As you may know, Facebook rolled out its planned new feature that lets you “tag” other users in your status updates earlier today.
It’s very similar functionality to @replies on Twitter, and most folks will be pretty familiar with how it works and why you’d want to use it. Still, there are some differences to note, and some may appreciate a basic walkthough of how the new feature works.
Facebook’s version of the feature, like Twitter, also uses the @ symbol to invoke. However instead of having to simply know or remember the person’s username you’d like to tag, Facebook will generate an auto-suggest dropdown based on what you’ve typed after the @ symbol.
This is a nice touch considering that the scope of Facebook’s status tagging feature goes beyond just being able to tag your friends. You can also tag pretty much anything you’re connected to in the Facebook universe: companies, brands, artists and shows — anything that has a Facebook Page. You can also tag events and groups you’re a part of.
Once the item you’re wanting to tag appears in the list, all you have to do is click on it to select it and include a linked version of that entity in your status update.
When your friends see your status update, they’ll be able to click on any of those links to find out more and possibly friend, fan, join or attend whatever you linked to.
Have fun and don’t forget to plug your friends and companies!
