I don't know how those people with super high friend counts manage to eke any utility out of FB
I don't have a super high friend count on FB, but I've set up privacy levels on the friend groups I have created. I'll usually accept a friend request from anyone I know, and then add that person to a friend group, with appropriate privacy levels. A person with a large friend count could do the same thing.
I'm surprised that more people don't use this functionality on FB, but then again categorizing is fun for me (and a lot of other geeks, I presume).
I just don't feel like I can trust any privacy settings in FB. In addition to being complex, even for a technical user, when one of my friends comments on a picture or status update of a non-friend, I can see that non-friends picture or status update. This is a huge privacy hole. Also, do you use FB groups or lists?
I don't know how those people with super high friend counts manage to eke any utility out of FB, unless they're trying to sell something.