1. What do you think are the two most influential factors that have contributed to Facebook's success today? Reflect on the impact (both positive and negative) that Facebook or any other social networking tool has on your daily life in relation to these two factors. For each factor, provide at least one appropriate example to support your answer. (10 marks)
Facebook has an extensive privacy system like no other. Unlike other social-networking sites which simply separate friends from everyone else, Facebook allows one to clearly define social circles within the Friends category and permit/forbid access to one’s own page. Facebook isn’t just a social-networking site anymore. It has become a society in its own right.
The privacy debacle was what made me suddenly conscious of the kind of content everyone (be they friends, family or teachers) had access to. The seemingly risqué inside jokes of my club members were open to one and all, which made for a really bad impression to the acquaintances not in the know. Unglam photos, while being in the name of good clean fun to good friends, can easily become harassment material to certain “frenemies”. Imagine how mortifying it was to have your boss comment on a prank candid shot tagged by friends. It was then that I started organizing friend lists and barring certain people from too much access, while at the same time, being able to freely joke with friends.
However, while this ability to segregate social groups or even individuals based on one’s own comfort zone has given rise to a new form of cyber bullying. It is now easier to isolate another and tarnish reputations thanks to the selectivity of Facebook privacy settings. I have witnessed some unfortunate cases whereby a single photo of a moment of folly had sparked off bouts of teasing which has somehow snowballed into permanent stains upon said victim's image. All of which occurred without the victim's knowing thanks to selective barring. The whole world could be laughing at you and you wouldn't even know it until your repute is beyond salvation.
I feel the other factor, while not mentioned in the movie and most of the articles lauding Facebook’s successes, would be Facebook games. Facebook had taken social games to a whole new level. The vast majority of Facebook games require cooperative play, meaning you rely on friends and co-players to send game items to you in order to advance further in the games. Unlike traditional games which have complex controls and secret levels and all those other intricacies, social games are straightforward and simple. They are no-brainers to play and most importantly, they are SOCIAL.
Gaming is a hobby long associated with anti-social behaviours and a major procrastination cause. However with the phenomenal of Facebook games, it is hard to remain anti-social online anymore.
One of Facebook’s most successful games, FarmVille has a whopping 55 million active users thus far (that is 10% of all Facebook users). The concept of it was pretty simple. You plant crops, keep animals and repeat the process. While it might seem boring, the addition of having fellow "farmers" to compete with and the simplicity of it all made it addictive. Most importantly, they don't interrupt your daily schedule.
FarmVille, like Cafe World and Mafia Wars are time management games. You plant crops/cook dishes/use up your energy attacking rival mobs. Then you wait for your crops to ripen/cooking to finish/energy to reload. During the waiting time, you can go on with their lives and return again at your own leisure to continue where you left off. This convenience factor made Facebook games all the more appealing.
While I had created a Facebook account at the urging of friends, what prevented me from abandoning it like so many other SNS accounts (coughFriendstercough) before were the games. Games which were idiot-proof and not overly competitive, which enabled comparison to friends and updated themselves frequently. There's always something new to check out within each game. While I played the games, I checked out what's new with friends at the same time, while staying within the same site.
However before I knew it, Facebook games had integrated themselves into my life. To the point that it was practically monopolizing my Internet time. The first thing I did online was to check on my crops/food/energy levels. In addition, some of my contacts got somewhat annoyed by constant game updates on their feeds. In spite of that, Facebook games became a habit I couldn't kick. At the worst point, the compulsive urge to play had overridden previously important events like dinner outings with my family.
I'm better now though. While it is nearly impossible to quit all Facebook games without quitting Facebook itself, limiting my gaming time for other priorities is much easier than you think. Nevertheless, the power of Facebook games cannot be underestimated.
2. The movie focuses a lot on ethical issues and responsible use of social networking tools. Briefly describe any one example of unethical/ irresponsible use of Facebook in the movie and discuss your views on it. Provide one example of how you can engage an online community ethically on any one social networking tool of your choice. (10 marks)
One unethical use of Facebook was the use of other people's comments as arguments for Mark Zuckerberg's final paper. While the kid in me thought it was a stroke of genius, it was technically wrong. If my peers had done something like that, I would probably be outraged. For what he did was to steal credit from other people and claim it for himself, an action which would be immediately condemned in my book.
Even without copyright laws and intellectual property laws to bind us, there should be a certain integrity in at the very least, working for what you earn. What's the point of our meritocracy system if everyone had to be threatened by such laws for them to behave appropriately? Using Facebook might evade the plagiarism scanners (thanks to privacy issues again) for the time being, but since Facebook is so widely-used, no one would be able to get away with it for long.
One can engage an online community ethically in so many ways. However, I feel the best would be through an active group. Livejournal (a popular blogging site) has made online communities into a smashing success. They have communities for everything, from knitting to fandoms to trolling. In Facebook's case, it is not difficult to emulate the success of Livejournal's communities, using the Groups function. A community is kept active via regular participation by its members and careful moderation on its content (to prevent annoying spam). Hence, using Facebook's groups as a community base would be great.
Eileen Wee
0940067
DMC/FT/2B/02
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