So my research so far seems to focus' primarily on Facebook. I think this is where my interests mostly lie, in identity and online social networking.
I started having a think about how people USE Facebook, their habits and trends. What they actually do and how people can waste so many hours on it.
Off the top of my head I came up with the following points of interest to look at:
"Liking" things. It's like a way of acknowledging something someone has said, confirming you've read it, without replying to it. Almost like you're too busy to say anything in response but not too busy to go on FB, read and like it. A way of communicating, of showing interest, without having to get involved. It's very odd.
Status Updates: On MySpace we had things called bulletins. Personally I loved Myspace for the bulletin function, you could basically do a short blog post with a title which people could CHOOSE if they read.
With status updates, I have no choice in whether I find out that Rose is excited about a birthday party for someone I don't know, or whether Ali has had a nap. It's the same with twitter, we need to constantly remind the world we are still there, we have to remind ourselves we're still there. And I'm equally as guilty, I'm sure none of my friends really care if I found £25 quid this morning, but I've told them anyway.
I'm also fascinated by the constant checking up on it. Like an addiction, it has to be checked every 5 minutes. What am I looking for? Do I want someone to post something to me? Do I want to talk to someone in particular? No? Why do I keep going back and scanning the pages for something... what is it I'm looking for? Do I even know?
I left FB in 2010 for about 4 months and it was great. Only 1 of my 500 or so "friends" noticed and sent me a very angry text asking why they'd been deleted.
I went back to it because it became so hard to contact people. Some people only seem to talk through FB or in person. Their "events" pages are the most useful thing and remain one of the reasons I like the site. It helps me organise myself and know when I'm invited to things, and now I'm back to how I was, a constant user. I even check it on my mobile phone.
I started having a think about how people USE Facebook, their habits and trends. What they actually do and how people can waste so many hours on it.
Off the top of my head I came up with the following points of interest to look at:
"Liking" things. It's like a way of acknowledging something someone has said, confirming you've read it, without replying to it. Almost like you're too busy to say anything in response but not too busy to go on FB, read and like it. A way of communicating, of showing interest, without having to get involved. It's very odd.
Status Updates: On MySpace we had things called bulletins. Personally I loved Myspace for the bulletin function, you could basically do a short blog post with a title which people could CHOOSE if they read.
With status updates, I have no choice in whether I find out that Rose is excited about a birthday party for someone I don't know, or whether Ali has had a nap. It's the same with twitter, we need to constantly remind the world we are still there, we have to remind ourselves we're still there. And I'm equally as guilty, I'm sure none of my friends really care if I found £25 quid this morning, but I've told them anyway.
I'm also fascinated by the constant checking up on it. Like an addiction, it has to be checked every 5 minutes. What am I looking for? Do I want someone to post something to me? Do I want to talk to someone in particular? No? Why do I keep going back and scanning the pages for something... what is it I'm looking for? Do I even know?
I left FB in 2010 for about 4 months and it was great. Only 1 of my 500 or so "friends" noticed and sent me a very angry text asking why they'd been deleted.
I went back to it because it became so hard to contact people. Some people only seem to talk through FB or in person. Their "events" pages are the most useful thing and remain one of the reasons I like the site. It helps me organise myself and know when I'm invited to things, and now I'm back to how I was, a constant user. I even check it on my mobile phone.
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