Facebook and its Facilities - Research Paper Example

Facebook The cliché that entails world as a Global Village has indeed lost its charm yet as the latter half of 2010 appears, it is suffice to say that it barely undermines its importance in the technological language of today. Gone are the days when communication, advertisement or transfer of information was a problem. Today, not only is all the above mentioned endeavors are handled with much ease but also the ever-changing technology has made it more interesting and innovative. A product of such a technology, that has literally revolutionized communication itself and has even earned itself the honor of being accepted as a word in the life of the common people, is Facebook. Today, it is a seldom and rare opportunity to see one oblivious of its presence. It has not only played its part to replace blogs and online communities such as MySpace and Orkut but has also become a media giant that, though silently and discreetly, is able to make great changes in the perception of people of prevailing era. It has revolutionized the concept of advertisement by giving investors and companies a chance to indulge in cyber-campaigning. Today, the members, teenage and elders alike, watch and maintain their profiles, make friends and claim to ‘like’ different communities. This cyber arena has become a phenomenon that has brought people together irrespective of class, gender and status. Besides it has brought in certain disparities among the lot and resulted in some events that have triggered world-wide results. Today, if one is to analyze the importance of technology and appreciate its status in our lives, Facebook can certainly not be ignored. If one is to discus the alterations in our moods, behavior and knowledge, then Facebook is indeed one of those elements that definitely have something to do with it (Shih, C. 2009). The real question ergo is; ‘With all the technological advances of today how has Facebook impacted our Lives?’ Let us first further lay emphasis onto the birth of a communication giant. Today, Facebook is not just a website but in fact a lifestyle; a cyber-universe. It is common to hear today of individuals admitting that they are ‘face-booking’, which is not only a normal lifestyle for them but has also become a need. Through this invention, people make friends across borders, irrespective of ethnic or religious identity, and come across colossal amounts of knowledge that they rarely find in books. Today, they are able to be better at knowledge of what their friends are doing or about their lives by browsing through their Facebook activities. Not only can they understand others but in fact are also in a better position to handle themselves and their temperaments, speaking out about it all in their status. By uploading pictures and videos, special moments are stored in this digital memory and adored whenever the mood requires. By tagging oneself into them along with others, the video is shared among audience that can include friends and relatives. By such endeavors, not only are others made a part of these moments of happiness but are also able to enjoy all those events that they have missed. By playing different activities and games, they are able to compete with each other and boast about their wins on the website as well as in real life. By choosing to send messages, they are able to send private information and exchange sensitive data without any fear of a third person’s intervention. It is no surprise that all the individuals are indeed in a race to get and win over more cyber-friends, broadening their social circle and ending up making friends that have found special places in their lives. So, keeping in mind all that is written above, if we speak of alone communication, has Facebook played an important part? Indeed, why not? With what Facebook has become, no rival can in the near future replace it thus leaving this market as a monopoly to it alone. It is a master, and it deserves to be for it is not every day that such an innovation meets the eye and lives of so many individuals. Now let’s focus on the impacts of Facebook as a billboard to advertisement. Today as one opens up Facebook, the sides of the screens are filled with banners and emoticons advertising all sorts of products and services, local as well as international. This screen continues as one uses his profile or ends up visiting another’s. The different products have their own web-pages and communities through which they can relate essential information to their customers on a one-on-one basis and relate and impress them at an individual level. The banners are not simply there to make the pages look filled up but in fact are direct links to the websites or communities so that the individual wastes less time browsing or searching for that certain product and instead is directed automatically to the concerned pages by just a click on the banner. By adding in different animations to the web-banners, they are able to attract a much wider audience and resultantly give a larger portion of the society to earn the loyalty of the brand and vice-versa. The greatest thing about advertising through Facebook is that it does not, in any way, stop or paralyze a Facebook user as he is witnessing these banners; in fact the advertisement is simultaneous to the work ergo not hampering the continuous flow of one’s activities. This does not annoy the user and gives them a softer approach towards the product. Keeping in mind the number and population that uses this website, it is safe to say that advertisers are able to reach out a greater population of customers than ever before and that too at minimal rates (Treadaway, C. 2010). Through such practices not only can we find ourselves at a better position to advertise and campaign but also to indulge with the customers? Anyone and everyone who has knowledge of economics and psychology would indeed be able to have an idea of how