The Influence Of Facebook
2013-02-20
All anyone would know of the generation that I grew up in would be that of constant change and advancement. One finally receives the newest, most state of the art devices in phone or Apple product and comes to discover that the next best thing comes out only days later. To pick one most outstanding achievement from the information and communications technology industry is a most harrowing task, but also one that appears most obvious after some considerable thought. The greatest advancement in the past ten years, as it pertains to the information and technology industry, is that of Facebook.
The very first most important point is the way that Facebook has become something that almost everyone knows of. When doing research for this essay, I found myself on the New York Timeâ??s website, in which a whole topic is devoted solely to Facebook. In fact, in the past week, eight articles have been posted that either mention Facebook or are entirely about Facebook. Though this is culture and society, it is important to note that these both have important influences on a peopleâ??s information and technology industry. Facebook has become something that everyone is part of and that everyone can share and spread news and ideas on.
Another important point to mention is that the choice for the greatest advancement was Facebook and not social networking sights in general. This is because sights like MySpace never had as much influence as Facebook is now having and is expected to have in the future. MySpace has failed to adapt to the constant mixing and sharing of ideas from all over the internet as Facebook has. Unlike MySpace, Facebook has a wide array of applications that can be opened and used via Facebook. Facebook has also made the posting and sharing of links from different sources very simple, as all that a person has to do is simply post a link, whereas on MySpace, such an action is much more difficult. Facebook has made social networking a very easy task, learning from the problems and hardships of other social networking sights.
Because of Facebook, people are becoming a different sort of people because of all the options Facebook allows them to access. Katrin Benhold, an opinion writer for the New York Times, revisited her own high school in her home country of Germany to see the changes that social media has had on students. She said she found them â??hyper self-conscious, narcissistic and a little superficialâ?¦â? as a result. But she couldnâ??t help noticing that these â??Facebooking teens I met among the 1,280 students [at my old school] are also infinitely more international-minded, flexible and tech-savvy than we were 20 years ago.â? Because of Facebook, not only teens, but all generations are now able to access more information than ever before. They can teach themselves how to play guitar from a youtube tutorial, attend college classes in an online classroom. Information is becoming easier to know of and people are becoming more â??flexibleâ?, if a bit â??superficialâ?.
Advertising has also had to reshape itself for the new Facebook Age. Advertising agencies are now devoting more of their time and money to the outlet of social networking. The company that makes Mentos, for example, has decided to market its new and first type of stick gum. Unlike traditional methods of advertising, the Mentos company has decided to market the gum almost completely through social media outlets. Stuart Elliot mentions the increasingly important role of Facebook when he notes, â??The interactive aspects of the marketing plans are indicative of the increasing importance of digital initiatives at companies that peddle consumer packaged goods.â? Among all the other changes Facebook has created within the information and communications technology industry, advertising is just another small aspect. A Mr. Kempter, senior vice president and group accontant director at the company that decided such a marketing strategy states â??Six months ago, a year ago, everyone was talking about Facebook â??likes,â??â? he added. â??Now, itâ??s not just â??likes,â?? itâ??s the interaction you want to have with the consumers.(Elliot)â?
Facebook has connected the world in a way it has never been connected before. People can now see and read and listen to the creation of another in almost every part of the world. They can also learn of the atrocities of other nations and the struggles of those fighting for a better life. Through social network outlets, such as Facebook, the plight of the citizens of Tunisia and Egypt was put onto the world stage. Through social networking, people who were outside of these countries could help join the protest movements of these citizens and this led to the eventual fall of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt (Gelling and Dynan). Through Facebook, these victories were possible.
Politicians are now learning from the triumphs of Facebook and are realizing how important it is to be part of the ongoing trend. Especially since people trust their friends on Facebook much more than their own leaders. Sarah Palin, a former Republican Governor of Alaska, is one of many who have realized this. Instead of opening up about her future plans to the news media, she has instead taken the route of supplying her Facebook and Twitter followers with the information. She believes that â??by seeding her Twitter and Facebook followers with her carefully crafted message, she will quickly reach the vast conservative audience that might make her the Republican nominee for presidentâ? (Shear). And with a very loyal following that consists of more than three million, it appears that her plan is going quite well.
Facebook has brought a revolution in every aspect of society, including that of the information and technology industry. The past ten years has been one of constant advancement and accomplishments, one that has often been strongly propelled by the growing power of Facebook. And that power and all the advancements are constantly changing. We may have yet to see what the true power of Facebook holds.