Gregory Szorc's blog

What's the Deal With Facebook?

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past two years, you have probably heard about Facebook. When I first joined Facebook in late 2004, it had all the makings of the latest fad that was due to die during winter break. How wrong I was! Today, Facebook has about 10 million users, and the majority of them log into Facebook every day. I don't intend to speculate why. Other have asked that question already.

It surprised me how much Facebook has caught on at Case. Walk by the Nord Computer Lab at any time during the day. Peer in through the glass. You will most likely find at least one person in every row of computers who is logged in to Facebook. The amount of time people put into Facebook is bordering on an obsession. There is nothing wrong with that. I don't know how much time I spend in a day reading all the latest posts on forum.case.edu or the newest changes on the Case Wiki. There is nothing wrong with being well-informed. I do question why people put so much time into Facebook, however. Is reading your wall and the walls of all your friends every 4 hours really necessary? Do people feel they must establish their online social network in order to legitimize their social abilities? Do you feel you must understand the social dynamics of your own social circle and those of your friends in order to maximize the college experience? What's the deal?

Perhaps I am too old and grizzled to grasp the ways of the youngans. Perhaps the fact that I am settled in a relationship and have established a core group of friends precludes me from the social pressures surrounding so many. Still, I can't help but question the Facebook phenomenon.

Before I am finished with this post, I would like to apologize to the 22 people who have pending friendship requests with me. You range from people I have casually met at parties to family members. I mean no disrespect. I have a policy of only doing stuff on Facebook when I am really bored, have been drinking, or find the actions to be humerous in some way. To all of you reading this, I pose the questiona: why do you use Facebook? What compels you to this site every day? What benefits does using it bring to you?

You can ping this entry by using http://blog.case.edu/gps10/mt-tb.cgi/6435 .

So I said, narrow the focus. Your "use case" should be, there's a 22 year old college student living in the dorms. How will this software get him laid?

While the essay may be crass, it is only because it is true. (And it reveals everything that is bad about "groupware" in terms everyone can understand.)

This essay, also, may answer your questions of why facebook is so popular. It is the hypothesis that I work under.

Just think what would happen if Oracle bought Facebook and incorporated it into their application stack. They could integrate Facebook with OCS and Oracle software would get you laid. Now, to start thinking of how start.case.edu will get you laid. Hmmmm...

Perhaps it's a trend where physical first impressions are being overtaken by online first impressions. Students now have the chance to just look at your picture, your hobbies, and the friends you have, and be able to make a decision to say whether you are "cool" or a "jerk." Is this the new definition for being sociable? Could it even happen where instead of going to a social party at a Greek house, you just log into Facebook and stage an online party of sorts?

Today, people are asking whether you have a personal web page, a blogger on blogspot or on blog@Case, xanga, MySpace, or friendster.

The only problem is the lack of courtesy and respect that is filtering through these social/groupware sites. But it's not happening on the college level, but mostly at the high school level. You can see more news stories about cyberbullying, "illegal" activites being done by underage students, and so on. The end result is that you would see these high school students' lack of handling the online world start to emerge in the colleges and universities.

When facebook first came out I remember thinkging "I'm not signing up for yet another social network." I had already tried friendster, orkut, and something else I can't remember and they weren't that interesting. But damn it everyone decided facebook it is, so I had to sign up for that one too. And it works because everyone uses it.

One of the reasons I use facebook is looking toward the future. As more of my friends graduate and move away facebook makes it easier to manager contact with over 100 people. Like you I have close friends and automatically manage that contact info, but to be able to stay in touch with more people more easily is great. People are the most valuable things in my life and if software makes that easier I'm all for it.

Overall, I think it less of a question of "why do peopole use facebook" and more of a question of "why are people social?" Facebook is just a natural extension of our social nature. The article Jeremy mentions is great. "Social software is about making it easy for people to do other things that make them happy: meeting, communicating, and hooking up." And that's why people use it. It may not be for everyone but it works for a lot of people.

I think the option to make photo albums has increased my facebook use. 17 hours a week I sit at a computer and scan slides in a small room at the art museum. This is quite possibly one of the most boring jobs in existence, but I read reddit, blogs, and yes - look at facebook. I like to check out my friends photos, and (though this might seem pathetic) facebook has helped me establish better communication with my cousin, who I don't get to see often. Overall, with a job like mine, it can be a good time-filler.