain of writing in plain language. Facebook will render all the usual face emoticons into pictorial representations: :) :D ^_^ . You know the ones. But there's also a whole bunch that you may not even be using.
(y) = thumbs-up 'like' symbol
(^^^) = a great white shark
:|] = a robot
:poop: = well, you know
<(") = a penguin
You can use these in wall posts, chats, and comments, but they don't always seem to render in mobile. You can find a full run-down of FB emoticons here.
9. Don't Let Facebook Track Your Mobile Browsing
Here's one feature you unfortunately won't find anywhere in Facebook, and that's the issue. When Facebook introduced it was going to give users more control over ads in order to make them more specific, it didn't exactly publicize the fact that it would also start using your app- and Web-browsing history to show targeted ads from advertisers.
Unlike most Facebook privacy settings, you can't opt out of this kind of tracking. However, as our SecurityWatch blog pointed out, you can take steps to Web surf in private. You can opt out via a special third-party site courtesy of the Digital Advertising Alliance. (Remember to disable AdBlocker Plus or other similar software you may be running). Follow a simple set of directions, and make sure to click the box next to Facebook and you can go about your Internet business without third-party advertisers getting all up in your bizness.
Correction: This slide initially stated that Facebook sells data to third-party advertisers. This is actually not the case. Facebook just collects the information for themselves to better target ads.
10. Prune Your News Feed
Your News Feed is your home on Facebook. And as your home, you should try your best to keep it clean, organized, and free of distractions. You don't want to be inundated with posts from that one brand or friend you follow who just posts all the time.
One of the most direct ways to do this is by pruning out offenders from your News Feed. The fastest way to access this feature is by hovering your mouse over "News Feed" in the left corner and then clicking on the little gear icon which will pop up. Then click the "Edit Preferences" prompt that appears. The pop up will give you a run-down of who you saw the most. If they are one of the offenders, you can just click the Follow button to unfollow them.
Conversely, you can do this by clicking the little arrow in the top-right corner to follow or unfollow particular people.
11.Save Posts for Later
Did you ever want to read a link that a friend shared on Facebook, but didn't have the time at that specific moment? Then, when you finally do have a moment, you either forgot about it, or it has been buried under so much other junk that it's not even worth searching for? We've all been there. That's why you should get acquainted with Facebook's "Save for Later" function.
If there's anything you want to save for later, click the little arrow in the top-right of any post. Then click the Save "[name of story]" button from the pull-down. This will send the link to your Saved folder. "Where's your Saved folder," you ask? Good question! You really won't see it until you save some thing for the first time. Then you will see a little "saved" ribbon in your left-hand favorites bar. Click that and you will find all your favorite stories. Also works with any video your friends posted.
12.Want to See What Your Friends Are Up to Without You?
When you see a post that a friend posted on another friend's wall, you will have the ability to see a comprehensive history of their friendship. Just click the little arrow in the top right hand of that post and then click "More Options." There, you will see the "see friendship" option.
When playing with this URL trick, be sure to check the official URL of each person—Facebook can assign strange characters into their official URL (for example, it will add a number if there is someone else with the same name).