The Facebook Effect Part 1

David Kirkpatrick's the Facebook Effect, is a book I really had been looking forward to reading. I have been a pretty avid facebook user since 2007 when I came to college. For me, it's a great connecting tool, and makes things so much easier in terms of event planning and catching up with old friends. The first chapter in the book talks about an event that I had never even heard of. But basically, it is about a Colombian man who went on facebook and created a group against the FARC, and within days became a world wide common thread. People all over the world were joining this protest group, and soon he organized the biggest protest ever held. When I first started reading the book, I didn't understand what this little story could have to do with facebook, but as I read I was astounded. It is crazy to me how technology can connect so many people now, all fighting for a similar cause. It is almost unbelievable, and it is crazy to think that just 20 years ago a protest like this, would have been nearly impossible. Facebook really has changed the world. It mentions in this book that the author found out about some news event through a facebook status. This happens to me all the time. Facebook is the first place I get big information, and after I see a hint of something in someone's status I then start googling to find out what this is all about. But before facebook, people actually went on news sites more frequently to find out what was going on in the world. 

The actual creation story about facebook was very interesting in itself. I went to see the Social Network when it came out in theaters, and was not surprised to find that some of what they portrayed in the movie was not true. For example, in the movie, Mark Zuckerberg was not in the fraternity as Eduardo Saverin but in real life they were fraternity brothers. Also Dustin Moskovitz was not portrayed as such a big player in the movie as he really was. Regardless, reading this section about the creation was very intriguing. Mark's main goal was to connect people in a way that was different than before. Of course people had instant messenger to communicate, but it was not everyone craved. Facebook allowed for such a great social connection, through relationship statuses, pictures, statuses, events and even one of Mark's first creations a Coursematcher. I thought it was interesting when they talked about how the creators weren't sure how far they wanted it to spread, because at first it was only Ivy League prestigious schools that were given access. I don't think they knew how big this would eventually become, because if they had they probably would have let everyone have access immediately. I think they thought it would stay a relatively small thing that would only be used for exclusive colleges. The thing I find so interesting is that Facebook was not the first social networking site, but yet is the one that taken over our society. Friendster was too slow, and myspace had too many fakes on it, but Facebook seems to have landed it just right.

The Facebook Effect that Kirkpatrick talks about happens when, "The service puts people in touch with each other, often unexpectedly, about a common experience, interest, problem or cause." pg 7 It also talks about how on facebook everyone can be an "Editor, a content creator, a producer and a distributor." pg 9 and that reminds me a lot of the book on Wikipedia. This new technology that we are using gives us such power. I know that I can go on my facebook right now and create whatever message I'd like and either post it as my status, send it in a message to all my friends or even put it in a note for anyone to read. This power is exciting for people, and it can lead to good things. For example, the past two years here at college, I have organized a group of students from Mason Gross to go caroling at Robert Wood Johnson's hospital. Facebook made it so much easier to connect with these students, and plan out when we would meet to rehearse, and how we would get there. This connection we have is really amazing and I think it is something that David Kirkpatrick values. I am excited to keep reading this book because unlike some of the other reads, David seems to be accepting of this technology we have been given. 

MAde to Break 3

Giles Slade is really trying to warn us in this last section of the book that we need to stop wasting as much as we do. I think one of the most interesting and shocking quotes in this book was, "The average American, one analyst has noted, will have watched more than three years of television advertising by the end of his or her life." pg 265 Although this is not the sole reason for obsolescence in America, it definitely plays a role in it. We see commercials for cool new products over and over which entices us to buy these new products before we need them. The new development of neophilia has forced our society into throwing things out before they are ready to be thrown out. Most people have to have things as soon as they come out. Slade gives us suggestions on how we can counteract this wasteful way of living. He suggests we reuse, and recycle. We also need to educate others in the dangers of this world we are now living in, because honestly, people don't usually think about these kinds of things. I know that before reading this book I was a lot less aware about the problems this waste was causing. Although to counter Slade's worry, I think that our society today is slowly getting better. For example, in class last week we talked about doing good on the internet and one site we talked about was craigslist. This past week, my phone broke, and I went to craigslist to see if anyone was selling phones, and to my surprise there were hundreds of postings from just one days advertisements. Maybe it's just the economy, but people are trying to find other ways of getting rid of things besides just throwing them in the trash. Also I know there are a lot of recycling drives in schools now to get rid of hazardous products, like cell phones, and old electronics. Slowly but surely we are starting to get the hint that this waste is dangerous, and if we are going to continue our ways of buying things before they become obsolete, then we need to figure out how to get rid of our old products. Personally, I keep all my old electronics, and have never thrown any out in the trash. When I do eventually decide to get of them I will recycle it.
I really found this book informative, and thought it had basically the same ideas as Technopoly did. Both authors were more "anti technological advances" and were afraid for what's to come. I hope that our society can continue to better itself and become more savvy when it comes to this waste we are producing. Hopefully, through education and awareness we can all make a difference.

Doing Good on the Internet

I think there is a lot of good being done on the internet, despite all the criticism it can get at times. Five sites that I think have really done some good are:
freerice.com
volunteermatch.org
charitywater.org
wish.org
habitat.org
The internet makes it so easy to connect with projects that you may not have gotten connected too in the past. Now with a click of a button you can help someone else out who is in need. I also think freerice is a neat idea, because people are so often bored online, and instead of just stalking facebook, you can be feeding people in other countries. Other was I think the internet has had a positive effect on the world, is through easily accessible information. For example, webmd.com provides all kinds of medical information and how to treat things. Another easily accessible thing now is phone numbers, I know that when a strange number calls me I just type it into google and find out who it is or where it was from. This information was a lot harder to find 15 years ago. It really is amazing how our society has changed just from this overload of information. I definitely do not think it is for the worse though, I think there is just as much useful information on the internet than there is garbage. So many charity organizations function online now and are helping out more people as a result. People are also able to find people easier now, whether it be relationships or long lost friends, the internet helps us stay in touch and connect. Dating websites are becoming huge now, which is something that would have been considered crazy in the 90s. There definitely is a lot of good being done on the internet today.