How to Create a Shared “saved” Collection on Facebook
One of my favorite Facebook features is the Save Post button. I use it at least five or six times a day to preserve all sorts of things.
To name a few, I have a Reading folder full of articles my friends have shared that I want to read but can’t read right now; a folder full of funny hacks posted by friends that could one day become Lifehacker posts; and another folder full of recipes for things I probably never do, but which I aspire to.
Being able to keep things on the fly is great for me. One thing that wasn’t amazing is how to share these amazing things with others. This usually involves looking at my precious saved folders (Facebook calls them Collections) and looking for links that can be passed on to other people. Not a very efficient use of time, not the most beautiful presentation.
This week Facebook introduced a new feature for Saved Collections that allows you to share your collections with anyone and create collaborative collections that others can add things to as well.
According to press releases, the idea is that you can use the Save feature to do things like create collaborative lists of Christmas gifts or save recipes for a group holiday party. I’m not so sure about any of these use cases (who wants to create a Christmas list based solely on the stuff they find on Facebook?), But this feature can certainly come in handy.
For example, I have a collection of recipes that might come in handy for a party. If my friend and I were talking, and she said: “I don’t know what to do!” I can share my recipe folder for a little inspiration.
I have a group of friends with whom I also retell certain types of stories frequently. For example, my friend Tom and I are constantly sharing news about whiskey. In this case, we could create a shared folder where we just drop whatever things we find.
To add a friend to an existing saved collection, you simply go to that collection and click the Invite button at the top of the page. From there, you will be prompted to select the friend or friends you want to share with. Select them and then click the Submit button in the upper right corner of the page.
Everyone you add to the collection can contribute as well.
It won’t be useful for everyone, but if you find yourself building a collection of links from Facebook, it can make sharing them a lot easier.