Folks are shifting the way they communicate with one another electronically, using social networking sites (notably Facebook) more, and using email less. If you’re a Facebook fan, you’ll be pleased to know that the Droid 2 lets you use Facebook without having to visit the Web—just use the Droid 2’s built-in Facebook app.
To set up your Facebook account, from the Application Tray, tap My Accounts→“Add account”→Facebook. Enter your Facebook user name and password, and you connect to your account. It’s that simple.
Note
When you set up a Facebook account, your Contacts list will check Facebook to see if it has pictures for any of your contacts. If so, it displays those friends’ Facebook pictures in your Contacts.
Once you’ve set up your account, there are two ways to use Facebook—using the Droid 2’s Facebook widget, or using the Facebook app in the Messaging area. The widget is far more comprehensive and gives you access to a full range of Facebook features. The app in the Messaging area only shows you Facebook messages sent to you.
To use the Facebook widget, go to the Social Networking pane by going to the Home screen and swiping to the third pane to the left. (For details, see Customizing the Home Screen and Panes.)
The widget displays the most recent status update you’ve posted to Facebook, and your friends’ most recent updates, too. To post a new update, tap your most recent status update, type your text, and then tap Post.
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The Droid 2 includes built-in apps for other social networking services, including Twitter and MySpace. Tap the My Accounts icon in the Application Tray, and select which service you want to set up an account for.
To read a status update from a friend, tap it in the widget. You see the full update, not just a shortened version. You can add a comment, or add a “Like” by tapping the appropriate button. You’re able to see comments to the update as well, and who has added a “Like” to the post. You can also tap any links to follow them to the web page or Facebook page.
But wait—there’s more! Tap the “Status update” button in the middle of the update, and you come to yet a more complete screen that lets you also write a message on the person’s wall.
Press the Menu key while you’re reading an update, and you’ll find options for viewing the friend’s profile on Facebook, viewing the friend’s contact information on your Droid 2, seeing a scrollable list of all updates from all your friends, and for setting Facebook widget settings, such as for how long to show updates from friends. On the scrollable list of updates, tap any to see full details.
To use the limited Facebook app, in the Application Tray, tap Messaging→Facebook. You see a scrollable list of all the Facebook messages sent to you. Any you haven’t read have a blue button next to them. Tap any message to read it.
When you read a message, a text box appears at the bottom of the screen. Type a message and tap Send to reply to the message. You can also compose a new message from inside the app. Press the Menu key, select Compose, and tap away.
