Facebook - all seeing, all knowing
Last week, some of Crowd DNA squeezed into a lecture hall to hear what Daniel Miller, Professor of Anthropology at UCL, had to say about Facebook.
With over 800 million active users and approximately 80% of its users from outside the US, it’s about time that the social network received attention from academia. As an anthropologist, Miller is interested in the relationships between different groups of people, rather than individuals themselves – so Facebook provides telling insights into how social relationships are developing today.
Based on a year-long study into the daily Facebook habits of Trinidadians (argued to be fast adopters of new technology), and published in “Tales from Facebook”, Miller challenges common assumptions about Facebook.
The social network’s ubiquity is undeniable – it’s a facet of modern life that is used by approximately one in every 13 people in the world. However, we can’t assume that it is being used in the same way by everyone. Though US college students first adopted Facebook, this isn’t to say that it’s the preserve of youth alone. Miller refutes the notion of ‘one true Facebook,’ – as it is adapted in new locations, it is reinvented and becomes particular to each user.That is, if it’s adopted at all.
In the UK, a whopping 43% of the whole population is on Facebook. However, Facebook penetration in Japan stands at less than 1%, where the social network faces significant obstacles. In a society where anonymity is valued, Facebook’s real name policy is at odds with the cultural tendency to post under pseudonyms, and which Japan-based social networks such as Mixi and Gree allow.
While social networks are often used as means of expression in Japan, which is free from social constraints, they may be used to recreate the offline world in other societies. This week, Facebook’s policies have angered mothers worldwide, who are staging protests outside Facebook HQs against having their profiles taken down because of breast-feeding images:
"This is discrimination. There's no other way to look at it. We're being treated as pornographers. Breast-feeding moms, especially ones with infants, spend hours a day with their children at their breast. They're not trying to be sexually explicit. This is just part of their everyday lives."
Though Facebook defines itself as a ‘social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and co-workers,’ criticisms leveraged against it cite that it’s a superficial means of communication that is detrimental to ‘real’ face-to-face contact and that can even give you cancer(!). Miller, on the other hand, argues that the social network has a much wider impact. He believes that Facebook has become a ‘site of witnessing,’ an all-seeing, all-knowing medium, where what you see online can be more truthful than the real life representation. People are using the site to balance what is going on in their offline world and, therefore, Facebook can often provide a rounder insight into individuals.
Though the backlash against Facebook is well underway, what does the future hold for this social network? One of the faster growing demographics of Facebook users is the over 50s, who are using social networks to reconnect with old friends and family. It may also be used increasingly by those that wish to engage with others, but that are unable to due to illness or shyness.
One thing is for sure – there is no ‘authentic’ way to use Facebook and as a result, brands can’t afford to have a ‘one size fits all’ social media strategy. The need to think carefully about the cultural sensitivities and idiosyncrasies of consumers has never been stronger.
Voxpop predictions for '12
It's all well and good asking the experts for their take on the year ahead, but it's equally important to understand what 'the people' (for want of a considerably better term) think the next 12 months has in store.
We took to the streets to canvas opinion on what people expect and/or want to see happening in 2012, with a heavy skew towards things digital. The three most salient themes to emerge were as follows -
- Targeted content: much debate on whether a little privacy is, or is not, worth losing in return for content that has your name written all over it.
- Simplifying the social network experience: consensus that things have become just to complicated and that there's a need to get back to basics.
- Online versus offline: particularly in relation to retail, a heightened focus on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Check the vid below...