Zaynah Muthy

We Media – The modern media is a

conversation not a lecture
Facebook is a social networking site which is free to use and anyone with access to the
internet can sign up for a Facebook account. Millions of people use Facebook everyday
to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos,
and learn more about the people they meet.

The main media technologies that Facebook relies on is the Internet and the World Wide
Web, and the fact that it is currently available for free. If this changes, it could limit even
further the number of users of Facebook. However, it could also be said that Facebook
itself is a technology.

Facebook is not the first social networking website of its kind, but it is the only one that
has taken off and developed so vastly and rapidly. The first recognizable social network
site launched in 1997 was called SixDegrees.com and allowed users to create profiles
and list their Friends. Since then there have been many others such as Hi5, MySpace,
Twitter and Bebo.

Facebook started in 2006 and so has been around for

almost four years. The main way in which Facebook
makes its money is through advertising, but it also makes
money if people want to buy gifts for people. Also there
are many sponsored groups like Apple, Southwest,
Chase, etc.
 Free Speech
Facebook promotes Free Speech by allowing users to post and share views, opinions,
videos pictures. For example, users constantly update their 'status' and are not restricted
on what they can write – so people can know what people are doing, all the time, at any
time.

Another way that Facebook promotes Free speech in terms of ideas is the idea of
groups/fan pages. Users can create their own fan pages/groups about something i.e. a
hobby or a band in which anyone can simply click the 'Like' or 'Join' button to become a
part of that group or society affiliated with that idea. However sometimes the lack of
censorship can cause a controversial
stir amongst users.

There is no hierarchy of Facebook users, everyone (25% of the world) can enjoy the site
for free. However, people can pay to advertise their business/company via Facebook.
 Institutions – Big Media
Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room and isn't connected
to any Big Media Companies. There have recently been reports of Facebook proposing
an initial public offering (IPO), i.e. issue equity shares as stock to investors. However,
Zuckerberg stresses that this will not be for a few more years.

It can be said that Facebook may compete/annoy big media such as it's rival social
networking sites such as MySpace and Twitter which are equally as popular but recent
statistics have suggested the following.

•Facebook now has nearly 100 million more worldwide users than MySpace, which added
4 million new users in December to 125 million total.

•Facebook, still a private company, is the world’s default social network. MySpace is still
the king in the U.S., but trends suggest that 2009 is its last year on top. By January 2010,
at current relative growth rates, Facebook will overtake MySpace as the largest U.S.
social network as well.
 We Think – New Media Allows members of society to share and
collaborate faster than ever before. Mass innovation is now more important than
Mass Production
Ideas that can be shared via Facebook are limitless. As I have mentioned before, users
can create status updates/fan groups depending on their mood/taste/preference etc.

Facebook received its first investment of $500,000 in June 2004 from PayPal co-founder
Peter Thiel. Rumours then came about, about the possible sale of Facebook to a larger
media company. Zuckerberg had already said he did not want to sell the company, and
denied rumours In September 2006, serious talks between Facebook and Yahoo! took
place concerning acquisition of Facebook, with prices reaching as high as $1 billion.
Thiel, by then a board member of Facebook, indicated that Facebook's internal valuation
was around $8 billion. On July 17, 2007, Zuckerberg said that selling Facebook was
unlikely because he wanted to keep it independent, saying "We're not really looking to
sell the company... We're not looking to IPO any time soon. It's just not the core focus of
the company."

The type of Audience for Facebook is extremely wide.

Facebook users can vary from 13 year old
adolescents to 60 year old pensioners.

85% of college students use Facebook according to

this article. It also claims that since September 2005,
Facebook began allowing high school students to
join the network, significantly increasing their target
market.
 We Think - Pro Ams
As I have mentioned before, the main attraction of Facebook is its freedom to collaborate and
share ideas in a fast and fun way. Other users can then 'like' or comment on their own or others'
activity, which are received via 'notifications' to the user.

