Facebook Rant, Again.

In one of my last posts, I ranted a bit about how Facebook is in my opinion, going in the wrong direction. Mark Zuckerberg recently gave a conference about the site's new policies, etc. And here is a link of an article by Ryan Singel who goes into more detail about how he believes Facebook is going "rogue."

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/05/facebook-rogue/

I just wanted to post this link for anyone who shares my sentiment and is getting more and more disgruntled with Facebook lately. It touches on a few things I mentioned: making everything of our interests, etc. into "Like" groups, which Singel discusses how they can never not be made public, how Facebook now is only starting to realize that "there's money and power in being the place where people define themselves." All this and much, much more.
Enjoy!

Facebook: Going Down the Drain?

In light of Tim's post below about Facebook's new changes, etc. I began to give more thought to our favorite website's current status.
It really appears to me at least, that it's becoming over commercialized, and this is ridiculous.
Making everything fan pages? Including our personal information? I'm already aware that as a business, Facebook has to market each of us, individually, as a profitable item (which is already creepy), but making the content of ourselves another way for corporates to attract money crosses the line in my mind. What will they do next?
And as I commented on Tim's post, Facebook now works with Bing's search engine. Bing search results will appear in addition to whatever else does on Facebook's search. All of this really boggles my mind.
Facebook saw what happened to MySpace after it was taken over by FOX. Too much stuff going on chases users away. Zuckerberg and his Harvard buddies should know better. I think they're definitely going in the wrong direction. They should remember, now more than ever, that their simplicity is what made their site so appealing.
Perhaps it really is true that no social media can last forever. Because to be honest, if Facebook keeps up its consistent changes, new policies, etc. then I don't know how much longer it will be around. It's definitely driving me crazy already. It's likely that something better and simpler will come along and we'll jump on the bandwagon for that and forget Facebook forever.

Face-net

Facebook has now taken over the internet it seems. Every page I go onto there is a 'Like' button to attach to your personal page. As much as this seems to bother me, because it is pointless, I am most frustrated by the ever-changing personal page options. I had been able to dodge the "Connect to" offers as Facebook attempts to try to make you connect your page with pages of your interest. But two days ago, I lost this battle. I hit connect to all and put simply, found it to be pointless and annoying. Facebook kept telling me that if I didn't "connect" my page to my hometown, it won't show up on my page. Are you kidding me? I have to like the town of Westford, MA and Winston-Salem, NC just to have it on my page? Come on Facebook, let's take a step back and re-evaluate the path you're taking. Personally, part of the lure of the site to begin with was everyone has the same layouts with information they chose to share, but it wasn't too much to handle. Now I can like NHL.com or NYtimes.com just to annoy my friends when it shows up on their feed. If there was an article on either of those sites I was able to post a link before, so why change it? Am I just losing it or is this bothersome to others?

A Progression That Will End When?

The topic of "hardware" in new new media is pretty interesting to me. Levinson seems to argue that there had been a natural progression from pre-computers to handheld devices to more hi-tech handhelds and so on. But what interests me is what forced all these changes? What made the path that has resulted with Facebook, Twitter, and so much more on our cellphones?

In my eyes there are numerous reasons and causes, but what stands out the most is the crave for smaller and faster. It seems as if everything we have, or every new invention must be working in a direction of smaller and faster. It's the ultimate end. So where do we go now? How small can we get and how fast can we get without sacrificing other items?

Channel Surfing the Internet

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

One of my friends told me about this site. Each day there are new websites being created; stumbleupon.com let’s one stumble upon the different sites pertaining to one’s interest. One can stumble upon different web pages, videos, blogs, and photos. One can even share the different sites to friends, post it on one’s news feed on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Genealogy on Facebook...

