Facebook users have recently been getting emails asking them to vote on the “global site governance.” I received an email with the subject “Our Global Site Governance Vote,” a couple of days ago, and decided to research what this vote was actually about.

What I found was that Facebook is proposing changes to how it handles its users personal information. It opened its polls for its more than 1 billion users last Monday to vote on proposed changes to its current policies. One of the proposals would be to abolish the voting system itself (I talked about this in one of my past posts – the site allows users to vote on the rules for how it treats your information and privacy). In response to protests over changes it had made in its terms of service, Facebook established the voting system in 2009 so users would have a voice in how Facebook would deal with personal information. However, Facebook says that the voting system has not worked as it was intended (there is a huge lack of voters – in June, only 0.038% of Facebook’s population at the time voted on Facebook’s proposed two alternative versions of its statement of rights and responsibilities). As a result, it is proposing to keep users informed on policy changes with webcasts on privacy rather than giving its users the right to vote on policy changes.

So what exactly are you voting on? The social network site is proposing three main changes.

1)   Facebook would like to abolish the voting system – if the proposed changes are accepted, Facebook will no longer ask users to vote on policy changes

2)   Facebook wants the right to share user date with its affiliates such as Instagram

3)   Facebook wants to loosen restrictions on who can message you

Will your vote count? Because of a lack of turnout, your vote probably won’t make a difference. On Facebook’s site governance page, it says: “As stated in both policies, if more than 30% of all active registered users vote, the results will be binding. If turnout is less than 30%, the vote will be advisory.” In the two previous votes that Facebook has held, none reached this threshold. Because Facebook has surpassed 1 billion users, this means that 300 million people would have to vote (that’s roughly the size of the United States). As of last Wednesday, only 300,000 people had voted, most of who were not in favor of Facebook’s proposals. Therefore, tonight, when voting ends, users will most likely lose the ability to vote on future changes to Facebook’s privacy policy. Here are the latest results:

In order to vote, you have to click on the link that came with the email from Facebook.  Will you be participating?

Facebook is the most popular social networking site for people to interact with their friends, share photos, update statuses, like different companies, businesses, or fan pages, and outline their interests and hobbies. Facebook is now trying to build a search engine that uses the information it collects from its users. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg recently announced at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco that his company is working on a feature that is related to a search engine, stating, “Facebook is pretty uniquely position to answer the questions people have. What sushi restaurants have my friends go to in New York in the last sixth months and liked? Or which of my friends or friends of friends work at a company that I’m interested in working at because I want to talk to them about what it’s going to be like to work there? These are questions that you could potentially do at Facebook if we built out this system that you couldn’t do anywhere else.” Why would Facebook want to include a search engine? To make even more money than they are now. If a search engine does in fact appear on Facebook, user’s “likes” will become very important. Businesses and companies that advertise on Facebook will want to encourage their fans to keep publicizing their page. Because Facebook will answer questions such as “What sushi restaurants have my friends go to in New York in the last sixth months and liked?” the potential search engine will probably draw answers from users who have liked different sushi restaurant pages and wall posts that include the restaurant. In my opinion, a search engine could benefit users. Asking a question will surface to pages that are “liked,” people that relate to the question, or maybe even ads that correspond. This will link users to answers based on the opinions of their friends, whom most they can trust and confide in. However, this is also the problem with a search engine on Facebook. Because answers would be based on the opinions of only Facebook friends, answers are prioritized and a user wouldn’t be getting a network of answers based on random opinions. Google, for example, provides pages of links that give users access to news and information from people that have varied opinions and knowledge. A Facebook search engine would be based on a user’s friends, most of whom are high school, college, and work friends. Do your friend’s likes on a car page really deem it a good investment? Sure, Facebook might be useful when someone wants to know the opinion of a good restaurant by their friends whom they can trust, but I think Google will always be the number one search engine. Because Google is able to provide answers that are most relevant to a search and not also based on the opinions and likes of friends and friends of friends, it will always have the upper hand. If Facebook wants to create a successful search engine, aligning itself with an already established one such as Google might be the best idea. Otherwise, Facebook should stick to what it does best: being a social networking site.

