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Facebook Killer Feature Arrives

Posted by Nick O'Neill on December 19th, 2007 10:07 AM
Share 53 Comments

I previously called this feature the “LinkedIn Killer.” Facebook has now added the ability to group your friends into custom groups. You can name each group and create as many groups as you like. While there aren’t custom privacy setting for each list there is a nice feature where you are able to message everyone within each group. Have a group of business contacts that you would like to message? Maybe a group of fans? Now you can finally group each of those people together.

While I believe that the next step would be to have custom privacy settings, this is a great step by Facebook. I am immediately going to go group my friends just as Mark Cuban described last night. This is a really great feature and I’m sure it will help many of us that have a friend list that is way to long (or as some would argue, the insecure group).

Is this feature going to enable you to switch over from LinkedIn?

Facebook Friend Grouping

 



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53 Comments »

  1. I was also enthusiastic seeing this feature released (organize colleagues, close friends,…), but what is the aim of creating his friends' list if you can't message more than 20 people at once ?

    Comment by Denis — December 19, 2007 @ 5:57 am

  2. Won't be switching from LinkedIn yet for professional contacts. If FB gets custom privacy settings then I'll consider it. It'd be really cool if you could also show your various groups of friends different profiles… So I could have my wildn crazy one for all my real friends then a more professional profile for work people.

    Comment by Jason Peck — December 19, 2007 @ 6:04 am

  3. I'll definitely keep my LinkedIn account for professional network – Facebook is way too casual, IMO. But the friends lists at FB are a great (and long overdue) feature :)

    Comment by Josue Sanchez — December 19, 2007 @ 6:18 am

  4. Whilst I am already on FB and don't care for LinkedIn , I totally agree with @1 Jason "Show various Groups different profiles" with what could be the killer feature:*Group A sees all (great Friends) *Group B sees all less Group A, (good friends)*Group C and D see only C or D (family and work) Also FB should also make certain Apps seen by certain groups! From what the blog at Facebook says, this 'could' be a feature we see next year!

    Comment by Jez — December 19, 2007 @ 6:44 am

  5. In addition to separate privacy settings for each friend list, therealso needs to be more integration of friend lists into other parts ofFacebook. For example, I should be able to invite all my friends fromone list to an event, or a group. As well as the ability to select aspecific list in the fb:multi-friend-selector when sending invitationsto use an application.

    Comment by Dan Jones — December 19, 2007 @ 6:53 am

  6. I agree. It's the foundation for some killer features, but isn't quite there yet. I also want a way of seeing who's not in a list, so I don't miss anyone out.

    Comment by Ollie — December 19, 2007 @ 7:05 am

  7. I agree. It's the foundation for some killer features, but isn't quite there yet.I also want a way of seeing who's not in a list, so I don't miss anyone out.

    Comment by Ollie — December 19, 2007 @ 7:05 am

  8. Whilst I am already on FB and don't care for LinkedIn , I totally agree with @1 Jason "Show various Groups different profiles" with what could be the killer feature:

    *Group A sees all (great Friends)

    *Group B sees all less Group A, (good friends)

    *Group C and D see only C or D (family and work)

    Also FB should also make certain Apps seen by certain groups!

    From what the blog at Facebook says, this 'could' be a feature we see next year!

    Comment by Jez — December 19, 2007 @ 7:44 am

  9. In addition to separate privacy settings for each friend list, there

    also needs to be more integration of friend lists into other parts of

    Facebook. For example, I should be able to invite all my friends from

    one list to an event, or a group. As well as the ability to select a

    specific list in the fb:multi-friend-selector when sending invitations

    to use an application.

    Comment by Dan Jones — December 19, 2007 @ 7:53 am

  10. Pretty lame that when you attempt to add friends using the "Select Multiple Friends" functionality you are only presented with your Networks in size order. I've got friends in over 600 different networks — ever think about the option for alphabetizing?

    Comment by N-Bomb — December 19, 2007 @ 8:01 am

  11. I agree. It's the foundation for some killer features, but isn't quite there yet.

    I also want a way of seeing who's not in a list, so I don't miss anyone out.

