Social Networking

[Leif]

.... is whether it is possible to "export" a list of my Facebook friends...

A quick Google brings up Export Friends To CSV on Facebook - but no idea what it is 'cos I ain't a member and it won't let me look

[StuartR]

.... is whether it is possible to "export" a list of my Facebook friends...

A quick Google brings up Export Friends To CSV on Facebook - but no idea what it is 'cos I ain't a member and it won't let me look

I am a member on Facebook, although I never use it. I joined so that I could look at something that was publicly posted, and haven't used it since.

I have never posted anything on Facebook, but I do have two Facebook friends. I have no idea how these people found me, but I didn't have the heart to reject their offers to befriend me.

There is no way that I will run an application on Facebook, there are far too many stories about nasties hiding there.

[stuck]

My local FB Guru has pointed out that for those of us who find SN so unappealing someone has come up with the perfect solution:
Not Google Plus



Ken

[stuckling1]

Before I add my ten-pence-worth to the discussion about social networking in general; I'll try to answer Al's question

.... is whether it is possible to "export" a list of my Facebook friends...

Yes to a greater or lesser degree. It depends what you want to use the resulting list/data/info for.

If you want to export your friends email addresses into contacts for email, this is well provided for. Gmail and Hotmail and (I think) Yahoo all allow you to import your Fb friends and their email adresses. From there you can make VCFs (vcard contact format) or CSVs for import into any desktop client. Alternativley, the Microsoft Outlook Social Connector allows you to integrate Facebook into Outlook. This is my solution of choice.

If you want to get phone numbers from your Facebook friends into your mobile or smartphone's contacts, this is easy too. If you have an Android, IOS, Blackberry or Symbian device (which covers pretty much all bases) then the offical Fb app for your platform will offer simple contact intergration with your Fb friends. Alternatively you can get a VCF of all your friend's phone numbers here https://www.facebook.com/friends/edit/?sk=phonebook" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; then do with that what you will.

If you just want a list of names, you can use the Download My Data tool to get an XML of all your friends. Be prepared to have to do some heavy data culling to get this into a useful form though..

Finally, I would caution against using any Facebook Platform apps (like that one discussed above) unless you 100% trust the app. It can be quite difficult to judge which apps are trustworthy and which not - and once you've given permission to an app to access your account, there can potentially be a huge lot of your personal info that it can access!

[stuckling1]

My local FB Guru

Cough... Cough... ;)

[Argus]

My local FB Guru has pointed out that for those of us who find SN so unappealing someone has come up with the perfect solution:
Not Google Plus



Ken

I liked the "... Not Google Plus has no learning curve at all ...". Sounds great.

(BTW Is that very local? )

[stuckling1]

As for the original topic of this thread, yes, I'd be up for a forum on social networking and issues surrounding it. Barely a week goes by without some news story relating to Facebook, Google, the Web, etc etc.

I appreciate not everyone is into Facebook - fair enough. Some people don't need or want to use it. But that's no reason not to have a place to discuss it. I imagine that a fair few loungers never frequent the Linux or Access/SQL boards, but to those who do use them, they are a valuable resouce and a way to keep up with developments in a friendly helpful way. A Social Networking board would be the same - interesting to some, not so much to others.
After all, if we were all good at the same things, the Lounge would be boring!

:)

[Argus]

[...]After all, if we were all good at the same things, the Lounge would be boring!

:)

There would always be a Scuttlebutt? But if we frequented only that forum it would be a, eh, SN, correct?

Anyhow, I agree with you.

[Leif]

If, as well as Twitter and Facebook, we can add YouTube to the forum, I'd be in favour of calling it YouTwitFace.



(Not new I know, but worth a repeat. )

[Bigaldoc]

.... is whether it is possible to "export" a list of my Facebook friends...

A quick Google brings up Export Friends To CSV on Facebook - but no idea what it is 'cos I ain't a member and it won't let me look

I've been out for a few hours for appointments, so there are a BUNCH of posts here I want to comment on and can't do it in one post for all, so I guess I'll have to do each one separately.

Thanks Leif. I'll have to do some detective work on this one to see if it's "safe." Third party apps in Facebook IS one of the inherent "safety" risks, so I always advise people to do a little digging and be VERY careful not to get stung.

I'll check on this one.

[Bigaldoc]

... There is no way that I will run an application on Facebook, there are far too many stories about nasties hiding there.

Amen, Stuart. See my post to Leif.

[Bigaldoc]

My local FB Guru has pointed out that for those of us who find SN so unappealing someone has come up with the perfect solution:
Not Google Plus



Ken

Now THAT is hilarious, Ken, and makes my afternoon! Thanks for sharing...

