How to Join a Facebook Group

Like Photos, Groups is a pre-installed application built for you by Facebook. You can join any group on Facebook the interests you. The Group’s Home page shows you what’s new in the Groups scene, in terms of which groups your friends have joined recently and which of the groups that you participate in have been updated. You can also browse and search groups or even create your own.

The best way to understand a Facebook group is to look at one from a member’s perspective. The example here uses the Beatles Fans Around the World group, where over 8,000 fans congregate. To find this group, just follow these steps:

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Choose Groups in your Applications menu on the lower left-hand navigation bar.

The Groups home page, similar to the one shown here, opens.

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Type Beatles Fans Around the World into the Search box and press Enter.

Note that groups on Facebook might share similar or even identical names. Select the group you want to view by clicking on the Group Name. The group page opens as shown here.

Click the Join This Group link under the picture at the top right of the page and become an insider.

When you join a group, your fellow members can’t see your profile unless they’re your friends or in your networks (depending on your privacy settings). In other words, standard Facebook privacy rules apply; groups don’t influence them in any manner. The only indirect consequence of joining a group is that the group appears in the Groups section of your profile (unless you’ve hidden that section) and on your Wall. Furthermore, a story about your joining the group might appear in your friends’ News Feed. None of these consequences occurs if the group you join is secret.

The best way to get started with a group is to contribute to the discussions that are already taking place among its members. Click a topic that sounds interesting in the Discussion Board section and dive in.

You can click See All on the section title bar to see all the ongoing discussions for the group rather than just the most recent ones displayed on the group’s Home page. If you don’t see a topic that strikes your fancy, start your own by clicking Start New Topic.