    Comment by Ollie — December 19, 2007 @ 8:05 am

  12. @Jason,@Jez , I completely agree that multiple profiles would be killer.

    Comment by Nick O'Neill — December 19, 2007 @ 8:15 am

  13. Pretty lame that when you attempt to add friends using the "Select Multiple Friends" functionality you are only presented with your Networks in size order.

    I've got friends in over 600 different networks — ever think about the option for alphabetizing?

    Comment by N-Bomb — December 19, 2007 @ 9:01 am

  14. cool feature, why does everyone expect it to be perfect (right out of the gate?!)

    Comment by Mark — December 19, 2007 @ 10:45 am

  15. I was also enthusiastic seeing this feature released (organize colleagues, close friends,…), but what is the aim of creating his friends’ list if you can’t message more than 20 people at once ?

    Comment by Denis — December 19, 2007 @ 9:57 am

  16. Won’t be switching from LinkedIn yet for professional contacts. If FB gets custom privacy settings then I’ll consider it. It’d be really cool if you could also show your various groups of friends different profiles… So I could have my wildn crazy one for all my real friends then a more professional profile for work people.

    Comment by Jason Peck — December 19, 2007 @ 10:04 am

  17. I’ll definitely keep my LinkedIn account for professional network – Facebook is way too casual, IMO. But the friends lists at FB are a great (and long overdue) feature :)

    Comment by Josue Sanchez — December 19, 2007 @ 10:18 am

  18. [...] Nick O’Neill of AllFacebook just pointed out that you can now separate all your Facebook friends out into groups. It can be used to send out mass messages and event invitations. [...]

    Pingback by With The Band - Zvi Band » Blog Archive » Facebook’s New Friends List - Is Lacking. — December 19, 2007 @ 10:39 am

  19. I like this initial step. It makes Facebook more useful. I don't think it has much effect on getting people over from LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an awesome site. But it's a productivity tool for the most part. The good news is that I can now create a friends list on Facebook called "Facebook Bloggers I Need to Suck Up To" and then keep those people separate from the others. They drink way too much at holiday parties and end up breaking news that you don't want broken. Just joking, Nick. You know I love you. Keep up the awesome work.

    Comment by Michael Lazerow — December 19, 2007 @ 11:43 am

  20. I agree. It’s the foundation for some killer features, but isn’t quite there yet. I also want a way of seeing who’s not in a list, so I don’t miss anyone out.

    Comment by Ollie — December 19, 2007 @ 11:05 am

  21. @Jason,@Jez , I completely agree that multiple profiles would be killer.

    Comment by Nick O'Neill — December 19, 2007 @ 12:15 pm

  22. Isn't this just copy of the Circle of Friends application? And if it is a copy, what does this say about third parties developing applications for facebook?

    Comment by Calvin — December 19, 2007 @ 1:18 pm

  23. [...] of choice, it seems. The site now allows you to create (gasp) lists of friends, and then easily send messages to one list or another (don’t worry, no one will see whether you’ve put your boss or [...]

    Pingback by Facebook: Making a list, checking it twice - - mathewingram.com/work — December 19, 2007 @ 1:32 pm

  24. [...] Facebook friend. Here’s hoping I make one of the three tiers! As well, I would disagree with All Facebook’s assertion that the newly-launched Friend Lists is a “killer app”. It’s a step forward but [...]

    Pingback by A New Approach to Friends on Facebook | Mark Evans — December 19, 2007 @ 2:06 pm

  25. [...] know, one group is for the friends you like, another for the people you have to pretend to like. Some are calling the feature a LinkedIn killer, since you can now set apart work pals from personal [...]

    Pingback by Facebook lets you set friends apart from frenemies [Social Networks]  »TechAddress — December 19, 2007 @ 2:44 pm

  26. cool feature, why does everyone expect it to be perfect (right out of the gate?!)

