Strategies for the Classroom flickr
photo by pshab by kevin lim - teaching & learning center 22nd February 2008

Lots of people using it
daily...

So much written about it...

Everyone’s building around it...

Heck, people are cloning it!

<ul><li>What is Facebook? </li></ul><ul><li>History </li></ul><ul><li>Who’s
Using It </li></ul><ul><li>Things you can do </li></ul><ul><li>Personal Profile </li></ul><ul><li>Messaging </li></ul><ul><li>Groups </li></ul><ul><li>Events </li></ul><ul><li>Applications </li></ul><ul><li>Media Sharing </li></ul><ul><li>News Feed </li></ul>For the Classroom 1. Opportunities Promotes conversation It’s Spontaneous Integrate your stuff (RSS) Reputation as Motivator 2. Challenges Application Spam Getting Informal? What Privacy? Walled Garden 3. Questions Workshop Agenda

<ul><li>Facebook is a social networking
site </li></ul><ul><li>Reinforces & expands your real-world social connections </li></ul><ul><li>Fosters communities of people who share interests and activities </li></ul><ul><li>Economical way to keep your friends updated </li></ul><ul><li>Discover new interests and friends </li></ul>image source: http://lifegoingdigital.blogspot.com/2007/11/blog-post_27.html What is Facebook?

<ul><li>February 2004 Facebook created by
Mark Zuckerberg and four others </li></ul><ul><li>Initially for Ivy League universities, then to international colleges and high schools (.edu) </li></ul><ul><li>Sept 2006 Opened for anyone to join Facebook’s social network </li></ul><ul><li>May 2007 Facebook Platform launches for user applications </li></ul>image source: http://lifegoingdigital.blogspot.com/2007/11/blog-post_27.html Source: Facebook Timeline Facebook History

<ul><li>More than 65 million active
users </li></ul><ul><li>Over 6 million active user groups </li></ul><ul><li>85% market share of U.S. university students </li></ul><ul><li>Over half of users return daily </li></ul><ul><li>Users spend an average of 20mins per day on Facebook </li></ul>image source: http://lifegoingdigital.blogspot.com/2007/11/blog-post_27.html Source: Facebook Press Room Who’s Using Facebook?

Things you can do... <ul><li>Personal
Profile, Messaging, Groups, Events, Applications, Media Sharing, News Feed </li></ul>

Personal Profile

Messaging: Inbox

Messaging: Notifications

Messaging: Pages Update

Messaging: The Wall

Messaging: Poking

Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups

Facebook Events

Facebook Events

Facebook Applications

Not exactly long tail, but
short head. Only a few apps rule, with 87% of usage going to only 84 apps! Source: O’Reilly Facebook Applications

Facebook Photos

Facebook Videos

Facebook News Feed

Opportunities <ul><li>Advantages of using Facebook
for class </li></ul>

Promotes Conversations

It’s Spontaneous <ul><li>The Third Place
: Being a shared space not owned by neither faculty nor students may mean equal standing in power. </li></ul><ul><li>This motivates the user by choice (self-interest), rather than coercion . </li></ul><ul><li>Informality: Informal channels allow for more spontaneous interaction. </li></ul><ul><li>Distinguishing motivation for using Blackboard vs. Facebook </li></ul>Image Source: http://mchabib.com/2006/10/05/digital-library-as-third-place/

Integrate your stuff <ul><li>You can
easily integrate your resources into Facebook </li></ul><ul><li>Posting Links, Notes, Photos, Video </li></ul><ul><li>Automated posting via RSS -based applications (e.g. FriendFeed) </li></ul><ul><li>You can even write your own Facebook platform application ! </li></ul>

Reputation Motivation <ul><li>Reputation: The willingness
to help others can all work to increase one's prestige in a community. </li></ul><ul><li>“ Applying Games Mechanics To Functional Software ” by Amy Jo Kim </li></ul><ul><li>Five Game Mechanics 1. Collecting 2. Earning Points 3. Feedback 4. Exchanges 5. Customization </li></ul>

Challenges <ul><li>Dangers of using Facebook
for class </li></ul>

Application Spam <ul><li>Plenty of Facebook
applications trick users into send invitations to their friends to “unlock” features. </li></ul><ul><li>When a friend adds such an app, the cycle continues . </li></ul><ul><li>Competition between application developers to get larger user base. </li></ul><ul><li>Finally, Facebook decides to stop it ( 21st Feb 2008 ). </li></ul><ul><li>Users can block specific apps, and clear all pending requests. </li></ul>

Getting Informal? <ul><li>Leisa Reichelt coined
the term “ ambient intimacy ” </li></ul><ul><li>Refers to the constant sense of closeness users feel with their circle of friends through technologies that informally reveal us to each other. </li></ul><ul><li>Cory Doctorow called out Boyd’s Law where “Adding more users to a social network increases the probability that it will put you in an awkward social circumstance ”. </li></ul>

What Privacy? <ul><li>The original News
Feed scared Facebook users </li></ul><ul><li>Under users pressure , Facebook finally let users adjust what appeared in public </li></ul><ul><li>Facebook Beacon makes you endorse what your purchase </li></ul><ul><li>Not everyone aware they have to opt-out ; change privacy options </li></ul><ul><li>The Wall vs. Personal Message </li></ul>

Walled Gardens <ul><li>A social network
service focuses on the building and verifying of online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities </li></ul><ul><li>Most traditional social networking sites are “ walled gardens ” (e.g. Facebook) </li></ul><ul><li>Trap user content to derive ad revenue </li></ul><ul><li>Can’t leave? Loss of coordination . </li></ul>

Takeaways <ul><li>thoughts on participation </li></ul>

Benefits of Participation <ul><li>collective intelligence
- collaborative </li></ul><ul><li>transparent - instant gratification </li></ul><ul><li>non-hierarchical - democratic </li></ul><ul><li>potential for passion - ownership </li></ul><ul><li>open to public - reputation </li></ul><ul><li>permanence - searchable resource </li></ul>

Questions <ul><li>let’s discuss </li></ul>

Kevin Lim “ Jack of
all trades, Master of some.”