I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed this afternoon and one of my Facebook friends posted a status that started, “In response to the new Facebook guidelines, I hereby declare that my copyright…” and so forth. I was too uninterested to read the rest as I thought this post was about something only in reference to her. However, as I kept scrolling, I found that four more people posted the status that started the same way hers did. I decided to click ‘read more’ and read the whole post:

 In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times!

 

(Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place
them under protection of copyright laws. By the present communiqué, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook’s direction or control. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute).

Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are recommended to publish a notice like this, or if you prefer, you may copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once, you will be tacitly allowing the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates…

The post claims that anyone can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook wall, which forbids Facebook to “disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against [the user] on the basis of this profile and/or its contents.” It goes on to say that “Facebook is now an open capital entity,” and that all its members are “recommended to publish a notice like this.”

However, this ‘privacy notice’ that, as I saw when scrolling through my newsfeed, has been virally spreading on Facebook, which “supposedly” protects one’s personal details and data from unauthorized copying, is fake. The notice started spreading a few days after Facebook released its new privacy guidelines. What exactly changed? Well, until Wednesday, you had voting rights on Facebook (I didn’t even know that, and I’m sure not many people did). The site used to allow users to vote on the rules for how it treats your information and your privacy. However, because of a lack of voters, (in June, only 0.038% of Facebook’s population at the time voted on Facebook’s proposed two alternative versions of its statement of rights and responsibilities), Facebook decided that it would let users comment on proposed changes to the governing documents, but not vote. This notice resembles that of one that was virally spread in July, but both are untrue.

The purpose of this notice is that Facebook’s listing as a public traded company will have negative affects on its users’ privacy. However, this is not true. Facebook and its users are still bound “to the same terms and conditions that are accepted by users when they sign up for the service, and posting a legal talisman of this kind on your profile does nothing to change that.” Don’t be fooled.

A recent study conducted by the National Restaurant Association found that more than 95% of restaurant owners said that they will be on Facebook within two years. This is smart, considering this is the place where most of their consumers are. Facebook recently announced in September that it reached the 1 billion-user milestone.

The food and beverage industry is a major component on the social network, as there are about 187 million consumer restaurant brand “likes.” In addition to promotions, some restaurants have gone the extra step and have decided to incorporate food-ordering abilities directly from their fan page. This allows Facebook members to order a meal without ever having to leave the site. Some companies that have jumped into the Facebook online integration game include ChowNow, NetWaiter, and ONOSYS.

While it may be too early to see whether this service is beneficial or not, a restaurant in Charleston, S.C., The Taco Spot, has already experienced a ten percent lift in digital orders since it implemented the new feature. The restaurant’s owner, Lindsey Collier, said, “Not only does Facebook ordering channel provide convenience for socially networked customers, it has also helped the restaurant fill more orders, faster.” Chris Webb, the CEO and founder of ChowNow, said that in addition to speed, another benefit of being able to order food on Facebook is that is “levels the playing field for smaller chains.” I agree. Regardless of a restaurants size or budget, every restaurant’s Facebook page looks the same. This helps independent restaurants and smaller chains compete with bigger, national chains. Another benefit of having a Facebook ordering platform? It speeds up the process, and in today’s society, time is so valuable. The convenience it creates is a great return for customers. Because people are on Facebook all day long, they are able to order directly from the site instead of going to the restaurant’s website. This makes the process one click faster, which people will fully appreciate. Another obvious advantage is the potential for increased sales.

Although there are benefits to the Facebook ordering platform, the concept is still new and untouched by many – for now. A recent study conducted by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research found that the top fast casual and quick-service chains have moved forward with online ordering, but not on Facebook. Philip Laque, one of the authors of the study, said, “Although almost every chain is on Facebook, we found only about three percent allowed ordering through Facebook. On the other hand, electronic ordering is not for every chain. We found virtually no online ordering possibility for fine dining restaurants.”

Beyond these facts, however, the researchers saw a heavy preference toward electronic ordering, mainly with younger restaurant customers. Because of the growing consumer base and its increasing influence in the foodservice industry, Facebook’s ordering app might grow rapidly. I believe this new tool does have the potential to grow quickly. Restaurants want to build an online presence where most people are, and Facebook is the obvious answer. If restaurants add the convenience of Facebook ordering, it is an added advantage and an opportunity to gain more customers.