    Comment by Mark — December 19, 2007 @ 2:45 pm

  27. [...] know, one group is for the friends you like, another for the people you have to pretend to like. Some are calling the feature a LinkedIn killer, since you can now set apart work pals from personal [...]

    Pingback by Why is Google search so good? Contract workers [Job Descriptions From The Future]  »TechAddress — December 19, 2007 @ 2:54 pm

  28. [...] O’Neill has a post over at allfacebook about Faceboks announcement of the ability to create and maintain groups of [...]

    Pingback by Facebook Embraces Groups — December 19, 2007 @ 3:05 pm

  29. I like this initial step. It makes Facebook more useful. I don’t think it has much effect on getting people over from LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an awesome site. But it’s a productivity tool for the most part. The good news is that I can now create a friends list on Facebook called “Facebook Bloggers I Need to Suck Up To” and then keep those people separate from the others. They drink way too much at holiday parties and end up breaking news that you don’t want broken. Just joking, Nick. You know I love you. Keep up the awesome work.

    Comment by Michael Lazerow — December 19, 2007 @ 3:43 pm

  30. Nick, You have what, 2 friends on Facebook? Do you really need to "group" when you've got 2 friends?

    Comment by Mark — December 19, 2007 @ 5:42 pm

  31. Isn’t this just copy of the Circle of Friends application? And if it is a copy, what does this say about third parties developing applications for facebook?

    Comment by Calvin — December 19, 2007 @ 5:18 pm

  32. Nick,

    You have what, 2 friends on Facebook? Do you really need to "group" when you've got 2 friends?

    Comment by Mark — December 19, 2007 @ 6:42 pm

  33. [...] how exactly it might spell the death of the Top Friends app by Slide. Today, four months later, the feature has launched. Were the predictions true? Here are some [...]

    Pingback by It’s Rishi » Too many Facebook friends? Organize them (or get a life)! — December 19, 2007 @ 5:55 pm

  34. [...] (via The Unofficial Facebook Blog) [...]

    Pingback by Facebook führt Friend Lists ein: Kontakte lassen sich jetzt besser organisieren « c/o operative — December 19, 2007 @ 6:00 pm

  35. @Michael Lazerow … :)

    Comment by Nick O'Neill — December 19, 2007 @ 7:16 pm

  36. I agree, the privacy settings for different Friends lists and who sees installed apps is the killer feature. This is just part 1 of a (hopefully) continuing evolution.

    Comment by Nigel Rowe — December 19, 2007 @ 8:16 pm

  37. @Michael Lazerow … :)

    Comment by Nick O'Neill — December 19, 2007 @ 11:16 pm

  38. I agree, the privacy settings for different Friends lists and who sees installed apps is the killer feature. This is just part 1 of a (hopefully) continuing evolution.

    Comment by Nigel Rowe — December 20, 2007 @ 12:16 am

  39. Definitely not a linkedin killer – I intentionally avoid using for facebook for professional contacts and will continue to do so. Why would I want my professional contacts to see pictures of my Halloween costume or Birthday party? While I only put items on facebook that I am comfortable with my broader circle of friends and acquaintances to see, it wouldn't help my career to have my clients/business associates see those postings.On a separate note, while I really like the newfound ability to group friends, I really miss the old newsfeed 'see all' functionality. I'm not interested in having to scroll through all of my friends updates to see what I missed amongst them all. There needs to still be an easy way to view it chronologically and to see multiple postings by the same person. Please bring back my primary reason for continually visiting facebook though out the day!

    Comment by Chaya Cooper — December 20, 2007 @ 6:18 am

  40. Definitely not a linkedin killer – I intentionally avoid using for facebook for professional contacts and will continue to do so. Why would I want my professional contacts to see pictures of my Halloween costume or Birthday party? While I only put items on facebook that I am comfortable with my broader circle of friends and acquaintances to see, it wouldn't help my career to have my clients/business associates see those postings.

