I remember when I first logged in to FriendFeed (I joined at the launch of the beta version, so my comments will relate to that). My first thought was "What the heck is this and what can I do with it?" I was already an active Facebook and Twitter user (as well as a blogger). Why did I need yet another social web service? In this post I and other FF for Beginners Guides will try to answer those questions. - Mark Traphagen

DEFINITION: There are as many definitions of FF as there are users. In part that's because FF is so flexible and powerful, people use it for many different things. The "official" self-description of FF is "FriendFeed helps you discover and discuss interesting stuff that your friends and family find on the web." I would add another verb: "share." So in a nutshell, FF helps you SHARE-DISCOVER-DISCUSS. The unique power of FF is the way it allows you to blend and cross all three of those actions. - Mark Traphagen

1. SHARE: FriendFeed allows you to post things from the Internet (or your own thoughts & ideas) that you want to share with others. You can do this manually by simply typing a post into the blank at the top of your Home page. OR automate what you share here by giving FriendFeed access to any of the other social web or bookmarking services you use (HOW TO: http://beta.friendfeed.com/friendf...) - Mark Traphagen

2. DISCOVER: Browse your Home page feed and any Subscriptions or Filters you have for a never-ending cascade of stuff others on FriendFeed have found fun/interesting/helpful. The more subscriptions you have, the faster that waterfall flows (feed pages in beta FF now update in real time). You can make anything you see show up in your own public feed by either adding a comment to it (see below) or clicking "like" under the topic. - Mark Traphagen

3. DISCUSS: Here's where FF "one ups" other social web services: Virtually anything you see on FF can have a discussion attached to it. This begins when any user adds a comment to the post. You can join any discussion by clicking "comment" under the post description. TIP: To keep track of discussions in which you've participated, click the new "My Discussions" link in your Filters box. Discussed topics automatically rise to the top as new comments are added. - Mark Traphagen

That's the basics, but there is SO much more power to FriendFeed! Browse or search the topics in this group for more ideas. Perhaps my fellow guides will add their own "What is FriendFeed?" definitions below. - Mark Traphagen

I like this post, but would like it even better were it more concise, less chatty, more descriptive as to the differences between FF and some other, more widely talked-about social sites. Especially for those among us who thus far have abstained from joining by-and-large sophomoric "communities". [Typo? what typo]. - ianf ⌘

Thanks for the feedback, lanf. Typo corrected. This definition was "chatty" by design. My intention was to draw in those who, like myself at one time, feel overwhelmed by FriendFeed's seeming complexity. I wanted to create interest without being exhaustive, so I limited myself to the three things that are standout (to me) about FriendFeed. Sure, other social web locations allow you to "share, discover, & discuss," but the power of FF is the unique way it brings the three together. - Mark Traphagen

Might be a good idea, though, to create a post here that describes specific differences between FF and other services. In the meantime, if you're interested in that subject, FF fanatic Robert Scoble has hosted many active discussions here on how FF differs from Twitter and Facebook in particular. If you browse this filter: http://beta.friendfeed.com/search... you'll find some of them. - Mark Traphagen

I'll study it later, but for now made it into my own filter (as apparently there is no other way to share ready-mades among ourselves). - ianf ⌘

Nice intro - Luqman Saeed

Thanks for the tutorial. I appreciated it. - timethief

Nice definition. I will add my voice for >4. BLOG, aggregate< .Please boost the blogging capabilities. That means, allow posting more text, allow some text formatting. Otherwise, this mixture you lay out here, is the success recipe for any social site out there - BOOKMARK, aggregate - IMPORT, aggregate - DISCUSS. I might add support for email sending via "em@emailaddress" in the post, and aggregation of discuss, where comments would also go to FB, Intense Debate, Disqus, or any other platform. - Petr Buben