facebook
Table of Contents
Facebook is a social networking service that a few Harvard roommates launched in 2004 and currently operates under Meta Platforms.1) The platform remains 'somewhat popular', but has lost its relevance for a variety of reasons (e.g. real-name policy, privacy concerns, etc.).
History
The website began as a college-oriented social network in 2004, opened to the general public in 2006, and it historically surpassed MySpace in 2008.2) However, they were always haunted by concerns about data privacy,3)4) especially after that Cambridge Analytica data scandal in the 2010s had reportedly boosted the conservative-aligned Trump 2016 and Vote Leave (Brexit) campaigns.5)
Furthermore, the platform's sheer size has created moderation problems, allowing discriminatory content and misinformation to manifest, escalating the Rohingya genocide6)7)8) and Tigray War.9)10)11)12) By 2022, the platform saw a drop in users13)14) and hired a conservative firm to smear TikTok15)16) as it becomes abundantly clear that Facebook is losing relevance.17)18)19)
Facebook Live
In 2015, Facebook launched a Periscope analogue, 'Live for Mentions',20) which became 'Facebook Live' upon release to the general public in 2016,21) though it would face a pivot to video scandal over inflated view counts shortly after.22)23) Then on June 1, 2018, Facebook Gaming was added to compete with Twitch and YouTube, then Microsoft shuttered Mixer following a Facebook deal on July 22, 2020.24)
However, the platform is a bit unconventional, given that it was designed as a Periscope analogue.25) The live chatroom is a glorified comment section, which only moves if you're logged in, and you have to set up a page if you wish to 'interact' with a pseudonym instead of your real name. On the other hand, there are funny moments where tech illiterate geezers have to be told to scroll past.
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 encourage groupthink 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.
Simply put, it's a dying platform that young people have no interest in,26)27)28) whether it be the advertising, algorithm, privacy concerns, or the fact that old people and close relatives use it. Nobody wants to use a platform where old people bicker about politics, forward sensationalist news,29) or get roped in multi-level marketing cults30) vaguely related to essential oils or yoga.31)
Notes
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- In a 2022 study, Facebook was losing the youth to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.32)
- Keep track of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts being billed as TikTok alternatives.
- The company would reveal in March 2023, after cutting employees and low-priority projects,33) that the Metaverse was a buzzword for virtual reality34) while hopping on the AI bandwagon.
See also
External links
- Facebook - The front page of Facebook.
1)
"Facebook is planning to rebrand with a new name" (October 19, 2021). The Verge.
2)
"The Rise and Inglorious Fall of Myspace" (June 22, 2011). Bloomberg.
3)
"Facebook's New Privacy Changes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" (December 9, 2009). Electronic Frontier Foundation.
4)
"On Facebook, deleting an app doesn’t delete your data from their system" (May 13, 2012). Ars Technica.
5)
"What are the links between Cambridge Analytica and a Brexit campaign group?" (March 21, 2018). Reuters.
6)
"Zuckerberg Was Called Out Over Myanmar Violence. Here’s His Apology." (April 9, 2018). The New York Times.
7)
"U.N. investigator says Facebook provided vast amount of Myanmar war crimes information" (September 12, 2022). Reuters.
9)
"How Facebook Is Stoking a Civil War in Ethiopia" (November 8, 2021). Vice.
10)
"Facebook parent Meta sued for amplifying hate speech and incitement to violence in Ethiopia’s civil war" (December 14, 2022). Fortune.
11)
"Meta accused of ignoring reports on dangerous content" (August 7, 2023). The Verge.
12)
"Meta pressed to compensate war victims amid claims Facebook inflamed Tigray conflict" (November 8, 2023). TechCrunch.
13)
"Facebook Loses Daily Active Users For The First Time – Here’s Where They're Going" (February 3, 2022). Forbes.
14)
"Facebook scrambles to escape stock’s death spiral as users flee, sales drop" (September 30, 2022). CNBC.
15)
"Facebook paid GOP firm to malign TikTok" (March 20, 2022). The Washington Post.
16)
"Facebook resorts to old smear tactics against TikTok" (March 20, 2022). Associated Press.
21)
"Facebook Takes On Periscope By Giving Live Streaming To All U.S. iPhoners" (January 28, 2016). TechCrunch.
22)
"Facebook may have knowingly inflated its video metrics for over a year" (October 17, 2018). The Verge.
23)
"Facebook knew ad metrics were inflated, but ignored the problem to make more money, lawsuit claims" (February 18, 2021). CNBC.
24)
"Microsoft is shutting down Mixer and partnering with Facebook Gaming" (June 22, 2020). The Verge.
29)
"Factchecks and fake news – but Facebook still let them post" (February 28, 2021). The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
30)
"This Will Change Your Life" (October 28, 2020). The Atlantic.
32)
"Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022" (August 10, 2022). Pew Research Institute.
33)
"Meta to cut another 10,000 jobs and cancel ‘low priority projects’" (March 14, 2023). TechCrunch.
34)
"Metaverse is just VR, admits Meta, as it lobbies against ‘arbitrary’ network fee" (March 23, 2023). TechCrunch.
facebook.txt · Last modified: by namelessrumia