Table of Contents
Facebook is a popular social networking service, founded by a group of Harvard College roommates in 2004,1) that is run by a company now called Meta Platforms.2) Despite its real-name policy and privacy concerns, it remains an uncomfortably popular social network.
History
The website began as a college-oriented social network in 2004, opened to the general public in 2006, and historically surpassed MySpace in 2008.3) However, they were always haunted by concerns about data privacy,4)5) especially after the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal in the 2010s had reportedly boosted the conservative-aligned Trump 2016 and Vote Leave (Brexit) campaigns.6)
Furthermore, the platform's sheer size has created moderation problems, allowing discriminatory content and misinformation to manifest, escalating the Rohingya genocide7)8)9) and Tigray War.10)11)12)13) By 2022, the platform saw a drop in users14)15) and hired a conservative firm to smear TikTok16)17) as it becomes abundantly clear that Facebook is losing relevance.18)19)20)
Facebook Live
After their pivot to video scandal regarding inflated view counts,21)22) Facebook unveiled a live streaming service on August 5, 2018, originally called “Live for Mentions”23) before it started being rolled out to the general public as “Facebook Live” in 2016.24) Then on June 1, 2018, “Facebook Gaming” was introduced to compete with Twitch and YouTube, then Microsoft shuttered Mixer on July 22, 2020.25)
However, the platform is rather unconventional, since it was obviously designed with Periscope in mind,26) and the live chat is actually a comment section that you have to be logged in to see it move in real time. It doesn't help that the real-name policy remains in effect, but it is kinda funny when the streamer tells some old geezer to keep scrolling because of how the algorithm works.
Evaluation and critique
Unlike most social networking services, Facebook has a strict real-name policy and it doesn't help that their platform is already bad at handling user data. While the real-name system isn't bad in theory, this does force people to act lame, formal, and may worsen social anxiety since all your posts will be tied to your real name. Meanwhile, other platforms simply allow pseudonyms or let you hide your real name.
It's a dying platform. Young people aren't interested in Facebook,27)28)29) and the elderly are being killed off because of their vaccine disinformation30) or end up in these multi-level marketing cults31) for having an interest in essential oils or yoga.32) The company behind Facebook and Instagram recently paid conservative lobbyists to smear TikTok, but it comes off a bit contradictory at times.
Notes
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- In a 2022 study, Facebook was losing the youth to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.33)
- Keep track of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts being billed as TikTok alternatives.
External links
- Facebook - The front page of Facebook.