Emerging Technology of Facebooks Timeline - Assignment Example

Emerging Technology of Facebook’s Timeline Student’s Name Course Tutor’s Name Date Abstract This paper looks at the emerging trends, future, outlook and applications of technology on Facebook’s timeline and observes that while a majority of users have adopted the same, innovators are using it as a platform for marketing new apps. The future of timeline is not guaranteed owing to the probability that soon, a better application will be launched to replace it. The paper concludes by observing that app developers (and Facebook in general) will need to follow all developments in technology usage, because by so doing, they will most likely understand what users’ needs and preferences are and hence develop apps that will satisfy the same. Introduction In September 2011, Facebook announced its timeline, and made it available to app developers. Perhaps the most interesting thing for Facebook users is the introduction of a social app that lets them show their likes and preferences on the timeline. For example, a user is able to show the music they are listening to, the recipes they are trying out, the types of exercises they engage in, and so much more. In a blog posted the same day the timeline was launched, the product manager at Facebook, Sam Lessin (2011) indicated that in addition to the apps communicating what a user is up to, they will also enable him/her to discover what his/her friends are doing. A user can also engage in the same activity that some of their friends are into. To make full use of the apps, users must add them to their timeline, and developers must constantly innovate and provide apps that serve the needs and interests of the users. Student 1: Trends, future, outlook and applications of the technology Trends Since its launch in 2011, a majority of Facebook users have migrated to timeline. One of the emerging technologies that Facebook introduced to enable app developers on the timeline platform was the Facebook Open Graph Story. The Open Graph Story allows developers to create “stories” that people can act on and interact with. Graham (2012, p. 207) defines it as “a three-step process designed to define objects..., actions, and aggregations”. In the latter, a person showcases how the actions will play out on Facebook. Based on aggregations, certain apps are displayed on a user’s timeline. The showcasing of apps on timelines is however based on them having sufficient data to generate a story that showcases “user’s action in a structured and interesting way”, and user feedback (Graham 2012, p. 209). The continued stay of an app on the timeline depends on the positive feedback received from users (often gauged on the likes, pinning and comments generated), while a discontinuation of the same from the timeline depends on negative feedback. Future Facebook timeline’s future is arguably embedded on ‘when’ the next new and more superior innovation will come along. Although it is hard to fix a time limit as to when a superior innovation will replace timeline, past changes in Facebook are indicative that the longevity of the Timeline is perhaps something that cannot be guaranteed. Outlook and applications of technology As the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2012) notes, most of the human activities such as entertainment, location information, and service provisions are already covered through diverse applications. The outlook therefore suggests that augmented reality (AR) is the only segment that is not fully covered by app developers. Potentially therefore, AR apps especially for mobile devices is a likely segment that app developers will seek to use their computational powers and abilities to serve. More apps will likely emerge to make timeline user experience ‘richer’. Business-wise, Facebook timeline will most likely experience more emergent trends especially as app developers introduce apps that can help business users better their relationships with customers. In what it calls “Social Customer Relations Management (SCRM)”, OECD (2012, p. 77) predicts a situation where app developers will target their innovations towards serving issues such as marketing, sales, customer-service, brand reputation management and market research. App developers are also most likely to concentrate on developing apps that can be used on mobile devices. As OECD (2012, p. 78) notes, “The enterprise terminal of the future is a tablet or a Smartphone”. Student 2: Trends, future, outlook and applications of the technology Trends Whether or not a person adds apps that ‘enrich’ their user experience is a based on personal preference. As noted by Wu and Wang (2005), the acceptance of such apps by Facebook timeline users depends on what people perceive as the risks and benefits of adding such applications. For example, if apps are free, there is an increased likelihood that most people would add them to their timelines as compared to apps that are for sale. Additionally, apps that are perceived as being low-risk (especially in exposing people’s private information to third parties) would most likely enjoy more acceptance than those that are regarded high-risk. Following the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and as explained by Wu and Wang (2005), it is also likely that the apps usage trends are affected by perceived ease of use and compatibility of such apps with different devices. The more compatible an app is to different devices, the more likely it would be used by the same person in different devices, and the higher its likelihood to be used by multiple users. Borrowing from the diffusion theory, one can argue that the diffusion of apps used on Facebook timeline (or the trend of their usage) depends on the process in which it is adopted and gains acceptance by the Facebook timeline used. As noted by Wu and Wang (2005), diffusion