First, learn a bit by doing some (fake money) trial investing - I like http://www.marketwatch.com/game/ myself.
Also, talk with your friends about what companies they like or admire. Not what stocks they like, what companies they like. That can be really helpful to you just learning what is out there. Shamless plug: I just started a subreddit, r/rvinvestmentclub, for just such discussion. No real money, just place for fun and education. It's hard to pick companies if you aren't even familiar with what is out there. Like Ben and Jerrys? - Guess what it is owned by a company called Unilever. You can't buy Ben and Jerry's stock, but you can buy Unilever stock. Think Tesla is an awesome company run by a genius? Think Tesla is a bubble run by a narcissist? Thats the sort of discussion I hope to cultivate in my new sub.
Also personal thoughts:
Penny stocks (stocks with price of less than 5$ a share) are usually near-scams.
Buy and hold for multiple years is often the best. Boring but true. Want drama? Go skydiving.
Jim Cramer (Mad Money) is entertaining, not educational. Use appropriately.
When you think you are ready to really buy stocks, ask your friends to secretly also put together a list of stocks they would buy. No influencing each other till everyone is done with their own list. Once everyone is done, compare notes and see what happens. Perhaps everyone independently thought that XYZ is awesome - that is a sign to dig into that and see what is there. It is not a sign to buy XYZ - but is a sign to check them out further and then make your own decision. The decision is ultimately yours, not your friends'. This is the inspiration for my subreddit. I figure if this works well to generate ideas and discussion in my little circle...
Try to only own 5-10 individual company stocks at most. If you buy 50 companies you will go nuts keeping track of them all and at some point you might as well just buy an index fund. Also if you get a broker like Charles Swab you'll be charged hundreds in commissions. Per stock. Another reason to learn with fake money first and not buy and sell every month and not own 50 stocks.
If you're married... don't buy or sell anything unless you and spouse have discussed and waited a day. It is super easy to buy/sell in an afternoon when the market seems to be moving. But calm and rational is the way to go and discussion with another person and a cool off period are pretty important in my experience.