Facebook Glossary

We’ve compiled a Facebook glossary filled with terms and definitions that are specifically related to the website. This is terminology that you will see quite frequently once you get started.

Friend

This is the term used when you are connected with someone on Facebook. When you add someone as a friend, they are able to see your profile and updates and vice-versa. Think of it like adding each other’s’ mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address to your respective contact books. Of course, with Facebook, you can share much more information than that!

Status

Allows users to share their thoughts or important information with their friends. This can include where they are, what they’re doing, how they’re feeling, who they’re with, or just something that they generally find interesting.

Like

If someone posts a photo, status, or comment that you like or agree with, you can click the “like” button to show it. Think of it as casting a vote in a popularity contest.

Messages

Allows users to send anyone (even those who aren’t a “friend”) a private message, sort of like a miniature email.

Chat

Allow you to talk privately and in real time with your friends. It’s like a phone conversation, but with typing.

Profile

Your mini-biography contains all of your basic information. This can include things such as your name, birthday, where you work (or have worked), where you go (or went) to school, where you live (or have lived), and whether or not you’re in a relationship. You can choose what to fill out and who gets to see it.

Timeline

Everyone has their own Timeline that shows all of their activity on Facebook: status updates, photos, comments, event attendance, and much more. The most recent activity is shown at the top.

Group

Groups allow you to connect with people across Facebook who enjoy the same things that you do. Examples of things that groups are based around include books, hobbies, bands, families, and neighborhood or school clubs.

Event

Organize your own event and invite your guests, or respond to an event that you’ve been invited to. You can write status updates for events, just as you would for yourself. You and your friends can also comment on any status updates for the event to let each other help with the planning!

Page

A profile for brands, businesses, celebrities, and more. You can like a page to be kept up to date on what they’re doing.

Tags

A tag is when someone uses a name to link a profile or page on Facebook to a piece of information that may be related or of interest. For example, someone might tag you if you appear in a photo that someone else posts, or if someone mentions that they were somewhere and/or did something with you in a status update. You can set up Facebook to ask whether or not you want to allow people to tag you. See our Facebook Tagging tutorial for more information.

Notification

You get a notification whenever something happens on Facebook that more-or-less directly involves you. Mostly, this will be if someone ‘likes’ or comments on a status update or comment that you wrote, or if someone invites you to ‘like’ a page, play a game, or join an event or group. Some other things will cause you to receive notifications, such as if someone writes a status update in a group that you belong to, or if one of your friends is celebrating a birthday.

News Feed

Shows the top posts among your friends and pages. The more you interact with that friend or page, the more of their posts that you’ll see.

Ticker

While your News Feed filters posts to show your closer friends, the ticker shows all of your friends’ activity in real time.

Block

By blocking someone, they won’t be able to see your profile, add you as a friend, or message you.