My cousin just told me about this website that gives you your genealogy on Facebook. Not sure if it works, but it sounded interesting so I thought I would share it with all of you. It is geni.com

Formspring,Me - "Ask me anything"

It is sad and unfortunate that social networking sites are manipulated to create something other than good. The social media sites we have discussed in class clearly show much potential and benefit; keeping in touch, finding jobs, promoting world change, and many others. However, as Levinson alludes to in his “Guns, Knives, and Pillows” lecture, everything has its counterpart. Many social networking sites, especially those that include anonymity, provide easy access to cyberbulling, online taunting, cyber stalking, and other forms of virtual violence. Levinson mentions that bullying in a physical place is more dangerous than bullying done over the internet. It may in fact be considered more dangerous because it can involve physical intimidation, but I honestly don’t know which is worse. In my opinion, it all boils down to self-confidence and self-esteem. Those who bully, whether in a physical or virtual environment, have low self-esteem and feel a sense of gain by making others feel worse about themselves. Bullies who use anonymity on social networking sites are simply cowards. Of course, I have sympathy for those bullied and teased. However, even the individuals who allow themselves to feel defeated by these faceless bullies also have low self-esteem. Everyone gets teased at some point during their life. And although that doesn’t make it right, it’s just a part of life that you have to deal with appropriately in order to overcome it. Consult a guidance counselor, talk to a friend or family member, delete your account for some time or permanently, take time to yourself, etc.

While reading Levinson’s chapter, I thought of a newer social media site called, Formspring.Me. If any site is promoting cyberbullying, it’s this one. The homepage of the site says “ask questions, give answers, learn more about your friends.” The site allows individuals to search for users, friends or not. You then submit anonymous questions to the user. “Ask me anything.” From what I’ve seen, people are not shy to do so. Once the user answers the question, it is posted on their personal page. The layout is similar to that of Twitter. In my opinion, you are simply asking for hate mail. The site says “learn more about your friends.” But if the people were truly your friends, wouldn’t you just ask them yourselves? Why would you need to do so anonymously? I know some people who have accounts, but I really don’t see any appeal. There is actually a Facebook group called “Boycott Formspring.” The group currently has 7,196 and is growing rapidly. Many posts advise parents to educate their children on the site and prevent their kids from creating an account. The group asks to “spread the word, stop the hate.” Just another example of a social networking site used to educate and promote change.

Last Week's South Park

Last week's episode of South Park dealt with Facebook and mentioned ChatRoulette. It mentioned how people can get sucked into Facebook (literally) as well as the inappropriate sexual nature of ChatRoulette. The episode is called "I've Got Nobody," and subtitled: "You have 0 friends."

http://southparkstudios.com/episodes/267112/?xrs=

Light up the Darkness

Cyberbullying and cyberstalking are problems that started in older media such as email but have become more prevalent due to the popularity of social networking sites. However, it is up to us to discover certain solutions to alleviate the problems of cyberstalking and cyberbullying. As we mentioned in class, when Facebook started it out, it required a college email address, but this requirement has changed over the years. However, an age requirement could be an useful tool for preventing middle school and even younger high school kids from using solcial media sites to harass other children. This is certainly difficult as children can lie and say they are of age.

As a result, the responsibility falls on parents and in certain instances, the teachers. As Amanda discussed earlier in her post, parents must teach children how to use the social networking sites Parents should explain to their children that they need to approach their parents when they are being constantly bullied or stalked by strangers or other children. In addition, schools should have a caveat where they may punish students if they are harassing other students from the school. I do not know the full story but certain disciplinary actions were taken against certain students at my high school for "trask-talking" with students from another school.

Nonetheless, it is up to children to admit to the harassment they have experienced on the web.

Pros and Cons of Facebook ~ Chapter 7

Facebook has its pros and cons.

Pros

Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends – one can even find friends from high school, grammar school, or other activities or groups one was in.

One can find classmates to get assignments, or even make plans for group projects.

One can start talking to one’s new roommate before entering the new school year – I have a better feeling on who one will be living with.

One can sell books.

Facebook is entertaining with all the applications that are available.

The list can go on.

Cons

Facebook profiles contain too much information that others can obtain easily. Even with private settings, pictures that friends post that are not under privacy settings are open to the public to view.

When one gets older, one needs to be careful what was said and put up, because jobs are looking into it.

We Are Important, but Not THAT Important

My most intriguing point I found in Chapter 7, Facebook, was on the removal of photos Facebook deemed pornographic, which were pictures of a mother breastfeeding. My first reaction was why would anyone put up pictures of them breastfeeding? Then upon realizing, maybe I just don't get the view point of a mother, I decided since it is legal to breastfeed in public in 40 states it can't be that bad. Plus, who really cares if there are pictures like that up?

Levinson used this as an example however to present the idea that while new new media is seen as an extension of ourselves, we can only go so far some times. The internet is also an extension of Facebook in this case who have certain powers to remove user created content at their disposal. We have to realize, as users of the internet, we are pivotal to its existence because we create content for it, but we are never beyond the powers that guide the internet.

