When we talk of social media in this present generation of the internet and new technology, we refer to a continuing struggle of a culture or cultures of peoples of the world. It has always been claimed that we are now living in a global village. Students who are studying and working hard in their studies, for their future careers, are also preparing for a so-called “bigger and smaller” world. Their interactions with social media, for example the Facebook, is a preparation for their later lives that will later be filled with excitement and frustration as they battle the competition and the “survival-of-the-fittest” strategies in the business world.
Facebook is an example of a social medium that allows people to interact, communicate, and know each other. There are features that are also available in other networking sites, but what makes Facebook more popular and sought after social network. Stone (2007) described it as “one of the fastest-growing and best-known sites on the internet today”.
What makes Facebook tick and how does it work?
Facebook is an online social networking, connecting people of diverse cultures from all over the world through the power of the internet. It was started in 2004 by a Harvard student, Mark Zuckerberg, whose first objective was to cater to Harvard students. This was later expanded to all high school and college students. Now, teenagers and even adults from around the world who patronize the internet use Facebook. Stone (2007) says that “like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances”.
Levenson (2008) explains it clearly that three students started the idea but that they had not “enough computer expertise” that compelled them to hire Mark Zuckerberg. They just learned later on that Zuckerberg launched Facebook. However, this has already been settled with Facebook giving a certain amount to Narendra and the Winklevoss twins, the three students who the original idea about it. (Levenson 2008)
As you log in to the site – i.e., after you have registered – you are introduced to many options. Your profile is personalized; you can upload pictures which can be viewed by anybody you authorize; there are many features of networking to friends, connecting to people from around the world, blogging, and news in and out of campus. Facebook is marked by some controversies however in its initial stage. Some students claimed that they were the first to own the idea and that Mr. Zuckerberg just copied it. Popular things are always marred by controversies.
One of Facebook’s fascinating but controversial features is the News Feed. Thompson says that this is a “built-in service that would actively broadcast changes in a user’s page to anyone of his or her friends.” Students like this feature because it “delivered a long list of up-to-the-minute gossip about their friends, around the clock, all in one piece”, says Thompson. At first, some students did not like it because of its “non-privacy” feature, meaning everyone seems to know what was going on. Zuckerberg decided to stick to it, and then everything turned to normal.
Thompson (2008) says, “Social scientists have a name for this sort of incessant online contact. They call it ‘ambient awareness.” With this feature, you can have access to other people’s activities, which can be intriguing and fascinating for many of us. Students are thrilled by this kind of ‘power’, so to speak. You’re just in the confines of your room, and with the push of the button, you have some glimpses or peeks of your fellow students’ activities.
What do we have in the political scene? Yes, indeed the politicians are joining the bandwagon, making themselves available on Facebook. What else, this is a social site, and where people go, politicians surely go. Virginia Heffernan (2008) on The New York Times Magazine (online) revealed that John McCain’s Facebook page “featured a martial semi-profile of the candidate emblazoned with the slogan, ‘Country First: The Official Home of John McCain on Facebook’, and then replaced in September with ‘The Ticket for America’” (Heffernan 2008). Barack Obama has a sound feature in his page; both candidates exchange some “pleasantries” in the site, and use it to forward their platforms (McCain has so far 60,000 posts since he started in February 2007).
Despite all its popularity, Facebook hasn’t found a business model yet. Ives (2008) says in an article, that it “has been testing an interactive product that draw willing consumers into the advertising itself”. Ives further adds, “MTV tried it out to promote its latest video music awards, posting clips of Britney Spears, for example, and allowing viewers to post comments about them.” Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg was quoted as saying that “the results were really positive.” There was a problem with “monetization” question, and that Facebook really needed a “new model and new metrics”, she added. This is to get ad revenue for the site, which to date has not been wholly realized.
Ms. Sandberg further revealed that the site has a new feature added known as “Facebook Connect” which brings Facebook contacts into other sites. With the site’s new innovations and remodeling, some people have complained, but Facebook is still going forward.
The question is, “What does Facebook need for a new face?” The answer to that is none actually. It has good features that have been tested. Now, it has to survive financially. According to some reliable information, like that from Ms. Sandberg, Facebook needs ad revenues. This is where how the owners and managers of the site have to test their mettle and expertise. And how their loyalty and expertise can make Facebook, as a social medium and business, survive in the “smaller and bigger” world of the internet.
References
Berkman, L. F. (2008). Encyclopedia of Public Health: Social Networks and Social Support. Web.
Heffernan, V. (2008). Facebook Politics. The New York Times Magazine. Web.
Ives, N. (2008). Facebook COO: Web Needs New Model, New Metrics. Advertising Age website. Web.
Levenson, M. (2008). Facebook, ConnectU Settle Dispute. Web.
Stone, B. (2007). Facebook. The New York Times. Web.
Thompson, C. (2008). Brave New World of Digital Intimacy. The New York Times Magazine. Web.