This is just one more way that Facebook is integrating into all aspects of society.

Facebook recently surpassed 1 billion users worldwide and is expected to see that number double by 2014. For the current users, everyone is full aware that Facebook is an easy way to eat up our free time. According to a recent study, the average American spends eight hours a month on Facebook, mainly due to boredom. New research suggests that our time on the social network might be making us fat and poor.

Being on Facebook increases our self-esteem, which in turn negatively affects our decision-making skills and judgment. As a result, Facebook is linked with a decrease in our self-control while encouraging negative behaviors like overspending and overeating. According to their research, Andrew Stephon of the University of Pittsburgh and Keith Wilcox of Columbia University found that more time on Facebook leads to higher credit card debt. As little as five minutes a day on Facebook was proven to lower a user’s self-control, according to a study based on an Internet survey of 541 American users.

According to research published by Computers in Human Behavior, the 526 million people who log on to Facebook every day experience a self-esteem boost by using their profiles to create how others see them. Another study conducted by researchers at Cornell University says that looking at Facebook, where people tend to post their best photos, provides a quick ego boost. Associate professor Jeffrey Hancock says, “Unlike a mirror, which reminds us of who we really are and may have a negative effect on self-esteem if that image does match with our ideal, Facebook can show a positive version of ourselves. We’re not saying it’s a deceptive version of self, but it’s a positive one.”  In the study, 63 students were left alone in a university lab at a computer. The computers were either turned off, in which case some had a mirror propped against the screen, while others showed the student’s Facebook page. The students that had access to Facebook were allowed to spend three minutes reviewing their page, and then all of the students were given a questionnaire to measure their self-esteem. The students who were on Facebook gave more positive feedback about themselves than the other two groups. Hancock said following the study, “For many people, there’s an automatic assumption that the Internet is bad. This is one of the first studies to show that there’s a psychological benefit of Facebook.” To sum up, Facebook allows users to selectively self-present themselves. While editing our Facebook profile, we choose what comments and images make our wall, and what photos we want and what photos we delete or untag from. Over time, we are able to incorporate this positive image of our selves into our self-conceptions. This in turn can lead to impulsive decisions, thus leading to problems such as credit card debt and overeating.

Stephen and Wilcox’s study confirms previous research that lower credit scores and credit card debt are strongly associated with poor self-control. This study coined with studies that show that Facebook increases self-esteem can lead to the assumption that Facebook does in fact cause people to spend more money and over-eat. As more people join Facebook and users continuously spend more time on it, will there be severe consequences? Will people face serious problems, such as credit card debt, in the near future? In my opinion, I do agree with the studies that found that Facebook can boost self-esteem, but I also think that it can cause lower self-esteem for people. Thus, I think that it will vary among the particular person. However, for those who find that Facebook does increase their self-esteem, I think impulsive decision-making can be a serious problem.

Is Facebook the place to engage in political conversation? When the social network was first created, it was a site to allow students to update their profile, check out new photos from the weekend, and keep updated on the lives of their Facebook friends. Today, however, that’s all changed. These are still reasons that people join Facebook, but the site now serves much more than that. Besides the fact that older generations are all over the website, Facebook is now a place to also open up about more serious conversations. One such topic is politics. Many people engage in political conversations, voicing their opinion about the upcoming election or discussing their thoughts about the debate. The night of the debates this year, my whole entire newsfeed was filled with people’s opinion of how Romney, Obama, Biden, and Ryan performed. Debates and arguments ensued, and Facebook all of the sudden became the most popular site for politics. I didn’t even have to watch the debate to know how each candidate did (although many people are bias towards their choice of president). These political conversations that form over Facebook cause frustration for many users. Many find that their friends seem to focus their energy on political rants based on misinformation that they received from other people’s posts while surfing the web.