    On a separate note, while I really like the newfound ability to group friends, I really miss the old newsfeed 'see all' functionality. I'm not interested in having to scroll through all of my friends updates to see what I missed amongst them all. There needs to still be an easy way to view it chronologically and to see multiple postings by the same person. Please bring back my primary reason for continually visiting facebook though out the day!

    Comment by Chaya Cooper — December 20, 2007 @ 7:18 am

  41. [...] the first bit has happened: Facebook has now added the ability to group your friends into custom groups. You can name each [...]

    Pingback by meish dot org » Pimp my privacy — December 20, 2007 @ 9:58 am

  42. I don't see this as threatening LinkedIn in the business sphere at all… especially not when, according to Facebook's own numbers the average age of their audience is still 22 years of age. They're seeing the most growth in the 30+ crowd obviously but there's still a long way to go to get any kind of critical mass there. I see a tremendous amount of resistance from most of my early-30s friends to getting onto Facebook whereas LinkedIn was a nobrainer for them 1-2 years ago. They'll come around, but I still don't see Facebook being much of a productivity tool until there is some serious separation between the work and play aspects; or until a demographic shift occurs: enough time goes by that the generation that has been growing up with these features and expects work and play to be so intertwined get into the seats of power. I see a lot of ANDs with LinkedIn and Facebook, not ORs (though ORs tell a sexier more newsworthy story).

    Comment by Rob Leathern — December 20, 2007 @ 9:21 pm

  43. I don’t see this as threatening LinkedIn in the business sphere at all… especially not when, according to Facebook’s own numbers the average age of their audience is still 22 years of age. They’re seeing the most growth in the 30+ crowd obviously but there’s still a long way to go to get any kind of critical mass there. I see a tremendous amount of resistance from most of my early-30s friends to getting onto Facebook whereas LinkedIn was a nobrainer for them 1-2 years ago. They’ll come around, but I still don’t see Facebook being much of a productivity tool until there is some serious separation between the work and play aspects; or until a demographic shift occurs: enough time goes by that the generation that has been growing up with these features and expects work and play to be so intertwined get into the seats of power. I see a lot of ANDs with LinkedIn and Facebook, not ORs (though ORs tell a sexier more newsworthy story).

    Comment by Rob Leathern — December 21, 2007 @ 1:21 am

  44. It would be great if Facebook finds a way to import Linkedin profile recommendations in to Facebook profile. Then I'll consider leaving linkedin for good.

    Comment by Bulent — December 21, 2007 @ 6:57 am

  45. It would be great if Facebook finds a way to import Linkedin profile recommendations in to Facebook profile. Then I’ll consider leaving linkedin for good.

    Comment by Bulent — December 21, 2007 @ 10:57 am

  46. "the next step would be to have custom privacy settings" : definitely ! But this is just great :-)

    Comment by valery — December 23, 2007 @ 5:54 pm

  47. Weird, you can create a group with all your friends but do not have the option to email them al without doing so.A feature is missing : showing friends that are not in a group and selecting groups for them.

    Comment by valery — December 23, 2007 @ 6:05 pm

  48. Weird, you can create a group with all your friends but do not have the option to email them al without doing so.

    A feature is missing : showing friends that are not in a group and selecting groups for them.

    Comment by valery — December 23, 2007 @ 7:05 pm

  49. “the next step would be to have custom privacy settings” : definitely ! But this is just great :-)

    Comment by valery — December 23, 2007 @ 9:54 pm

  50. why id it change its horrible i dont find friends like this any easier what happened to my hookups and family ? friend editing? WTF

    Comment by akoz — December 29, 2007 @ 6:36 pm

  51. Good feature. But limiting it to twenty people is so small. Is there a way around it? I obviously have more than 20 classmates that use facebook!

    Comment by Osita "Oo" — March 12, 2008 @ 12:33 am

  52. Good feature. But limiting it to twenty people is so small. Is there a way around it? I obviously have more than 20 classmates that use facebook!

    Comment by Osita "Oo" Nwoye — March 12, 2008 @ 4:33 am

  53. Hi new friendship

    Comment by Sekar — December 9, 2009 @ 11:06 pm

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