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Facebook It Or Not
- 1. Facebook It Or Not Sandra J. Wisor INTD-477L-200 Marist College Capping Project
- 3. Thesis Statement The social networking site, Facebook, is changing the way people communicate and socialize with others. Many people no longer use face-to-face contact or past communication technology as a way to speak to another person. Facebook is fast becoming a cultural norm to connect with family, friends, or business associates online in a group setting. There are several advantages and disadvantages to using Facebook. Upon researching these differences, I will discover what draws people to use this site. Some lack the knowledge on how to properly use it and often reveal too much about their identity without thinking of the repercussions. Facebook since its conception continues to grow and expand our ability to reach greater distances and assists us with finding people with like-minded interests. This social networking site enhances our social desire to use Web 2.0 technology even more.
- 6. Metcalf’s Network Effects Metcalf's formula n(n-1)/2 increases network effects as you add connections.
- 8. Facebook.com
- 9. My Facebook Page & Definitions
- 10. My Wall Page & Concept of Friendship
- 11. New Life Cycle
- 21. How do you prefer to socialize… Yes No Do you prefer face-to-face contact rather than Facebook? 63 10 Do you prefer writing a letter rather than using Facebook? 34 39 Do you prefer a phone call rather than using Facebook? 53 21 Do you prefer another email program rather than Facebook? 43 29 Do you prefer Facebook as a means to find friends, dates relationships, networking over traditional means of communication? 18 53 Do you prefer Facebook as a means of planning your personal daily schedule? 4 69
- 25. References Reference #1 – Gere, C. (2008) Digital Culture. (2nd Ed). London, UK: Reaktion Books Ltd. Reference #2 - Sheldon, P. (2008). Student favorite: Facebook and motives for its use. Southwestern Mass Communication Journal , 23 (2), 39-53.
Editor's Notes
- Hi, my name is Sandy Wisor and I am a senior at Marist College. The Integrative concentrations of business and communication have helped be a more effective communicator. The courses I have taken carry over into my life work experience as Senior Prayer Associate at Guideposts OurPrayer Ministry as I assist in training and supporting thousands of web volunteers worldwide. My communication concentration enable me to review models that show how people relate to one another verbally and non-verbally. This in turn has increased my knowledge of how people often socialize with others based on one’s similar cultural values and beliefs. My business concentration enables me to explore how Facebook was created and how it operates today with enhanced new social web features. It also provides me with the ability to review and analyze the different types of advertising available for corporations and non-profits. Both concentrations benefited my capability to create an informational questionnaire, administer it to an audience, and complete data analysis on the survey findings against a recent 2007 case study on Facebook of college students. The concentrations of business and communication enable me to compare and contrast the similarities and differences in Facebook to see how people interact online as a means of socialization. The reason for choosing the social networking site Facebook is to explore the social opportunities of how this site can help OurPrayer.org to expand it’s user base and raise awareness of it’s mission.
- The social networking site, Facebook, is changing the way people communicate and socialize with others. Many people no longer use face-to-face contact or past communication technology as a way to speak to another person. Facebook is fast becoming a cultural norm to connect with family, friends, or business associates online in a group setting. There are several advantages and disadvantages to using Facebook. Upon researching these differences, I discovered what draws people to use this site. Some lack the knowledge on how to properly use it and often reveal too much about their identity without thinking of the repercussions. Since its conception Facebook continues to grow and expand our ability to reach greater distances and assists us with finding people with like-minded interests. This social networking site enhances our social desire to use Web 2.0 technology even more.
- History shows us that communication technology continues to evolve as we progress through time. Different types of communication mediums include the 1450's Gutenberg's printing press, 1894 Marconi radio, 1876 Bell telephone, 1926 television, mid 1970's IBM and Apple personal computers and 1983 the Internet. As early as 1990, we are living in a communication revolution, an information society as one that becomes dependent upon complex electronic information and communication networks.
- Social networking is defined as the use or establishment of social networks or connections with the use of websites. These enable users to interact with one another, find, and contact people with common interests, etc.