One poll out of the Pew Center showed that 66% of social media users read or participate in political conversation. This drowns people into politics, whether they like it or not. Posts concerning politics are not what many people want to see when they scroll through their newsfeed, and in many cases it causes problems between users. Various posts make users hate people that they have known for years. For others, heated conversations develop between close friends. And then there are the users that decide to avoid Facebook altogether to stay away from the political conversation. For those who don’t want to avoid Facebook decide to defriend many people after deluges of political posts. Others block and hide posts on Facebook so they avoid their friends’ posts, in which Facebook automatically weeks out posts from the particular person on your timeline. Especially now with the election tomorrow, many people have unfollowed friends until the election is over.

Should Facebook really be the place to discuss political conversations? In my opinion, no. Facebook is a place for people to engage in social banter, not serious discussions about politics. For one, you could lose a friend over it. Friends should be able to hold calm conversations about politics face to face. Most people instead hide behind their computers and create posts that they would never say in person. Second, you could lose a client. If you post your opinion on Facebook and a client had an opposing view, they might create a different view of you. Third, it’s a waste of time because you aren’t going to be able to change a person’s opinion over Facebook. Fourth, Facebook is not the place to discuss politics. Don’t ruin other people’s joys on Facebook by ranting about politics. Instead, go to a political blog or website and throw out your opinions there. Finally, there is enough politics in the media already that Facebook should not be included. Facebook is a place for people to have fun with their friends and family and to laugh. It shouldn’t be a place to get hyped up and stressed about a serious issue. In my opinion, I say we agree keep politics out.

On a side note, I CAN’T WAIT to see what my timeline is going to be like tomorrow!

Is Facebook good for your heart post-break up? Not so much. When he breaks your heart or she dumps you, you never want to see your ex again. But there is one problem. Her new profile picture is all over your newsfeed; he’s writing flirty messages on another girl’s wall. There is no doubt today that Facebook has complicated break-ups. A study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking found that stalking an ex on Facebook is linked with greater distress over the breakup, more negative feelings, and more longing for the ex-partner. It evident for obvious reasons that Facebook can prolong break-up pain and interrupt the emotional recovery of it. Being exposed to your ex on Facebook, through photos, updates, or new relationships, intensifies stress and sadness. Thus, it is better to keep a distance, both online and offline, in order to heal the wound that the break-up created. But let’s face it, who can really help it? One psychologist surveyed more than 450 users and found that keeping up with one’s ex resulted in longer-lasting heartache. But this raises the chicken and the egg question: which came first? Are people becoming more depressed over their breakup as a result of their stalking, or are they stalking because they’re more depressed in the first place?

Not only are people using Facebook to monitor their ex, but they are also using it to check out their ex’s new, or supposedly new, partner. Further, some go as far as using a mutual friend to gain access to their ex’s life if they defriended each other after the breakup. While pictures of an ex can easily stir jealousy, studies also found that people post pictures in an attempt to make their ex jealous. The social network site is also causes people to linger over their past. People might re-read and overanalyze old messages or wall posts and delete pictures from when they were actually dating. Additionally, Facebook is in some ways used as a coping mechanism. One might quote song lyrics about the breakup or update depressing, sad statuses.

Whatever the case is, in my eyes, Facebook is not good for the heart post-breakup. The social networking site becomes an anchor to more depressing thoughts as it allows you to be continually updated on the life of your ex. To successfully overcome a breakup, Facebook should be steered out of your path. But let’s face it. In the age of social media, who can really help it?

You may have noticed recently that when updating a status, a little box appears asking if you would like to promote your status, meaning for $7, you can highlight how important whatever you are doing is to your friends. If clicked, your status update will be moved to the top of all your friends’ newsfeeds to guarantee that they read your uber important update about your life, or at least give it a chance among all of the other hourly updated statuses of your friends. In addition, your status will be displayed for a longer span of time than a usual update.  However, if everyone pays to promote their status, won’t we be back to square one in which everyone’s status remains among the clutter? Further, aren’t companies doing this already? They pay to promote their statuses, which is actually called advertising, a pretty popular term these days.

Why would someone want to pay to promote his or her status anyway? Maybe if you just got married and want your wedding album to be a priority on your friends’ newsfeeds. Or maybe you just had a baby and want to show off how adorable he or she is. These examples, however, just feed into the egocentric world we live in today. Everyone wants to promote their life, brag about their life, and share their life amongst everyone they know. Facebook has a good purpose as a whole, but adding a feature to promote a status? That’s about as smart an idea as the guy who just updated everyone that he took a shower.

