Search:  

You can’t search or browse Facebook’s database without becoming a registered user. You must join at least one network to browse or search for people. Click on “Join a Network” and choose a network based on your location or school affiliation. Click on “browse” and a list of random members within your new network are displayed. You can also see a list of groups within your network.

Unlike similar sites it is more difficult to just go into a section and “search” for members. You have to look them up through your school or work or city connected through links on your profile. Once you start making friends you can then search for more friends through your friends' networks.

You can also look for people simply by name, email address or AIM buddy list and Windows Live.

Facebook does provide a “discover people you may know section” that collects a listing of people, which according to your profile information you might know or have a connection to. We noticed it usually pulled people from our high school or college.

Help/Support:  

Facebook includes a comprehensive help section complete with 'getting started.' The FAQs are broken down according to the various sections of the site like account settings, privacy and security, applications, advertising, social ads, mobile and more. There is also a section for you to submit suggestions and an entire section dedicated to safety for parents and users.

Legitimate Friend Focus:  

Facebook encourages you to be friends with people outside the Internet and to use their site as a commonality among you and your real life friends. In the time we had a Facebook account we did not receive one piece of junk mail or phony friend request. We felt completely safe using this service and not once did we get that creepy chat room feeling of strangers looking for age/sex/location or “how you doin’?” In direct comparison to MySpace, Facebook has kept the presence of spammers and trollers to a minimum.

Facebook is a great social networking website that doesn’t waste time with fluorescent eye candy. This is a no-nonsense site with plenty of networking options, and with the open source apps and friendly atmosphere you really can’t go wrong.

Additionally, this is one site we felt the safest on. While most people have accounts with both Facebook and MySpace, Facebook reigns as the go-to site for staying in touch with friends and family, reuniting with old friends, and meeting new friends. If you’re still not on the Facebook bandwagon, we just have one question: what are you waiting for?

Curious to see what we thought about our runner up, MySpace and other social networking sites? Check out our side-by-side feature comparisons.

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