Coincidentally, I would like to do my midterm project on the phenomenon known as 'Facebook.' I'm guessing most of you are pretty familiar with it so I won't go into describing it.
According to statistics, something like 85% of the nation's college-going population use it. As I am part of the minority that doesn't use facebook, I think it would be interesting to get it and experience firsthand what it does for my relationships. Will it replace other forms of social interaction and/or communication? In what ways is it more advantageous or detrimental? Also, there is a lot of concern regarding privacy, as seen when there was backlash when the creators of facebook put in the features 'News Feed' and 'Mini-Feed,' and I would like to explore how far reaching that is.
There is also the issue of violation of conduct codes of one's university. Should universities be able to have policies regarding student's actions on facebook, if they are disruptive to other students?
In some ways, I feel I may be taking a risk in trying to do my project on something I have never used before. But maybe I'll gain some new insight, here's hoping...
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I would like to also compare Facebook to Myspace in regards to how similar or disimilar the issues facing those who use them are, just because in some of the reading I've been doing, the two have oft been spoken of in relation to one another.
I am (sadly) in the majority of people who DO use Facebook. I held out for a long time, and then caved, created a profile, and cringe every time i sign in and look at my profile. (How can i actually appear that one-dimensional and boring?!)
I would be interested to see how people who do not use Facebook feel their real-life relationships have changed since the global trend has taken over colleges nation-wide . . . a friend of mine quit FB, then felt so excluded from conversations and daily happenings and was "forced" to join again.
Never heard that abbreviation before. Kinda catchy, I like it.
Interesting topic. If you want something crraaazzyyy to read, check this out. Defenitely off the wall, but apparently with the Patriot Act government agencies are required to be allowed access to protected content like Facebook servers. Scary. You might also want to explore how something as interactive and as changeable to users as facebook relates to concepts of hypertext; where are things linked and where are they not?
I really like this idea, and think it is such an important issue to touch upon. I am such a Facebook junkie its sick -- I couldn't possibly keep track of how many times a day I login, and how often my emotions can shift by clicking around and reading posts on my wall, and posts on other people's walls. One minute I find myself being content in reading a funny post from a friend, and the next minute I find myself faced with posts and updates on my ex-boyfriends page that are offered in the newsfeed, which I don't even want to hear about! This is definitely something you can tie into the whole issue of privacy, because many times I will stumble upon information that I have no desire for, but it is right there, in your face, as that is the job of the newsfeed.
...And of course one can easily say, "Well, if Facebook is driving you so crazy, and you feel like you have no control over how much time you spend on it, or what non-desirable pieces of information you read, then delete your account." But it is just not that simple, as this idea connects to the fact that Facebook takes up a big part of our social lives, and daily dialogue...and who wants to feel out of the loop and disconnected from that?
Anyway, good luck with this, I really look forward to seeing how this turns out, because I feel so strongly about the issues and contradictions of Facebook.
I really appreciate comments like these because while I feel its all good and well to look at articles which discuss the effects of 'FB' on community ties, FB is a phenomenon that is so pervasive, in our lives in particular, that it's really interesting to hear directly from the source/primary users.
So please, bring it on!
I'm also really interested in your topic. There are so many things that are exposed on the minifeeds about people who I have relatively no contact with outside of facebook. Also what's interesting is how Facebook was initially geared towards college students, but now anyone with a company email address can join. It is becoming more like myspace with a wider range of people using the site.
I know you're focusing on facebook and might tie in myspace a little bit, I thought I'd just show you a funny piece on social networking by Demetri Martin from The Daily Show wih Jon Stewart. Good luck!
This is a really compelling set of questions! My only concern is that it may be a bit too much to take on in the space allowed by the midterm project, particularly if you wind up bringing MySpace into the mix, too. I'd suggest choosing one more specific angle on the FB question: perhaps the tension between publicness and apparent privateness that was highlighted in the controversy surrounding the implementation of the feed, or perhaps the issues involved in tensions between students and campuses around the borders of free speech/appropriate behavior on the site (see, for instance, the students who were threatened with expulsion for having created a FB group that publicly harassed a TA). Any one of these issues would likely be more than enough for your project!