One of my favourite Facebook features is the “Save Post” button. I use it at least five or six times a day to save all sorts of things.
To name a few, I have a “Stuff to Read” folder full of articles friends have shared that I want to read but can’t read right then; a folder full of fun “hacks” friends have posted that might one day become Lifehacker posts; and another folder full of recipes for things that I will likely never make but I aspire to.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/03/dont-delete-facebookjust-be-smarter-on-facebook/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/oyifw6bytqqadrikajhg.jpg” title=”Don’t Delete Facebook — Just Be Smarter On Facebook” excerpt=”Facebook is kind of a mess right now. And there are plenty of equally messy reaction pieces cajoling you and everyone you know, to delete your account in a massive middle finger to the web’s prevailing social network. That’s the easy take and, honestly, we’ve experienced this mob response before. Did you #DeleteFacebook then? Me neither.”]
Being able to save things on the fly is awesome for me. One thing that hasn’t been awesome is how to share those amazing things with others. Typically that involves me going through my precious saved folders (Facebook calls them collections) and finding links to give other people. Not exactly the most efficient use of time, not the most beautiful presentation.
This week Facebook rolled out a new feature to Saved collections that allows you to share the collections you have with whomever you’d like, and create collaborative collections where others can add things as well.
According to the press materials, the idea is that you can use the Save feature to do things like create collaborative Christmas gift lists or save recipes for a group holiday party. I’m not so sure about either of those uses (who wants to create a Christmas list based exclusively off stuff they find on Facebook?), but the feature can certainly come in handy.
For instance, I have a collection of recipes saved that might be useful for a party. If a friend and I were talking and she said “I don’t know what to make!” I can see sharing my recipe folder for a little inspiration.
I have a group of friends that I tend to pass certain types of stories back and forth with, as well. For instance, my friend Tom and I are constantly sharing whiskey news back and forth. In that case, we could create a shared folder where we just drop those things as we find them.
To add a friend to an existing Saved collection, you just go to that collection and then click the “Invite” button at the top of the page. From there you’ll be prompted to select the friend or friends you want to share with. Pick those, and then press the Send button at the top right side of the page.
Everyone you add to the collection can also contribute to it.
It’s not going to be useful for everything, but if you find yourself compiling a collection of links from Facebook, it can make sharing them a ton easier.
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