Clean up your Facebook profile the easy way

For many, Facebook has become indispensable. It is how we stay in touch with family and friends online. It can also be overwhelming. Unwanted updates may crowd your News Feed. And embarrassing status updates and comments can haunt you.

So, take a little time to clean up your Facebook profile. All it takes is a little time.

Block FarmVille updates

Tired of hearing about FarmVille crops? Then block family and friend updates from FarmVille in your News Feed. Locate one of the posts in your News Feed. Mouse over the update and click Hide. Select Hide FarmVille. You can also hide updates from other apps or even friends.

You may want to prevent apps from posting to your wall. This will leave more room for updates that really matter. To block posts from an app, click Account>>Application Settings. Find the app and click Edit Settings. Deselect “Publish recent activity (one line stories) to my wall.” Click OK.

This handy trick also works for Mafia Wars and other games too.

Delete posts

Maybe someone posted a rude comment on your wall. It could cause trouble with your boss or your spouse. It’s easy to delete wall posts. Mouse over the offending post. When the blue “X” appears in the right corner, click it. You’ll be asked if you want to delete the post. Confirm the deletion.

Job hunters should clean up old wall posts. You don’t want to turn off potential employers. Remove anything offensive. You should also remove anything you may have said about former employers.

There are some wall posts that everyone should delete. Posts claiming to reveal who has viewed your profile should be nixed. Facebook does not let people or apps access this information. Likewise, posts offering extravagant gift certificates are likely scams.

Keep your real friends close

Maybe you want certain friends always to show on your profile page. They’re probably your most attractive friends. Seriously, though, these are the people whose profiles you post to most frequently. Fortunately, you can have certain friends always appear in your Friends box.

Visit your profile page. Click the pencil icon in the top right corner of your Friends box. Find the section labeled “Always show these friends.” Click and start typing your friends’ names.

Keep posts private

You can post hidden messages to a friend’s wall. Visit your profile and click your status box. Start by tagging your friend in the message. Type the recipient’s name preceded by “@.” For example, enter “@Scott Kendall” (minus quotes). Then, enter your message.

Before clicking Share, click the privacy lock. Select Customize. Select “These people” under “Make this visible to” and click Specific People. Enter the recipient’s name. Click Save Setting and Share. This also works for multiple people. Only you and the recipients will see the post.

You may also want to hide certain posts from your boss or others. Type your post in the status box. Click the privacy lock and select Customize. Find the box labeled “These people” under “Hide this from.” Enter the names of those who shouldn’t see the update. Click Save Setting and then Share.