英国mediadissertation:浅析Facebook的数据与功能

英国mediadissertation

马克•扎克伯格在写给Facebook股东的信中提到，人际关系是我们社会的基本单位。人际关系是指我们如何发现新想法，了解我们的世界并最终获得长久幸福的过程。
 

如今很多人都在网上结识新朋友，和朋友们一起打情骂俏，聊八卦和建立各种关系（博伊德）。现在人们主要利用网络技术与朋友交谈。在社交网站分享信息或即时通讯加强了人际关系（（博伊德）。Facebook就是你另外一个家。Facebook对社会是有益的，它为人们提供了一个宝贵的沟通方式，比如分享利益、表达意见和彼此保持联系。
 

Facebook的历史
 

Facebook是在2004年2月4日推出的一个社交网站，由马克•扎克伯格创建。他是前哈佛大学的学生，他一直有一个使命“赋予人们分享的权力并让世界变得更加开放和紧密连接”。Facebook最初是设计来给哈佛的学生用的。用户可以在facebook网站注册并获得一个帐号，他们可以在上面设置人物简介、照片、兴趣爱好、生日、联络方式、身份和其他个人信息。
 

A letter to Facebook shareholders Mark Zuckerberg states, Personal relationships are the fundamental unit of our society. Relationships are how we discover new ideas, understand our world and ultimately derive long-term happiness.
 

For many people today, meeting new people, catching up with friends, flirting, gossiping, and relationship-building, takes place online (Boyd). People primarily use online technologies to talk with people they already know. Sharing information through social network sites or instant messenger reinforces relationships ( (Boyd). The Facebook page is your home away from home. Facebook is beneficial to society by providing a valuable way for people to connect, share interests, express opinions, and stay in touch with one another.
 

Facebook的历史———Facebook History
 

Facebook is a social networking site launched on February 4, 2004. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, a former student of Harvard University with a mission “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected (About Facebook, Facebook).” It was initially designed to connect Harvard students to each other. Users who register for an account at the site obtain a Facebook page which they can create a profile with photographs, a list of interests, birthday, contact, status, and other personal information. Users can then invite other Facebook users to become their Facebook “friends,” which then builds an online social network. Facebook enables users to post comments on the “walls” of personal or friend pages. Facebook has become the modern equivalent of the mall or town square, a place where people hang out with each other and run into old friends. Status updates and let people share glimpses into their daily lives with others (Worthan).
 

Facebook的数据和功能———FaceBook Statistics and Features
 

Facebook is the world’s largest online social network with over 900 million active users, with 70% from outside the United States (About Facebook, Facebook). Users now spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook (About Facebook, Facebook).
 

Facebook introduced the “groups” application in September 2004 as one of its basic features (About Facebook, Facebook). Groups allow users to share common interests with each other by providing a common space where users can meet. They can share interests in a specific topic, distribute information about that topic, and have public discussions around that topic. The group application is a strong feature contributing to the interactive nature of Facebook. Facebook has also made the wall where users can post messages on other people’s profiles, notes where users can share their views, share where users can post links to external websites on their profile, and fan pages. These features enable users to continually interact with each other. All these features support a common requirement, to have friends and stay in contact.
 

FaceBook加强了身份验证———FaceBook Enhances Identity
 

To be or not to be, what to be? Facebook allows people create profiles containing information about themselves. Facebook offers a number of features that allow users to control what information is shared with their network. If an unflattering picture is posted on Facebook, a user can hide the picture from his or her network. They can delete status updates that they have second thoughts about. This does not necessarily mean that people present a false impression of themselves on social networks. Facebook profiles have been shown to reflect actual characteristics as opposed to idealized characteristics that do not represent one’s actual personality (Back et al, 372-374). While users may be presenting valid information about themselves on social networks (Back et al, 372-374), they often filter out the negative information to present a positive self-view to others. When users receive positive feedback about their profile, it enhances their self-esteem and well-being (Valkenburg 2006). Users feel good about themselves and their group relationships; they develop a sense of belonging and build strong ties within the online community. Self-expression feels good and is rewarding. Facebook offers a medium where people build and enhance their identities.
 

成员关系的影响———The Effects of Group Membership
 

The concept of publics serves multiple purposes. They can play a civic function, serving to gather people for government purposes but they can also play a social role, enabling people to make sense of the world around them and understand their relationship to society (Arendt, 1998). Arendt argues that “the presence of others who see what we see and hear what we hear assures us of the reality of the world and ourselves” (Arendt, 1998). Group membership is thought to encourage political engagement, open channels for discussion. Discussion is important to learning engagement. Facebook forums have become the new town square. Facebook provides information and a means of participation for those who may not otherwise be able to attend a meeting or hearing, to ensure that their opinion is heard.
 

通信———Communication
 

While Facebook has improved society, it is not perfect. There can be dangers in Facebook use. Internet user’s associate with more people they would expect to interact with in real life (Dwyer). Facebook and social networking can create friends that exist solely on the computer. Privacy and trust on Internet sites dedicated to social use can be questionable if the user never plans on meeting those with whom they are communicating with (Dwyer). The truth may be stretched or fabricated. The movie “Catfish” chronicles a Facebook relationship that was not real. A young filmmaker meets and forms a friendship with a young girl who is a painter. He begins to have doubts about things she is telling him and decides to document meeting her in one of his movies. Further research through "contacts of contacts" on Facebook shows that the true painter is a homebound woman who has given up a career to mother a severely retarded son, and the Facebook fantasies are all she has. At the end her husband says that some people are like "catfish" added to preserve the flavor of "codfish which otherwise would fade and become dull in a preserve” (Schulman). Caution should be used in forming relationships with strangers.
 

结论———Conclusion
 

Facebook has everything one needs to find and reconnect with old high school buddies, make new friends, express opinions, support others (like it !), and build an online community. Users can share video and photos, blog and create group discussions. Media, marketing, and corporations have a presence on Facebook. Facebook is easy to use allowing users to connect across the internet, with aps available for multiple platforms including phones. Privacy can be maintained by controlling page and wall content as well as being able to block others from viewing content.