•Things people can share on Facebook are:

-Pictures
-Videos
-Links
-Notes
-Game scores (i.e. Farmville, Cafe world etc)
-Horoscopes
-Status updates
-Fan pages/groups

•Also, many websites now work in synchronisation with Facebook to allow publishing or
broadcasting on the users' Facebook profile.

•Furthermore Facebook (like most social networking sites) bases on the idea of 'personalization'
– creating your own profile including a picture and a little information about yourself.

Users do not need to be an expert in any sort of field to be able to use Facebook, as everything
is seamlessly done by the click of a button.
 Open Source
The technology Facebook uses is mainly the Internet and the Web which was created for free
by Tim Burners Lee. This means that it is available to anyone with a valid email address and
access to an internet connection.

However there are aspects of the website which users do have to pay for such as 'coins and
cash' on Zynga games (Facebook games applications) and advertising space on the website
for a company/business or even a fan group.
It is possible for anyone to create a Facebook application, however this is done not through
Facebook itself, but via other websites that help the user create and develop the application
Here is an example.
Here is another example of how users can create their
own application

•Facebook allows users to discuss/share and develop

ideas for improving its own tools via the Facebook
fan page and blog, in which users can offer and receive
feedback on their ideas.
 Copyright
•In what ways does what your company do protect copyright or promote piracy?
It can be said that Facebook does not protect copyright and may promote piracy. This is because
once something is posted to a users profile i.e. a video clip/picture etc, it is available to view to all of
that users' friends -unless they restrict it otherwise.
In this way, people can re-link the same video/picture and it spreads.

Here is what Facebook says about its copyright issues:

“Facebook is committed to protecting the intellectual property of third parties. On this page,
rights holders will find information regarding how to report copyright and other intellectual
property infringements by users posting content on our website and answers to some
frequently asked questions regarding our policies.
If you are a user concerned about the removal of your content, you may file a counter-notice. You can do so through the email
notification you received or in the warning at the top of your home page.”
They also state that to report any copyright infringement, users will have to fill out an automated
DMCA form.

•In South Africa, Duane Brady lost his job and faces criminal charges after posting allegedly
offensive messages on Facebook. Brady was arrested after his comment was reported to the
police. He was charged with Crimen Injuria (criminal offence committed when a person deliberately
injures another’s dignity.) and common assault.

Click here to see other legal cases of Facebook –scroll down to ‘Local Cases’

Facebook does benefit from the copyright freedom of the internet, because it is the basis on which
users share and connect content and restrictions on this would limit the creativity and interactivity of
Facebook and users will not be happy!
 Creative Commons
Since May 2009, creative commons have created their own Creative Commons License
Application for Facebook. The users installs the application which allows Facebook users
to choose and place a CC license badge on their profile page indicating which license
they want their content to be available under. Alongside the badge is text that explains
what content (Photos, Videos and Status & Profile text are currently available as options)
is licensed.

Users also have the option to allow the application to update their status so that news of
their license choice will appear in their friends’ feed.

This makes Facebook more effective as it allows

users choice and an option for publishing and also
provides security for their posted content.
 ACCESS Digital Divide (only 25%
of the world is online)
•The digital divide is a growing gap causing problems for not only less financially-abled
people but 'techno-phobes'.

There are 100 million people actively using Facebook from their just mobile devices
every month.

•Because of the open nature of Facebook, several countries have banned access to it
including Syria, China, Iran and Vietnam. During the 2009 election in Iran, the website
was banned because of fears that opposition movements were being organized on the
website. Access has since been reinstated The Syrian government cited the ban was on
the premise that the website promoted attacks on authorities. The government also
feared Israeli infiltration of Syrian social networks on Facebook.

People do not have to pay for a Facebook account itself, but they will pay for the internet
connection in itself.

Facebook doesn't offer any grants/have any charities aimed at getting more people
connected, but they do promote working charities via applications such as – Good
Samaritan, iRipple, Every Click and Pennies at a Time.
 Gate Keeping
•The spread of information on Facebook is loosely controlled i.e. anyone can publish
content at any time. Users can connect (add/message) with anyone so long as their
profile remains public. Users have the option of keeping their profile public or private, as
well as being able to block specific users from seeing their profile.

