Facebook lists, what are they and how do I create them?

Grasshopper, welcome to my Facebook dojo!

No, just kidding. Seriously, your friend is right, Facebook lists are pretty cool and are nice ways to categorize and organize your Facebook friends so that you aren't overwhelmed with updates and end up missing important information from your friends, colleagues or clients.

It's predicated on something that I think few Facebook users realize, that the list of options on the left side of your update stream is actually a list of filters that extract specific types of updates from the overall stream.

You know, it's this list:

Click on "More" and you'll get a better sense of the options:

Given that these are all filters, try a few for yourself. Click on "Meetups", for example, and you'll just see Facebook updates from the Meetups app. Click on "Video" and you'll only see videos that people have uploaded.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a filter that limits results to just your friends? Let's create it!

Click on "Create New List" on the bottom of this expanded view and you'll have a window pop up:

Start out here by giving your list (filter) a good name. I'm going to create one that lists all my Colorado Facebook connections by entering "Coloradoans" then press Return to save it. Now it's time to scroll through my (ridiculously long, over 1000 person) friends list and select those that should be part of the list:

You can see that I've selected both Ashley and Ari from this view: to select someone, simply click on them and their entry will turn blue. Change your mind? Click again.

When you're ready, click on "Create List" and you'll have a new list!

Check this out:

Look on the left: the default set of filters on the left now includes the new Coloradoans list, and when selected, the updates that I see in the Live Stream (or News Stream) are just from those people who are on the list.

I have to say that once I started experimenting with Facebook lists, I got quite enthusiastic about them and now have more than a few to help organize my posse! Also, if you're a Twitter user, Twitter lists are very similar in concept and execution.

And while we're at it, you should know that I have quite a bit of Facebook help here on the site and that I also have an Ask Dave Taylor Facebook Fan Page that I invite you to join.