There are a few practical reasons to promote your status if you have one that is actually worth promoting. There are numerous organizations that can get their word out by clicking promote, or maybe a band might benefit from it to inform their Facebook friends about a show coming up. Maybe you want to raise funds for a good cause, such as an animal shelter. In these cases, having the capacity to highlight your post can help your cause a great deal. However, as a whole, I think that promoting your status, which in a sense is promoting yourself, is just plain weird. We all have those friends that we know will take advantage of this tool and promote as many statuses as they can afford.

What I have come to learn from this new feature is that we live in an even more narcissistic world right now, and Facebook is just adding fuel to the fire. Facebook has convinced everyone that what you have to say is important for everyone else to hear. Paying to feed your ego is, in my opinion, a terrible idea, but as sad is it may sound, it’s not too surprising.

Is social media ruining relationships? Social networks, like Facebook, can have detrimental consequences on relationships, be they a 1-month romance or a 25-year marriage. What makes Facebook so dangerous to couples? Pretty obvious. Users are worried that their significant other are engaging in online relationships with their Facebook “friends.” This lack of trust combined with the possibility that their spouse is having an online affair leads to marital breakdowns and divorce. While I do not know anyone personally who’s relationship ended as a result of Facebook, the story we heard in class a few weeks ago about the man who had two wives and was caught over Facebook grabbed my attention. I decided to do my own research on how Facebook is affecting the divorce rate.

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I recently stumbled upon an article that stated that even though China banned the use of Facebook to its citizens, there are still 63.52 million users in the country.

To begin, why is Facebook banned in the world’s most populous country at 1.3 billion people? Because China is a communist country, it does not want its citizens to have a voice in the outside world. The government aims to control what information people have access to and what information they are able to share. Thus, when people start to question the government over social media sites such as Facebook, the government cracks down and the site is therefore prohibited. Second, Facebook believes that there are too many legal issues for the site to be reopened in China. However, laws aren’t meant to be followed, right? Apparently in China, this is true. The country is being called the most active social country in the world, with 95% of its citizens registered on a social network. The most alarming fact? The number of Facebook users in the country has climbed from 7.9 million people in July 2009 to 63.52 million people today. How do Chinese people get away with it? Citizens use VPNs (virtual private networks), VCSn (virtual cloud networks), or connections that may be routed internationally. As a result, users won’t be registered as being in a Chinese location at all. In addition, Chinese users are the most active mobile Internet users in the world. This makes it much easier to access Facebook, as well as other social media sites such as Twitter. So why is this information meaningful?

What alarmed me so much about these facts is that it proved how far people go to obtain the ability to access a social media site. It reiterated to me how popular Facebook is, and that breaking the law does not stop users from accessing the site. What does this say about society and Facebook? First, it confirms Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In his pyramid, he states that humans have three basic needs: love, affection, and a sense of belonging. By being a member of Facebook and adding photos, updating status, and sharing links, we are seeking for attention and belongingness, whether it is obvious to you or not. Facebook is helping to fill that dose of worthiness and belongingness, and therefore people, such as Chinese citizens, will take dangerous steps (as in breaking the law!) in order to have access to the site. Second, it allows to people to fit in with society. Who doesn’t want to have what everyone else has? Chinese users definitely do. Further, Facebook acts as more than a social media site. It is also a place where people can discuss the positives and negatives of a government or form a coalition to support or reject a group or idea. Facebook has many more uses today than just stalking the latest pictures from the weekend.

What scares me is that Facebook is becoming too addicting. Is the company becoming dangerous to society in that we are over-obsessing over pictures, status updates, and the amount of friends we have? I love Facebook, but this article and these facts prove that society has turned 180 degrees within a decade. If people are breaking the law now in order to gain access, what will people be doing 10 years from now in order to update their status in life? Scary.

Sources:

http://allfacebook.com/best-free-online-china-infographic_b90711

http://allfacebook.com/globalwebindex-facebook-users-china_b100923