Find Long Lost Friends on Facebook

Facebook is now an essential unifying force in many people’s social lives — it helps friends arrange events, wish each other “happy birthday,” solidify communities and social bonds, and share recent memories with images.

All of that has been always possible by other, less convenient means, but Facebook helps us do one thing that’s unique to our time: Get daily updates on the lives of friends all over the world, in different walks of life.

In a way, that’s what the service originally was. Its name and college origins conjure images of a yearbook, intended not to keep up on what’s new but to act as a record of past relationships, associations and accomplishments. Facebook hasn’t forgotten that, so it provides tools for reconnecting with friends from your past — past schools, past jobs and even past e-mail exchanges.

Here’s a list of ways to find long lost friends on Facebook.