December 4th is the date of the Xbox 360 Fall update (Shouldn't it be winter?) and one of the new features will be the ability to browse the friends list of other Xbox Live members. It's an extension of the social aspect of sites such as MySpace and Linked In. If you don't want to be viewable by other, you can always hide yourself of course.
Expand Your Xbox LIVE Network of Pals by browsing the Friends lists of other Xbox LIVE members
New Experience to be made available on December 4th with the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update
Microsoft is making it even easier to expand your Friends network on Xbox LIVE, starting with the Fall Dashboard Update on December 4th. Members will now be able to check out the friends lists of fellow Xbox LIVE members right from the Dashboard. With this new feature, members can find old friends or connect with new ones within the community of more than 8 million people on Xbox LIVE around the globe and send messages and game invites, as well as compare games and Achievements.
With the prevalence of social media websites such as MySpace and FaceBook, this type of capability has largely come to be expected from consumers as a means to relate in an online community. Xbox LIVE continually seeks new ways to better serve the expectations of its members, which often result in enhancements made available for free through the bi-annual Dashboard updates.
When the Fall Dashboard update is distributed on December 4th, the new default setting on Xbox LIVE will be active enabling members to see the Friends lists of other Xbox LIVE members. Members who would like to keep their friends list private can take the following steps to change their settings beginning today:
Log in to www.xbox.com/fof and select one of the three options available for your Gamertag:
- Everyone (only available to members 18 and older)
- Friends only (available to members 13 and older)
- Blocked (available to all members, and automatic for anyone under the age of 13)