of technologies depends on four factors namely: the innovation, the nature of communication about the innovation, time, and the social system where the innovation is introduced. While some apps on timeline perform very well (measured on their acceptability and use/diffusion), others are not so successful. Borrowing from the theory of perceived attributes as indicated by Rogers (1995, p. 54) however, one can argue that the apps that succeed are those that possess the attributes on “triability, observability, relative advantage, complexity, and compatibility”. In other words, apps that are successfully diffused through Facebook timeline are those that offer user the option of trying them on a limited basis, during which time, they offer the users observable results. Additionally, such apps must be superior to other apps (or must give the user some advantage), must not be overly complex, and should be compatible with the user’s values and practices. Such requirements place the extra responsibility of researching the market preferences on app developers, who must consider all the attributes identified above when coming up with the innovations. Currently, Mayrhofer (2013) observes that apps in the media and entertainment industries register the common usage. Future In line with advancement in technology and innovations, timeline will no doubt be replaced by a more advanced application in the future. In the meantime however, marketers and innovators will continue using it as a communication platform, but also as a benchmark on which to base future innovations. Outlook and applications of technology Apps that Facebook places on different people’s timelines will obviously need to be attractive to users in order to enhance the social network site’s appeal to advertisers. Moreover, and in line with the both the instrumentalist philosophies, developers may need to understand human aspirations and hence develop apps that will enable people to realise such aspirations. In conclusion however, it is important to observe that technological advances will bring about evolutions, which will most likely be incremental and hence ‘enriching’ the Facebook timeline user’s experience. This then means that the likelihood of experiencing major leaps from timeline to something completely different is minimal; rather, it is likely that advances to the Timeline will be incremental and evolutionary. Student 3: Trends, future, outlook and applications of the technology Trends The trend in the adoption of apps also indicates that superior apps (in terms of their efficiency, elegance and/or effectiveness) do eventually replace apps or systems that are considered inferior. The Facebook timeline itself is an example of how innovations that are considered superior replace the inferior ones. Describing timeline Lessin (2011, para. 20) stated that, with it, “Now you have a home for all the great stories you’ve already shared. They don’t just vanish as you add new stuff”. Lessin (2011) was telling Facebook users that unlike the past where stories posted could only be accessed through clicking on the “Older Posts” link, timeline could organise everything on a single space, hence proposing that it was a better design than earlier ones. Future As Mayrhofer (2013) observes, Facebook has set up developer garages that allow people to share ideas and experiences on how to make the Facebook experience better, and this can only mean that soon enough, a replacement of timeline will be found. Outlook and applications of the technology Like every other thing in life, the applications of technologies on Facebook timelines may encounter some challenges just like the company did in 2010 when it designed a Facebook version that was set to work on all smartphones. As Hempel (2013) notes, Facebook learnt that in future, every app that was presented to it for consideration had to look good on mobile devices. The first indication that Facebook really meant the talk about mobile devices was the new iPhone app released in August 2012, which was fast and more user-friendly compared to the earlier app that was meant for use in all phone types. Facebook Home for Android devices was arguably Facebook’s next achievement, and although it is still rolling out, its development could be interpreted as evidence that Facebook does indeed understand where technology is headed (to mobile devices), and is thus willing to make full use of the opportunities therein. Overall, it all appears that the applications of technology on Facebook timeline will depend on social trends in technology use. Mobile devices seem to be the next ‘big thing’ in the near future. Whether they will remain so is only a question that future occurrences and trends can determine. In the meantime, app developers (and Facebook in general) will need to follow all developments in technology usage, because by so doing, they will most likely understand what users’ needs and preferences are and hence develop apps that will satisfy the same. References Graham, W 2012, Beginning Facebook game apps development, Apress, New York. Hempel, J 2013, ‘The second coming of Facebook’, Fortune Magazine, viewed 19 April 2013, . Lessin, S W 2012, tell your story with timeline’, The Facebook Blog, viewed 19 April 2012, Mayrhofer, P 2013, Interdependencies in the discovery and adoption of Facebook applications, Springer, Fachmedien Wiesbaden. OECD 2010, OECD Internet economy outlook 2012, OECD publishing, Washington DC. Rogers, E. M 1995, Diffusion of innovations, (4th edition), The Free Press, New York. Surry, D W, & Farquhar, J D 1997, ‘Diffusion theory and instructional technology’, Journal of Instructional Technology, Vol. 2, No. 1. Wu, J-H, &Wang, S C 2005, ‘What drives mobile commerce?: An empirical evaluation of the revised technology acceptance model’, Information & Management, vol. 42, no. 5, pp. 719-729. Read More