Facebook is a fantastic way to find old friends, camp chums, schoolmates, long lost family cousins and long-ago co-workers. It's perfect also for staying in touch with those you see regularly, like family members and currently active friendships.

Sometimes someone asks to friend you...and you have no clue who they are. You look at what you are given as clues - a photo, a list of mutual Friends, where they live. If you have a bunch of Friends in common, that might be enough. At least you can beFriend them now and figure it out later! And unFriend them if you really *don't* know them. Or just ignore the invitation until you figure it out, or a few mutual friends show up.

Have you thought about this from the other point of view? Are you doing all you can to be helpful to those you ask to Friend you?

Try to help people remember who you are! You can't do much when your profile isn't open to the world (most people set their settings on Friends only, or Friends and Networks Only), but here's a few tips to help your old friends remember you:

* Use your maiden name as your middle name if you changed it

* Have a few mutual friends already accepted to help jog people's memories about your relationship

* Have a clear "photo" picture of your face in a normal, smiling position. Your face may have changed dramatically over time, but something there might be enough to help move a past memory to the surface. Of course, I don't even have an avatar (bio) picture looking remotely at my face, so I am breaking the rules. My picture shows my back and the side of my face looking out over the ocean, on cliffs, in a folding chair...with a beer in hand. Quite frankly, for a lot of people this will be plenty to remind them of me. I might miss out on some childhood connections and I accept that. So yeah, you can do what you want to, just choose your avatar with open eyes.

* Fill out your networks and your profile, tell people where you live and where you had graduated from. Leave little clues like breadcrumbs.

* If you are really concerned about tracking down every last friend, you could set your entire profile as public, giving away lots of clues and photos and whatever else might open the pathways down memory lane. You might get some trolls or spammers asking to friend you if you let everything hang out, so be careful whom you accept (and again, you can unFriend anyone later).

What to learn more about Facebook? This list at Amazon.com is a great place to start: Facebook Users Guides