Personally, I think the concept of social networking has excellent intentions. I am not one to deny that I am hooked on Facebook. I was totally against it at first, but now I check it constantly. I mean, it only makes sense that in an information society we, as users reap the benefits of rapid, accessible, and quantifiable information. What kind of new society would we be if we did not use cell phones, blackberries, Facebook, and other gizmo and gadgets? I seriously cannot imagine a world without them. Can you? In any case, I feel that Facebook has created other potentials than just communicating, it also has created a potential for economic growth, and power, yet I am not sure if this should be praised or condemned?
This notion all began the other day when I was on Facebook (big surprise there).I noticed one of my friends started an online business and distributes his product by advertising it on Facebook. He sends out messages to everyone about his next shipment of clothing . He advertised his page with pictures of his product, and as I was clicking my way through them, it hit me, Wow! What an excellent way for a young entrepreneur to start a business. But then as I continued staring at these hideous articles of clothing, I noticed on the side of the webpage there were more advertisements, but this time it was not for ugly clothing. It was for corporate giants such as Starbucks, trying to recruit employees for the West End. I then realized that my personal profile was a gimmick for selling and advertising businesses, it was being invaded by profitable schemers. Really, in this day and age, work and ads are not only brought into the home, but have now entered a type of public sphere such as a personal blog, profile and other social networks that were intended to create and share meaningful experiences and relationships with one another. Businesses and marketers are now creeping in on a source of democracy. In some sense it helps developing businesses, but on the other hand it defeats the values and intent of social networking and benefits marketers. I do not know whether to call this genius, or just plain old wrong?
Here are some links on related topics regarding Facebook and Advertising:
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2008/07/28/facebook-for-business-what-it-needs-what-it-has/
http://www.rantsnreviews.com/2007/11/beware-facebook-new-advertising-scheme_22.html
This notion all began the other day when I was on Facebook (big surprise there).I noticed one of my friends started an online business and distributes his product by advertising it on Facebook. He sends out messages to everyone about his next shipment of clothing . He advertised his page with pictures of his product, and as I was clicking my way through them, it hit me, Wow! What an excellent way for a young entrepreneur to start a business. But then as I continued staring at these hideous articles of clothing, I noticed on the side of the webpage there were more advertisements, but this time it was not for ugly clothing. It was for corporate giants such as Starbucks, trying to recruit employees for the West End. I then realized that my personal profile was a gimmick for selling and advertising businesses, it was being invaded by profitable schemers. Really, in this day and age, work and ads are not only brought into the home, but have now entered a type of public sphere such as a personal blog, profile and other social networks that were intended to create and share meaningful experiences and relationships with one another. Businesses and marketers are now creeping in on a source of democracy. In some sense it helps developing businesses, but on the other hand it defeats the values and intent of social networking and benefits marketers. I do not know whether to call this genius, or just plain old wrong?
Here are some links on related topics regarding Facebook and Advertising:
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2008/07/28/facebook-for-business-what-it-needs-what-it-has/
http://www.rantsnreviews.com/2007/11/beware-facebook-new-advertising-scheme_22.html
4 comments:
Can I imagine a world with out Facebook, Blackberries, and other gizmos? The answer is yes. Around ten years ago, give or take, these technologies were merely ideas and the world seemed to function. We were still able to communicate with one another, the internet was very accessible and overall business was as usual. Your posting reminded me of McLuhan's saying, " the medium is the message". We are so focused on the obvious functions of new media, such as Facebook or blackberries that we fail to see the consequences of said technologies on society. This is why you find ads on Facebook questionable. It has become the perfect public sphere for advertising. Its free to join and and every demographic is reachable. It can tell where your from, your interests and depending on how active a user you are what you had for lunch. This is market research at its finest. It is essentially the same has Visa's strategy which monitors what you buy than sends corresponding flyers in with your bill every month.
Whether or not this is a problem is debatable. Sure it may be good for start up entrepreneurs but at the same time what is Starbucks doing on your page advertising its terrible over priced coffee. I am going to reluctantly take a "whatever" attitude towards this issue because it is a tired argument. Like it or not advertisement has infiltrated almost all aspects of our society and will continue to do so every chance it gets...
I have tried to imagine the world without these technologies and I just cannot do it. For myself, I feel that the way our society has drastically changed due to these gizmos and gadgets, has created a world that would not be able to cope without them. In particular, businesses, and huge corporations are extremely dependant on these mediums to get their message across. I see your point of view, in that, ten years ago we didn't have these mediums and we were still able to communicate,however, our world has changed drastically to accomodate new media and technology, that now how would we survive without? I agree that we are focused on the functions of new media as well that we have ignored the consequences, and I am glad you recognize that in regards to advertisements in our public sphere, in this case, Facebook. I guess I would like to commend marketers for doing this, however, I do not feel justified in doing so. They are taking over a free space that was'nt meant for profitable purposes but was meant for social interaction. I see where you are coming from in taking a "whatever" approach. They overtake everything, therefore we have to learn to ignore it, and block them out. It is just sad to me, that such an important and social issue is thrown down in the dust because people have become tired in arguing their rights for a public space.
I agree that we are very dependant on these technologies. The fact that your friend has found a free way to market his product is great. Outside of facebook there are no avenues that would have made that possible for him. In many ways that is 'going against the system'...i wonder if that is the next big thing for facebook... advertising without the actual cost! I love it!
facebook has really turned into crackbook? i hate how your privaty is violated.... I wouldn't sacrific my privacy to stay in contact with friends and family through facebook. Also, I would hate to be bombarded with advertisments toooo... I see enough as it is.
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