Facebook : What were they thinking?

Hello Facebook! Goodbye Msn, Yahoo and Hotmail. Hello Pokes! Goodbye Buzz. More importantly Goodbye Personal Messages, Hello Status updates.
Facebook allows people to express their ideas, their thoughts and even parts of their life with “friends”. Facebook is sort of a means of global communication and people tend to forget that. People forget that when you communicate by updating your status, it’s everyone not just your “friends” who see it. When it comes to Facebook, for most people it’s all about the medium. Like Marshall McLuhan said, the medium is the message. People just do not care what they post because it is Facebook. I don’t think people would post some of the things they do on Facebook on other social networking sites like MSN, My Space or Yahoo. Everything changes because the tool is Facebook. Status Updates are deadly tools as will be discussed later in this post.
Recently, MSN.ca published an article called Facebook’s Biggest Fools. This article outlined eight stories that serve as ways not to use Facebook.
The first problem the article discussed was a fugitive from U.S called Sopo who was bragging about his new life in Mexico. Not only that, he added a former Justice Department Officer to his friend’s list. He was caught when he updated his status from Cancun stating that his new home was like living in paradise (Microsoft, 2009)
The second problem discussed was the story of 19 year old Jonathan Parker, a burglar who decided to stop half way through robbing the house to update his status, and then forgot to log off Facebook before leaving.
The third problem discussed was that of two Australian girls, aged 10 and 12 who were trapped in a storm drain last month. The normal thing to do in this scenario would have been to call Emergency services, well these two girls to update their Facebook status asking for help. It was then a friend saw it and called Emergency Services (Microsoft, 2009).
The fourth scenario was that of the Canada Border Services Agency two years ago when younger recruits posted inappropriate and offensive material, including jokes about guns and passports and an allegation that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a "serial killer", to the social networking site. The incident raised questions about the individuals entrusted to guard Canada's borders (Microsoft, 2009).
The fifth scenario was that of the seven emergency staff from the Great Western Hospital in Wiltshire, England, who found themselves suspended, pending disciplinary hearings after they allegedly played the "lying down game" and posted the pictures on Facebook. The game involves being photographed lying down in unusual locations, with the doctors and nurses said to have photographed themselves lying on resuscitation trolleys, ward floors and a helipad. Word spread quickly and eventually got to their bosses (Microsoft, 2009).
The sixth scenario was that of a juror was dismissed from a U.K. trial after sharing details of the case on her Facebook profile. Apparently unable to decide upon the guilt or innocence of defendants in a child abduction and assault case, she made the decision to request the help of her friends and family via the social networking site (Microsoft, 2009).
The seventh scenario was that of female motorist who filmed drenching children at a bus stop while driving through a puddle. The video taken inside the car was posted on Facebook and YouTube, where it soon came to the attention of the police, who said the driver could face charges (Microsoft, 2009).
The eighth story was that of a young woman who added an insulting post about her boss to her Facebook profile. Sadly for this woman, she had already added him to her friends list. The worker, known only as Lindsay, posted the provocative Facebook status update: "OMG I HATE MY JOB!! My boss is a total pervy w****r, always making me do s**t stuff just to p**s me off!! W****r!" to which her boss 'Brian' added a response, beginning: "Hi Lindsay, I guess you forgot about adding me on here?" After reminding her that her trial period at the company was not yet complete, Brian asked Lindsay not to continue on (Microsoft, 2009).
These eight scenarios also validate the transmission model. Content of the medium (Facebook) had a direct influence on the audiences (the status updaters, as well as those who read it). Otherwise, for instance in the last scenario, the boss might have ignored the message and Lindsay might still have that job. It also shows facebook as a means of both Business and Government Surveillance. Like it was mentioned in the Mobile Communication and Governing the mobile: CBs and truckers, technologies are been used as means of surveillance. Facebook was used to track and capture fugitives and robbers.

References:

Micrsoft (2009) MSN Techs and Gadgets : Facebook's Biggest Fools. Retrieved from http://tech.ca.msn.com/photogallery.aspx?cp-documentid=22431689&page=1

Posted by Anjola Olubuyide