important this endeavor is for advertisement. By putting in a personal touch to these campaigns, not only do more customers get attracted to them but in fact they are saved from countless events and accidents that lead to miscommunication or misinterpretation. They are able to clear concepts and doubts and provide assurance that is essential for campaigning. Thus, keeping in mind all the advantages that advertisement through Facebook brings with it, it is suffice to say that this has indeed held its position as a leader in this said field and has made an impact on our lives too that not many other websites could do for it is not rare to see how today one gets impressed and buys entities and commodities through Facebook and its partners. Facebook is not restricted to one’s personal computers or bedrooms, it is not a thing of internet cafes or an application on the mobile phones or other hand-held devices; it is however a phenomenon. The advantages of its communication and advertisement have already been mentioned and it is here that its position and importance as a cultural phenomenon would be discussed. We today are indeed dwellers of the global village that does not discriminate among races or across borders. The world in where we live today is infused with knowledge, which is not bound or protected by anyone but is at a disposal to anyone who can manage an internet connection. The minds of modern times have developed into something that is not at all a reflection of what it was before the advent and birth of internet. They have transformed from the conservative and less-aware entities into something that is well-aware and even better informed. People and individuals of today are in a better position to see different shades of the same matter than an annoying habit of looking at with a very narrow approach. Individuals are now more aware of their lives opportunities that lie ahead for them. They are in a better position to understand and appreciate what fate has brought to them and what can be done to improve their approach or to walk towards what they always dreamt of. Today, they are not only able to keep contact of all those living celebrities and personalities that they idolize but can also have a direct contact with them. It is at this crossroad of life and the internet world, as we know, that Facebook was born and flourished ergo it would be a lost cause to promote it solely as the provider of all the benefits described above for it is not. However what needs to be kept in mind and appreciated that Facebook was indeed a pioneer in its field. This website did not simply exist but in fact was found to live through all these stages and handle whatever was thrown at it. Facebook, if concerned an entity, mastered all the complications of such a world and ended up ruling it as we all witness. This is not an account of ‘just a’ website but in fact one that came and conquered. So with all that was going on and internet playing such an important part in our lives, influencing us, the question arrives; how did Facebook influence us and our lives. By spending countless hours logged on to Facebook not only are we creating our cyber presence in the cyber world but are also learning and appreciating all that is going on with the cyber existence of individuals and communities. By logging on to it and visiting a community set up by a religious, national or even international groups of people, one is able to go through all that is going through their mind and how all this would come to effect oneself. What makes the usage of Facebook more interesting and even more influential is the transfer of ideas. By conversing one is able to better understand and judge the other side of a debate by getting in direct contact with the opponent of a certain debate or reading what he/she has to say about it by his/her blog posts or entries he writes. This in turn gives the individual on the other side to influence the reader and thus make a better understanding of his point of view towards them so that his message is delivered in a checked way that doesn’t end up creating misinterpretation or misconception. Keeping in mind of the said trait, it is no wonder that countless non-Governmental Organizations, student and activist bodies campaign and reach out to potential members through this medium by speaking out in a crystal clear manner, what is exactly in their minds and what their objectives or activates focus on. Taking advantage of the lenient freedom of speech laws, these people are in a better position to create awareness among individuals of potential anger or discrimination and ask everyone to better use all that is needed so as to protect one from such acts. These warnings of information are not bound by national or religious manners and thus are not only transparent but also unbiased and open for debate. Facebook has become a cultural phenomenon because it has given individuals their rights to be aware and indulge into all those matters that were once at the mercy of authorities to reveal or to be acted upon or not. Those were the times when anything that came into the narrow and disgustingly conservative boundaries of objections was considered so offensive that severe action had to be taken against them. This however, has changed today for it is through entities such as Facebook that people are today well aware of their rights and constriction by laws. It is at this crossroad where they can better understand themselves and their positions. Ergo, to end it, Facebook is a result of the phenomenon of internet and as mentioned above, it has already mastered it. So does it play an important role in our lives? Is it so crucial that it influences us? The answer to all the above questions is an unbiased yes! Treadaway, C (2010) Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day USA: Wiley Publishing inc  Shih, C (2009)The Facebook era: tapping osnline social networks. USA: Pearson Education inc Read More