[Bigaldoc]

... If you just want a list of names, you can use the Download My Data tool to get an XML of all your friends. Be prepared to have to do some heavy data culling to get this into a useful form though..

Finally, I would caution against using any Facebook Platform apps (like that one discussed above) unless you 100% trust the app.

I like the "cut of your jib" young man! I am presently using the "download your stuff" workaround because all I want is a text file with the list of names. If you care to visit my post in the "other place" you'll see my explanation and example over there. That's what started me on this hunt because it IS like killing a flea with a bazooka, just to get a text file list of friends.

And, as mentioned above, I too am VERY careful of any applications put forth on Facebook for the inherent dangers of dirt bags.

Thanks for jointing in. AND, continued good luck in your studies!!!

[Bigaldoc]

... I appreciate not everyone is into Facebook - fair enough. Some people don't need or want to use it. But that's no reason not to have a place to discuss it. I imagine that a fair few loungers never frequent the Linux or Access/SQL boards, but to those who do use them, they are a valuable resouce and a way to keep up with developments in a friendly helpful way. A Social Networking board would be the same - interesting to some, not so much to others.
After all, if we were all good at the same things, the Lounge would be boring! :)

Yeah !!!

[Bigaldoc]

... Alternativley, the Microsoft Outlook Social Connector allows you to integrate Facebook into Outlook. This is my solution of choice.

I almost missed this one and I have never heard of this "Social Connector." I'm off now to see what I can learn.

Thanks again, Stuckling1...

[steveh]

After "about" a day of this thread and the pretty obvious disdain for the topic, I'm not averse to cancellation of my original request. Some of the responses so far (barging, caving, cancer) make it pretty plain that chit-chat is not a topic that very many want to talk about. Safety, security and privacy are concerns EVERYWHERE on the web these days as well as our "real" lives.

I would like to say that in my four years experience on Facebook, very few of the folks who use it know much (if anything) about computers. Even those of us who DO have a little experience are hard pressed to answer some questions. MY current question, now posted at two different forums, is whether it is possible to "export" a list of my Facebook friends. Facebook's Help is of little or no value and it's impossible to communicate with anyone in that organization.

For the past 12 months I've enrolled in two separate forums, one of which has already gone belly-up for some reason. I have yet to have a question answered in either of those forums. The third forum happens to be WSL at which I have asked my current question (yesterday). At the present time, my post has had 20 "views" only. So it's pretty obvious that I'm chasing a hopeless cause here.

In spite of what so many people seem to think, Facebook is not the 21st century's "plague." And it's the only social network that I have any experience with. So, I won't try to sway any of the negative opinions - that was not my intention, ever. As the now worn out saying goes, different strokes for different folks! For the Admins, your call fellas: let it ride or cancel, at your pleasure.

And thanks everyone for listening...

Hi Al

Personally speaking I find you to be one of the most thoughtful people in the lounge and have stimulated many interesting debates, of which this is one.

I have negative feelings towards FB in particular because all I ever see is that is causes trouble, I have family members who no longer talk due to misconstrued comments or opinions that have been posted. You do not however seem to hear much of the good side and as you pointed out it seems to be a good communication tool for friends and family who are apart.

I have never visited FB, Twitter, Linkedin etc. and cannot envisage a scenario when I would be likely to do so but to me it is like the TV, if you don’t like it you can use your right to change the channel.

If there was a forum I would still visit even if it holds no interest to me because in the idle hours of the early morning when insomnia takes over I can search and maybe help a fellow lounger.

As to your question about exporting contacts on FB a quick Google has turned up these

Exporting FB Birthdays

This one has a link that suggests one of the links will give you a tool to achieve this to some degree but as is pointed out in the post it is against FB’s TOC’s to export other peoples details like this

Export discussions / link

And here is another extraction tool Extraction Tool

HTH Al

[stuck]

Now THAT is hilarious, Ken, and makes my afternoon! Thanks for sharing...

Don't thank me, thank stuckling1 (my local FB Guru). Both he and his younger brother (also a local FB Guru) regularly tease me about being a member of Not Google Plus.

Ken

[aekyall]

I have no interest in SN and have voted accordingly - However, I see no reason why the lounge shouldn't have such a forum if there's a perceived need for it.

[StuartR]

OK folks, votes have been counted and the new forum has been created.

First person to make a post asking for someone to be their friend gets banned from the lounge for 1,000 years.

[Bigaldoc]

First person to make a post asking for someone to be their friend gets banned from the lounge for 1,000 years.

Outta sight, Stuart, as the younger generation would say. It WON'T be me!!!

And THANKS...