1c. What explains Facebook’s social pervasiveness and economic power? In this context are there issues of concern?
Facebook is a social networking site, launched on February 4th, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin (Facebook, 2016). Facebook networks its users through the integrated use of technologies such as messenger, email, photo and video sharing, forums, websites and the ability to connect with friends through online social relationships (Fuchs, 2009). Facebook’s avid use of the latest converging digital technologies to collect user information allows them to have concerning economical and social power. This will become evident through the exploration and analysis of Facebook’s …show more content…
Their pervasiveness continues as they remain making themselves indispensable to users all around the world. For example, for students, it is almost impossible to not have a Facebook profile as majority of peers use it to create groups for projects and the organisation of various assignments. However, this is not surprising, as Zuckerberg, himself, specifically invented Facebook for university students to connect (Facebook, 2016). Work rosters and important events are also other aspects to Facebook in today’s society that influence the amount of users. It becomes easy to feel left out and miss out on important details if you are not a Facebook user. Zuckerberg’s plan for Facebook is to prosper on, with a four-step plan to online-domination, reinventing how the web is organised, with Facebook directly in the centre (Vogelstein, 2009). They plan to “build critical mass, redefine search, colonise the web and sell targeted ads, everywhere,” (Vogelstein, 2009, p. 28). Facebook plan to navigate users away from Google, turning themselves into not only a search engine, but a way to easily explore content specifically targeted at the user (Vogelstein, 2009). By selling targeted advertisements, the future of Facebook is likely to create great profits and increase the user base. This is yet another aspect that contributes to Facebook’s economical power, as well as their social pervasiveness. This power and influence of Facebook, does however create issues of concern and possible disturbing consequences. Their obsession with ‘battle for control’ over the Internet could change at anytime, as they continue to provide new technologies and features without receiving recommendations from users, instead delivering and making users learn to love it (Townsend, 2012). Their collection of information is also a great concern, as many users continue on, oblivious to the ways in which Facebook is using their
Facebook is a social networking site, launched on February 4th, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin (Facebook, 2016). Facebook networks its users through the integrated use of technologies such as messenger, email, photo and video sharing, forums, websites and the ability to connect with friends through online social relationships (Fuchs, 2009). Facebook’s avid use of the latest converging digital technologies to collect user information allows them to have concerning economical and social power. This will become evident through the exploration and analysis of Facebook’s …show more content…
Their pervasiveness continues as they remain making themselves indispensable to users all around the world. For example, for students, it is almost impossible to not have a Facebook profile as majority of peers use it to create groups for projects and the organisation of various assignments. However, this is not surprising, as Zuckerberg, himself, specifically invented Facebook for university students to connect (Facebook, 2016). Work rosters and important events are also other aspects to Facebook in today’s society that influence the amount of users. It becomes easy to feel left out and miss out on important details if you are not a Facebook user. Zuckerberg’s plan for Facebook is to prosper on, with a four-step plan to online-domination, reinventing how the web is organised, with Facebook directly in the centre (Vogelstein, 2009). They plan to “build critical mass, redefine search, colonise the web and sell targeted ads, everywhere,” (Vogelstein, 2009, p. 28). Facebook plan to navigate users away from Google, turning themselves into not only a search engine, but a way to easily explore content specifically targeted at the user (Vogelstein, 2009). By selling targeted advertisements, the future of Facebook is likely to create great profits and increase the user base. This is yet another aspect that contributes to Facebook’s economical power, as well as their social pervasiveness. This power and influence of Facebook, does however create issues of concern and possible disturbing consequences. Their obsession with ‘battle for control’ over the Internet could change at anytime, as they continue to provide new technologies and features without receiving recommendations from users, instead delivering and making users learn to love it (Townsend, 2012). Their collection of information is also a great concern, as many users continue on, oblivious to the ways in which Facebook is using their