How to figure on

As with other Internet sites, you first have to go to facebook.com and register. There is no charge for registering, but you need to have an operating e-mail account to start working in Facebook. Once you click on the register button, you will have to fill a form that has options like name, what you do, valid e-mail ID so that Facebook can confirm the registration and send updates. Next you need to enter a password and birth date. Agree with the terms and conditions and click register now, and you are on your way to having a Facebook profile.

The next step is to confirm the e-mail address to make sure your profile actually works. So if you gave your name as myname@gmail.com, then head on to Gmail.com, login to your e-mail and follow the instructions.

Once you receive the confirmation, you are logged into Facebook. Sign in and go about finding some friends. Before you do that, you need to get your profile in place. After all, when you send a mail to someone to add on as a friend, the first thing they are going to do is read your profile. So if you skip this step, you will have a tough time finding friends.

To create your profile, you will have to go through a number of steps, including putting up your picture, updating information about your education (not all schools are listed, but you will find someone from your school soon enough). Enter your birth date, home town, political views, religious views and you are set to find/make some friends.

The simplest way is to let Facebook go through your address book, so if you have a Gmail, Yahoo or a Hotmail account, enter the e-mail address and password of these accounts and Facebook will find your friends. Select the ones you want to add by ticking the boxes on the left of the name /picture, then click on “add to friends” at the bottom. So people who are still not on Facebook can be sent an e-mail to join it, and you will get in touch with your friends and their friends, and grow your network.

Alternatively, you can go ahead, search for your classmates or your workmates. To do this, click on either ‘Find my classmates’, or ‘Search for your co-workers’. Select the name of your school, city, country or your company name, and the name of the person you are hunting for, click on search, and you will come across a list. Select the people you know and add them as friends.

If you still want more friends, join a regional network or other niche ones and you are bound to find like-minded people.

So now you have your own Facebook profile, go hunt for that guy you shared your lunch with in 4th standard, or your first crush. Trust me, they are all there, you just need to find them.