Facebook- Other Things to Beware of

We all know by now that posting embarrassing pictures of ourselves on Facebook is not wise. Potential employers, future bosses, etc. can all find a way of seeing these if they really put their minds to it. One mishap- just one picture of drunken sloppyness, and we could lose many opportunities.
But in addition to this, I think many members on Facebook must take into account what groups they join, and what pages they become fans of. It may not always be the first thing we think of when we are trying to cleanse our profiles for employment reasons, but it is just as significant.
I highly doubt that an employer will appreciate a potential prospect who is a member of "I can bullshit thru anything" or is a fan of "I hate stupid bitches," or "Mom, we're smoking weed and having sex...not hanging out". All of these are real pages on Facebook- I looked at my cousin's profile and found them. He has plenty of other "inappropriate" ones too. The next time I see him, I might have to tell him get rid of these.
This all shows that even though these groups and pages are funny, just like those photos of you doing a keg stand, it just may cost you a whole lot later on.

Facebook Groups

Facebook groups have a powerful way of uniting people or separating people based on certain interests. When I first joined Facebook, I remember of the first groups I was invited to was Facebook is better than Myspace. Many Facebook groups are based on this competitive nature. There are groups for various professional sports teams to prove which teams have the most fan support. In addition, there are certain groups that compete in a race to get to 1,000,000 members before some other group. In this way, certain groups separate people based on their allegiance to a professional team.

Although many Facebook groups are simply joined for pleasure, other groups can be very beneficial. If a group project is assigned at school or work, Facebook becomes an easy way to communicate with certain colleagues or students whom we may not know very well. The group application on Facebook is extremely valuable for any kind of group project. One of the most common types of groups that undoubtedly we have all come across is the "I need phone numbers group." Instead of having to run into all your friends just to get their phone numbers, you can create a group and it provides an easy forum to get everyone's phone number back. However, with so many of these groups, people become annoyed with how many different groups they have to post their phone number. It appears that many people have become embarrassed to even start a similar group for fear of annoying people.

One of my friends got a little too creative with his title in which it appeared that he died. He was just looking for everyone's phone number, but certain people became confused thinking he had actually died. I guess the lesson is we should always read the group information before we jump to any conclusions.

Roommate Search on Facebook

I can personally relate to Levinson’s section on “Meeting Online Friends in the Real World” (Levinson, 128). Coming into my freshman year, I was very nervous about the housing situation and who my roommate would be. When I received my housing form in the summer, I saw that there was a roommate request section. Once I joined the Fordham network on Facebook, I was invited to join the Fordham Class of 2012 group. In the group, there were multiple discussions including surveys for prospective roommates. I was one of the many to fill out the survey and post it in hopes to find someone compatible. Just a few days later, a girl from the group requested me and we started messaging back and forth. A few weeks later, we decided to become roommates and requested one another on the housing form. I was still nervous to meet her face to face for the first time. But we talked a lot via Facebook about our interests and it was easier to start and maintain conversations. We instantly clicked. Unfortunately, she transferred but we are still the best of friends and visit each other often. Facebook helps with this too because it is our main source for keeping in touch.

Although I’d like to think of my roommate situation as a success story, others weren’t so lucky. ABC News posted an article on “Weeding Out Roommates on Facebook.” The article explains how parents, along with students, use the media site to review the pages of already assigned roommates. An increasing number of parents have filed petitions to reassign their children to other roommates. The parents are displeased with the prospective roommate’s Facebook page and the pictures posted of them drinking, smoking, and doing other illegal activity. Many schools are actually advising students to refrain from judging other students by their social networking images. It is understandable that parents be concerned for their children. However, I feel that parents need to let their children deal with it themselves. Housing is just a part of the college experience. It tests compatibility, respect, and tolerance. It is hard for me to really argue this because I have been fortunate enough to receive two great roommates and have never had a serious issue with them. But I do believe that people should not be judged by their Facebook image. There is a lot more to a person than just their Facebook page.

Facebook: A 21st Century Interactive Yearbook

I was honestly very surprised with just how objective Professor Levinson was about Facebook in Chapter 7. Since he was so complimentary of MySpace in the previous chapter, I wrongly assumed he would be very derogatory about Facebook, MySpace's logical rival. I thought he clearly outlined the subjective and objective differences between the two social media platforms and made a point to say that it really is a personal preference.