•There are restrictions to use of Facebook if a user has been reported as being abusive,
by other users. The abusive user is then blocked from using the website or logging in.
This includes Facebook Chat.

•Information can only be filtered or censored once users report the content as offensive
or abusive – this recently occurred when a user created a controversial group named
“East London's top S**gs” which exposed explicit pictures of young girls.
Facebook was then criticised for taking late action when they banned the admin of the
group and removed all the pictures after more than 1000 people had already joined the
group.

Another similar incident occurred when an Islam phobic group named “Allah is a
paedophile” was created by unknown users. Many users were appalled by this and knew
Facebook would once again take late action, so they decided to hit back and create a
counter group called “BAN ‘Allah is a paedophile’ group and it’s users” in an attempt to
draw Facebook’s attention. The users were then banned and the group was deleted,
however new groups were since then created. This seems like an issue that will always
be around.
 Free Press
The idea of fan group/pages can be (and has) offered to and used by citizen journalists
for the spread of information that could be in the public interest. For example, a
magazine or newspaper may have its official fan page in which users can join and will
then receive updates straight to their inbox or posted on their news feed regularly.

Furthermore, Journalists are now starting to use Facebook to promote their blog or reach
a certain target audience. Click here to read an article about how this happens

Social networking sites such as Facebook give way for a new subject area in society to
be written about by journalists. Here is an article from the Telegraph about how a father
and son were reunited after 37 years due to Facebook.
 Marxist Theories of Control?
The main belief/mission/statement of Facebook is to give people the power to share and
make the world more open and connected.

•The main point of view that users represent is the freedom to express what ever their
point of view is.

Facebook allows a free flow of ideas on its service as ideas come from people
themselves and does not enforce a bias. However, it could enforce bias if the users
themselves are bias. For example creating an Homophobic fanpage/group

These points of view may conflict with other parts of society

governments/companies/organisations/religious groups as they will not always be
agreed upon.

There has been a case where Facebook accidentally revealed personal information of its
users. An article and video on this can be found here.

An article from the Daily Mail where the CEO of Facebook had allegedly hacked into
accounts of rivals and journalists can be found here.
 Power Elites
The main challenge Facebook has brought among existing power structures is to smaller
social networking sites such as Hi5 and Bebo. Facebook can be seen as the merge of all
interesting aspects of the other sites, and can show why it has over powered them all.

Facebook may also challenge ideas endorsing the human interest. For example, fan-
based websites may no longer be needed since the launch of ‘Fan Pages’ on Facebook
which regularly sends out updates and messages to its members.
Updates and messages from rapper
‘Lil Wayne’ who is currently in Rikers Island
jail, can be posted on his Fan Page to
Keep members updates and thus ruling
out other fan sites.

An article suggested that a few years ago

Facebook only controlled 30% of the market
for social networking and that it has now
risen to 84%. The article claims that recent
Privacy changes have cost users their
personal information being exposed to third
parties without offering additional benefits or
services.
 Internet Neutrality
•Facebook highly depends on Internet neutrality to be successful. The fact that it is
available to anyone at any time for free is its main pull factor. Users like the idea that
they can spend how ever long they want on the site and do not have to worry about
paying for it.

•Under the new legislation of the Digital Economy Bill, Facebook (or its users) could
potentially be under threat for being banned if posted content breaches infringement
rights.

The site may also become more dull as it will limit creativity and innovation.

•Facebook does promote internet neutrality by allowing users to freely post whatever
they want, therefore encouraging the idea of free speech etc.
It could be said that Facebook may hobby to stop government control but some may
argue that government may use Facebook as a valid tool to monitor criminals.

This article from the Telegraph talks about how social networking websites such as
Facebook could be monitored by the government in an attempt to tackle internet crime
and terrorism