- Metcalf's formula n(n-1)/2 illustrates social networking. He states that it increases network effects as you add connections. An example by Metcalf from 1980's shows that 2 telephones equals 1 connection, 5 telephones equals 10 connections and 12 telephones would be 66 connections. This same concept of growing networks effects is similar to that of social networking sites. For example, if you load your email address book to a social site it will then find your registered in-network friends for you. Therefore, the more people you add to your list, the more valuable your social network will be.
- In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg created the social network called Facebook. He was a Harvard undergrad student who used the online photos and profiles of fellow students to create a campus wide directory of students. The idea rapidly spread to other Ivy League schools, then to colleges across the country. In September 2006, Facebook opened its membership to people outside college campuses.
- As of October 2009, according to Facebook Statistics web page, the fastest growing demographic age group is 35 years and older with 50 percent of active users logging in daily to communicate online with friends and family, and create their own groups or join other like-minded interests groups. Facebook continues to become a part of our everyday lives worldwide as it is in 70 different languages and 70% of users are outside the United States.
- We have gone from true face-to-face communication to sharing our thoughts with everyone online. No longer do we rely on speaking verbally to another person. Many of us prefer to go online to Facebook and leave wall posts, poke, or tag friends and family. Learning to use Facebook effectively to communicate is becoming essential for today's society. There are several words that any user should understand about the social network of Facebook before using it. The web lingo most often used is: POKE: The "poke" feature allows you to essentially do just what it implies: "poke" your friend's profile, giving him or her the option to poke back. THE WALL: Friends can use it to recap the previous night's events or carry on entire conversations that would normally be conducted through phones, e-mail or, at the very least, text messages. TAG: A feature that allows you to identify friends in photos. Can become a college grad's worst nightmare when it comes time for the ever-crucial job search. MINIFEED: It is like streaming bulletins about your friends' latest likes and dislikes.
- In 2008, C. Gere, the author of Digital Culture wrote, Facebook is bottom-up paradigm because no longer is a member a passive user, but an active participant through the use of social networking sites like Facebook by sharing of blogs, videos, photos and web links in a virtual 3D space. Facebook offers a glimpse of a new kind of community one no longer limited to a physical location, but created through shared interest in and self-definition by media. The customization of page by users and presentation of personal information acts as a kind of visible self creation. The "concept of friendship" is more evident as we become connected. He concludes that digital technology like the internet is not just a tool as more of us go online, but the web has become part of our everyday.
- In 2004, Lehman-Wilzig and Cohen-Avigdor revealed, A Natural Life Cycle of New Media Evolution, which includes the following 6 stages: birth, market penetration, growth, maturation, defensive resistance, adaptation, convergence and obsolescene. (0. Birth: The commencement of the 'Life Cycle'. A new medium draws on an existing technology/ medium. The inventor/s may not always foresee is real, ultimate use. 1. Market penetration - The medium enters the market, developing new uses, and attracting users. It has 0-16% of the market. If successful in passing 16% (innovator & early adopters), it moves to the next stage; if not the new medium fades away. 2. Growth: 16%-50% of the market. Developers and users learn to exploit, apply, and expand the unique capabilities of the medium. 3. Maturation: The new medium (or adapting old medium) finds its place in the dynamic communications environment. It has 50%-90% of the market with maximal use and application of the medium's capabilities. 4. Defensive Resistance: Competition between old media and the new medium forces the former to seek new directions in order to preserve their traditional audiences. There is a 90%-50% market decline for the traditional medium. 5a. Adaptation: The traditional medium adapts to the new situation by developing a different function and/or preserving (finding) it (new) audience. 5b. Convergence: The traditional medium cannot survive on its own but preserves its function by merging with or incorporating into a new medium. 5c. Obsolescence: The traditional medium does not successfully adapt to change; it declines and disappears.) (Lehman-Wilzig & Cohen-Avigdor, 2004, New Media & Society 6(6) p.711-719). The following 3 charts indicate that Facebook is in the Maturation Stage of the New Life Cycle as having 50%-90% of the market because of its vast acceptance, rapid growth rate of web users and that it is currently fashionable.
- March 11, 2009 Jessi Hemple a writer for Fortune Magazine interviewed Mark Zuckerberg, the Founder and CEO of Facebook. In Chart 1 – Mark Zuckerberg quoted Facebook from Feb. 2008 to Feb. 2009 in one year that user usage grew from 1.1 billion to 300 billion total daily minutes, users who update their status daily went from 4 billion to 15 billion, users who become fans each day went from 250,00 to more than 3.5 million, photos updated each month was 250,000 rose to more than 850 million, and pieces of content shared each month was 13 million increased to more than 24 million.
