Whats a facebook "poke" ?

the other person just gets a message saying theyve been poked by you

In my experience, I get “poked” by guys mostly. I think it’s usually somewhat flirty… there is a funny Facebook group called “Enough with the Poking, Lets Just Have Sex.”

It’s a way to get someone’s attention or you can have poke fights which is basically a virtual tickle fight.

poking is usually used when someone wsts you to know they are thinking of you, but dont have the time to chat or nothing really to say. Its also a good way for people who like someone to get their attention…kinda like an icebreaker. I’ve used it when i dont have someones # handy but i know when they see it they will try to contact me later.

The Zen of Poke: A Facebook Story

“When we created the poke, we thought it would be cool to have a feature without any specific purpose…” – Facebook Help Topic

A poke could mean any of the following:

hey there
how are you doing?
i’m too busy to write you an email or call, but i’m thinking about you
holy crap, did you hear the Red Sox won the ALCS?
just sent you an email; check it out
hey let’s go have a beer
did you finish that project yet?
hey, why haven’t you written me an email / wall post lately?
i just wrote on your wall, check it out
we’re in a poke war, and no way i’m blinking motherfucker.. back atcha!
gee, you’re cute
i don’t really care about you that much, but i’m poking you anyway to make you think i do
hey respond to my email dammit
i don’t know who you are, but you’re cute
just broke up with my ex, looking for a one-night stand/rebound
let’s have sex
you’re way outta my league & i have no chance of having sex with you, but maybe you’ll poke me back anyway
yo, what up?

via http://500hats.typepad.com/500blogs/2007/10/the-zen-of-poke.html

The sole purpose of the poke feature is to attract the attention of another user. That’s it. Personally, I think they need to get rid of it. I doubt anyone uses it anyway. Nothing happens when you poke someone, all they get is a notice on their homepage that someone poked them.