reron

It’s taken me a while to join . I used to be anti-crap like this, but i figured, since I’m in the tech industry and all the cool kids are playing with it, I should embrace that kind of crap. (There is one thing I refuse to experiment and subsequently become addicted to: WoW). In this A.D.D.-crazed society, Facebook fits right in with a seemingly endless cornucopia of customized applications. These apps are very social-centric enabling people within their networks to interact in fun and unique ways. You can send your friends a virtual drink, gifts, headbutt, or a hi-five. And with most apps, there’s an incentive, the more you send, the more “new items” you can unlock!  All of these transactions are made public for everyone to see via a ‘mini-news feed’ which perpetuates the idea of the ‘popularity-contest’.

It’s pretty ingenious how they keep people hooked. People-interactions are the “prize”. In Myspace, there was a defined tangible way of “ranking” yourself: customized page with pictures, cool song, # of friends and # of comments. Basically, it was a glorified Geocities page with easy links to your friends. The world of facebook takes Myspace one step further. The theme remains the same, but the mode is slightly different: who’s got the most apps, the coolest apps, and the most friends using those apps. Facebook *is* a little complex at first, but it is pretty easy to figure out. The heart of the site is its “networks”. Meaning, you cannot just “find” or browse just anyone, you have to actually “know them”. Since I am a UCLA Alum, I do not have access to the USC network (not that I’d want to), unless I was friends with some within the USC network. And the only way I can access that person is if I had their contact info, Email/AIM/etc.

I am really impressed at the evolution of communication in online social networks: email -> IM -> blogs -> friendster -> myspace -> facebook -> social networking via cellphone. (I’m sure it is/will be someone’s doctoral thesis…) Technology is making the world smaller and I’m glad to be a part of it!

Where do they get their money? Like Myspace and Google… Advertising. With access to millions of users who are constantly online, it’s the perfect way to directly advertise to your target demographic.

Tags: Neato · Cool! · Tech1 Comment