- In Chart 2 - CEO Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook stated during conversation, Since 2005 to 2009 the # of users is currently 75 million strong and growing at the astounding rate of five million more users a week.
- In Chart 3 – Mark Zuckerberg concluded to Jessie, Facebook.com alone reached 150 million users within only five years time compared to other technology industries like the telephone, television, cell phone, and iPod.
- In 1958, Katz developed the Users and Gratification Theory, which explains how different people use the same media messages for different purposes to satisfy their psychological and social needs and achieve their goals. In 2008, Sheldon commented, the Pew Internet Project (2006) the Internet’s major benefit tap is in helping people tap into social networks”. Sheldon mentioned Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook.com that its primary purpose, according its homepage, is to share information with people you know, see what’s going on with your friends, and look up people around you. According to Sheldon along with the means of the uses and gratification theory that the study found people, use Facebook as a means to develop interpersonal relationships. Women visit the site to sustain current friendships and to bypass time as a form of entertainment. In contrast, men go on the site to search for new people and work on those newfound relationships.
- I asked 10 questions via surveymonkey.com to determine how Facebook is changing the way we communicate and socialize today. I interviewed 80 of people which included my family, friends and coworkers. The survey results are the following:
- About half of those who I interviewed actually use Facebook. Those who are active on the site spend from a few hours a month to over 10 or more hours per month on the site. I found that most registered fans share their Facebook profile only with their friends instead of sharing it with the entire world. Many of the same fans use Facebook as a means to share their own personal interests with others.
- From those I surveyed I discovered that more Women use Facebook than Men. The largest age bracket is 35+, which is similar to Facebook’s statistics page. When compared to the 2007 case study by Lampe, Ellison, and Steinfield of 30,773 college students from Michigan State University that use Facebook there were some similarities like more women than men using the site and almost equally sharing of one’s gender. Many of the students also share openly with other students their profiles including their about me section along with their favorite activities, interests, music, movies, books, tv shows and quotes. However, more college students use Facebook by posting their relationship status and wanted gender interest in order to find more opportunities of attracting potential friendships and relationships.
- Many use Facebook to connect with family and friends. Second highest selection was to use Facebook as a means of socializing and networking with others. Some people enjoy tagging themselves and other people they know who are in uploaded photos. Other features that fans use are virtual games, chat and join various interests groups. Mobile SMS use and Advertising are off to a slow start with those who I surveyed.
- On the chart “How do you prefer to socialize?” we see the following: Most people still prefer face to face contact, but would rather use Facebook than writing a letter. Two thirds prefer using the site over using the phone or another email source. Only 18 of those interviewed would use the site to find friends, dates or to network instead of using traditional ways of communication. Only 4 individuals out of 73 actually use Facebook to plan their day. Note 7 people skipped this question on the survey.
- Many businesses or non-profits have yet to tap into the concept of advertising on social network sites. The results revealed that some employers do encourage employees to join their existing group page, but only some employees post on their workplace group’s page.
- While there are many pros and cons to using Facebook, the survey results indicate that despite the negative issues like invasion of privacy, photo tagging, and the possibility of false identities on Facebook, many people will continue to using it and invite others to join, rather to never use it again or giving it up and asking others to leave.
- My research showed me Facebook is changing the way we socialize today. Over time the changes in technology have forced society to become more techno-savvy, causing a convergence in online social networking and replacing true face-to-face communication. In today's society, more people are turning to the web as forming online social communities as a means of staying in touch with family and friends. Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has become one of the most popular online social networking sites as the number of members and fans continues to increase rapidly reaching 300 million registered users in 2009. In my opinion, Facebook is now part of our culture due to our need to socialize. It will continue to gain favor as we close the existing domestic and global divide that hinders between internet access of the have’s and the have-nots. After researching this topic, I will present a proposal to Guideposts OurPrayer Ministry as to how Facebook could increase the amount of traffic for prayer requests and volunteers on OurPrayer.org.
- Thank you and May the Lord bless you in all of your endeavors after college.