Like, Poke, Share...and Chat

Facebook provides many ways to keep in touch with friends: status updates, messages, photos, events, groups, and games. You can poke friends, write on their walls, comment on their posts, or send them virtual gifts. These are all great ways to use the application, but they don't necessarily take place in real time. For example, you could post an update, and a friend could "like" it several hours later. This kind of interaction helps you to stay connected, but you can take it a step further with the immediacy of Facebook's Chat function.

IM for FB
Chat is an instant messaging feature that allows you to have real-time conversations with any of your friends logged on to Facebook at the same time as you. It works similarly to other instant messaging programs in that what you type appears instantly to the other person, and what they type appears instantly to you. So, you can exchange up-to-the-second thoughts and news.

Who's There?
When you log on to Facebook, look for the Chat bar at the bottom right of your screen. To see who is available to chat, just click on the bar. Anyone who is available will be listed. You may see their avatars as well, depending on your settings. You will also see a green dot or a half-moon icon that indicates a friend's status. The green dot means that the friend is logged on; the half-moon means that they are logged on, but idle (haven't used Facebook for 10 minutes or more).

How to Start a Chat
To start a chat, just click on the name of the person you want to chat with. A new window will pop up, where you can type your message. When you type something and then press "Enter," the other person will see your message. When they do the same, you will see theirs. To close a chat window, click the "X" in the upper right corner. To close Chat entirely, click the "– " sign in the upper right corner of the Chat window. Your friends may initiate a chat with you as well. You will know when this is happening because a window will open, and you may hear an alert, depending on your settings.

You can also use Facebook Chat when not on Facebook with the Facebook Chat client, or other clients such as iChat, Adium, and Pigdin.

Show Yourself (or Not)
By default, you will show up as available to chat to your confirmed Facebook friends. But, if you want more privacy, you can adjust your settings to appear unavailable to everyone or to particular friend lists. (See the tutorials for details on how to adjust privacy and other settings.)

Try Chat for another fun (and immediate) way to keep in touch on Facebook.