1. What service does Facebook provide that is otherwise unavailable to internet users? Interpersonal communication is not unique to Facebook, nor is access to journalism or entertainment. Facebook acts as a reduced form of the internet. Thus, is Facebook’s primary function to consolidate digital activity?
2. What happens when the role of a technology is to simulate reality? Does this technology then help the user experience reality more efficiently? Or does it instead condition the user to view reality as a tool with which to better experience Facebook?
1. Yes, Facebook consolidates digital information and entertainment, but in a very parochial way. Facebook is a tool to let potential consumers use the Web without training in search skills and knowledge of reliable sources or useful databases.
It is the 'Reader's Digest' of a very small part of the Web that might interest the consumer.
2. It succeeds. Facebook has only succeeded by using a simple emulation of a real network to present its virtual summary of very parochial news and automatically targeted advertising.
1. Yes, Facebook consolidates digital information and entertainment, but in a very parochial way. Facebook is a tool to let potential consumers use the Web without training in search skills and knowledge of reliable sources or useful databases.
It is the 'Reader's Digest' of a very small part of the Web that might interest the consumer.
2. It succeeds. Facebook has only succeeded by using a simple emulation of a real network to present its virtual summary of very parochial news and automatically targeted advertising.
Facebook is definitely a tool for indirect communication at leisure, allowing one to comment on a photograph or activity posted with personal information. It's lacunae are coming forth though, questioning it's reliability and issue of privacy. it is a consolidated digital activity which uses the users to use reality as a tool. Utilization of these tools needs to be done sensibly.
As for your second question. I am not quite sure that Zuckerberg and other "big" guys were that remarkable envisionist back in a time when social network's story started to spin around. They simply started with a skretches and thereafter hugely developed platforms we have nowadays. Unfortunately, we are losing our sense of reality under the huge influence of those technologies who should actually help us to experience it in more colorfull fashion. Just my thoughts.
Facebook is is an all too-convenient tool for the average person to use to get automatic reminders giving the activities of the person's small circle of on-line acquaintances.
Hello Benjamin,
Thanks for your good question.
Here, about one third of the people are using the FB as follows:
- Communication tool (mostly)
- Informing the awards and prizes
- Declaring the news
- Inviting the meetings, conferences and events
- Sharing the up-to-date news and information very rapidly
- Showing the daily activities
- Highlighting of the arriving places
- Advertising the Business
- Frankly expressing of the opinions
- Dating platform of the lovers
Best regards
yes, Facebook has immense impact on way of thinking and actions, very powerful medium
A tool for business inkages
A tool for marketing
A tool for socialization
One can even undertake a sensible research from fb data.
etc
so yes it is a tool
It is a good means for finding things that are common with your peers, family and co-workers. It is an easy way to discover, explore, and engage with the moment-to-moment events.
Dear Benjamin, I think that FB and other social net platforms offer services of networking for peer users through creating and exchanging of personal and business content. FB is multi-channel communication platform It really looks a bit like simplification and personalization of Internet, never thought about it, thank you.
As for second question, I think it's time to admit that Internet is another part of reality. It is not simulation, it is the tool to create, store, exchange information also in private life. Information can be a resource or a product and it calls for specific processes. Information could be true or false but in both cases it is real. So FB is just another service just like hairdressers or restaurant. It lacks regulation but times are changing so soon we will see full consumer rights protection for digital services.
Dear Benjamin,
There's some evidence that social media/networks in general (Facebook included) can be used as a tool for knowledge sharing (a more informal KS).
I have a paper with colleagues that shows empirically social media being used as a tool for inter-organizational KS between organizations of a science and technology park.
Article Knowledge sharing among companies in a science and technology park
There's also evidence of the use of social media as a KS tool in free software communities ( in the following paper, social media is analysed under the category "external tools")
Article Knowledge donation and knowledge collection patterns in a fr...
I don't have specific answers to your questions, but I think that social networks became a very easy way to communicate and get in touch with other people/stakeholds/interested parts, since you can find most of the persons on that kind of platforms. It is like a big "yellow pages" that is available to anyone. They also facilitate the conversation, since they are informal - there's not so much barriers to start talking.
You can find some more materials about social media usage, specially on knowledge management, if you look for "shadow IT". This a very interesting topic that should have more research.
Kind regards,
Andrea
Dear Ben Jurney
Yes, I think Facebook is the tool for:
- Sharing the news and information
- Stimulating the communities
- Communication
- Advertising
- Business
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Social Science
- Media
- Social Media