Facebook's ability to reconnect relationships is what is most interesting to me personally. As Levinson says, cyberspace has the distinct ability "to vanquish the time and distance that separates us from old friends and acquaintances" (129). My mom lost touch with her high school best friend many years ago. A few months ago, I received a Facebook message from her old best friend, asking me if I was related to my mom. At this point, my mom had an inactive Facebook account, but started using it after she reconnected with her old friend to exchange messages. They have spent the past few months catching up on years of each other's lives they missed out on (careers, husbands, children, deaths, moves, sicknesses) and they do this by "talking" every single day (no verbal communication just long Facebook messages) and by posting pictures of their families, workplaces and homes to their accounts. They are now back in each other's lives and, without Facebook, the reconnection would have never happened, since my mom's friend now lives very far from us. It was very refreshing to see first hand the powerful way Facebook can change reality and truly bring people (back) together.

Why MySpace Went Out of Style

When I think of MySpace, I remember how my friends and I, when we were Juniors in high school, were as obsessed with it as we are now four years later with Facebook. In 2006, being on MySpace was the cool thing to do. I'm sure that others in the class can relate to my feelings on this. From the time we were all in high school, MySpace was at its peak. Everyone was on it, and we all talked about it during school. This was the time during which, Facebook had its policy of only allowing college students to join its network, and we were locked out of it.
Though Facebook did open up its content to everyone, which MySpace did all along, why has it continuously become less of a dominant presence on the web (at least in popularity)? Today, most of us (younger people) assume that we're only members on Facebook and that MySpace is merely an out of style fad that's embarrassing to bring up.
Though there are many factors that may have contributed to MySpace becoming second to Facebook, one of its most significant ones was its loss of "cool factor" with the younger generation. When MySpace was at its peak, at least for me and I'm sure for others, Facebook was kind of a prize we would win once we went to college. The fact that we couldn't get on immediately before the policy changed had us holding our breath until the moment we could. This I think, had tremendous impact on our age demographic's preference for Facebook. And once we got on, and the more Facebook was intellingent in its manner over the past few years of making it more and more user friendly and entertaining, the more we preferred it to MySpace and the more likely we would emphasize its superiority to other generations, older and younger.
This consequence, of having the most technologically capable generation raving about Facebook above all others has certainly had an impact on our parents' generations and our younger siblings' too in believing that Facebook has the edge over MySpace. And Facebook, perhaps more so than anyone else, has us to thank for that.

New York Times Article: Facebook

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/education/16student.html?ref=todayspaper

This article was published in The New York Times today. It is about a South Florida teenager who was suspended for creating a Facebook page criticizing a teacher. A judge has ruled that she can proceed with a lawsuit against the school for the suspension. I know we are not up to Facebook in the course yet, but I think this shows how the government and the courts really are in unknown territory when it comes to social media and the legal issues surrounding it.

Facebook and Censorship in Iran

In Chapter 1, Levinson briefly discusses how new new media has been controlled and censored by different forms of government and political systems. I was subject to such censorship during one of my trips to Iran. In the summer of 2008, I traveled to Iran to visit my family. During my stay, I was able to access my e-mail account but I was restricted from Facebook. I tried using a number of proxies to try and access the site. One proxy actually worked, but it too was restricted a few days later. Iran remains one of the strictest enforcers of censorship of the Internet. Many websites are blocked for being considered immoral and for containing words that are seen as anti-Islamic.

However, Facebook has quickly become an increasingly popular social networking site in Iran. Other forms of social media including YouTube, Twitter, and blogging also gained popularity especially during the last presidential election in Iran. Reformist activists used these sites to gain support against the regime. Female activists and students used different forms of social networking to promote human rights and organize political meetings on the Internet. On May 23, 2009, Facebook was blocked in Iran. However, it was unblocked just three days later because Iranian users protested the censorship enforced by the regime just prior to the elections. The users’ reactions to the attempted censorship of the new new media reinforces Levinson’s idea that “the reader has total control” (Levinson, 1). The Iranian users protested against the censorship as an attempt to maintain the freedom of speech that such networking sites enabled them to exercise. The following article discusses this issue in Iran in more depth: http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/email/the-politics-of-facebook-in-iran