What Do You Know About Facebook – The Social Networking Giant?

The social networking site ‘Facebook’ was officially launched in the year 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg together with his friends Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. A spin off of the Harvard University version of ‘Facemash’, ‘Facebook’ is privately owned by Facebook Inc. Initially meant only for university, companies and high school networking in the year 2006 was available for everyone older than 13 years of age, holding a valid email id. With more than 200 million active service users throughout the world, Facebook can be visited at www.facebook.com. This social networking site enables users to join one or more networks to connect with the members of the same group. While making most of its earnings from advertising, this network is available for its members at zero cost. Facebook’s banner advertising is served by Microsoft Corporation.

What Makes Facebook Stand Apart From Other Networking Sites?

Well, in order to understand the system and discuss its pros and cons it is important that we know what it is.

• The website has a number of features for interaction with its fellow members. Writing on the Wall of a person by friends, Pokes, that enables users to virtually poke the other person interacting with, Photos section where it allows users to post their photos which can also be seen by other members and Status which allows an individual to show his or her actions and their whereabouts to all their friends. The privacy settings of these features can be adjusted as required.
• News feed, a feature of facebook enables users get updates on changes in profile information, a note on upcoming happenings and birthdays. This feature suffered a lot of complaints which was later modified for better customization.
• The photos feature of facebook allows its members to upload photos, unlike other photo management websites; this network limits the number of photos which can be uploaded.
• Facebook Notes is a blogging feature permitting tagging and embeddable images.
• Comet an instant messaging service or simply called the ‘Chat’ feature of facebook enables communication among online members.
• The ‘Gift’ feature of facebook enables the user to send virtual gift at a cost of $1 together with message.
• ‘Marketplace’ is yet another feature allowing members to place free classified advertisements on the website.
• Facebook Platform enables users to develop applications that can interact with facebook features.
• Facebook for iPhone works with original iPhone features. It is being widely used by close to 1.5 million people across the world.

The Facebook Obsession: What Makes Students Get Glued To Facebook?

Well, being one of the most preferred and highly sought after Social Networking Sites, it is a great way to catch up with your old friends and an interesting platform for making new friends. The fact that today’s youngsters, for that matter even older adults are computer savvy, makes social life a virtual experience. With a number of social networking sites coming up students are becoming a part of online communities which helps them interact and talk to their friends from world over.

The convenience of networking, interacting, sharing, and chatting all possible, sitting at one place, is indeed the most attractive and addictive feature of online social networking. Will you say no to the facility of talking to friends and sharing with them sitting at the convenience of your room? With no need, to walk out of your house, commute in a vehicle and meet a couple of friends. Technology is rather making us lazy where we fail to understand the real life circumstances because we are glued and are addicted to the virtual way of living.

If you think Facebook is nothing more than a phone book on yellow pages then you are wrong. It is fun giving and interactive where you get to see the profile of your friends, know their likes and dislikes, their relationship status, views and interest and you also get the opportunity to group yourself under common interest groups. In short you get to do everything like talking, sharing photos and constantly updating friends not by meeting at their houses for a tea or getting together at a coffee shop but simply at the click of your mouse sitting in your room.

Facebook, initially a revised version of Facemash a website for Harvard University students for networking and interaction became a networking platform connecting people world over.

Parents of students are becoming more concerned and rather a little hesitant about their children sitting all day long in front of their PCs or note books not knowing whether they are into researching topics concerning their exams or just about an informal chat with their friends over the Facebook. What parents rather say that, they have almost lost their control over their children with regard to the people they move with and the intimacy they share with their friends online? The moment you display any information on the web no matter how regulated it is with the privacy settings, it simply means you are disclosing information to the whole world.

“Nothing Is Private in Facebook”

The aftermath of how the information is received, interpreted and manipulated makes some one keep their fingers crossed in other words you cannot >shout at the privacy being disturbed or peeped into after you have disclosed it all before the whole world. There is a downside that crops up when you share too much of an information on Facebook. Whether they are photos or your date of birth or may even be you day out with your friends remember, once you place it on the net people can access, save, not just for a longtime, can even end up manipulating them for personal gain.

The growing trend is that the fun filled Facebook has become a tool for employers in performing a background check about their prospective employees, which tells you that you better talk less about yourself for the more you expose the more you are in trouble. It is astounding to hear when a recent Supreme Court judgment upheld that the notice served on a person over his Facebook profile is a valid summons which in turn binds the individual. Have you ever imagined that a simple social networking can become so serious that you are legally held for something appearing on your Facebook profile?

Protect Your Interest Online?

• Know your Facebook settings: You always have the option of restricting the profile view to your friends. Nobody can be your friend in Facebook unless you accept.
• Talk less: Ensure that you post minimum private information about your self, in other words talk less about yourself, cause, you never know which information will turn out to be detrimental.
• Think for a while: Before you could talk about any of your experiences or interests think for a while and ensure it will not affect any of your future ventures or job opportunities. Before you could talk about any of your experiences or interests think for a while and ensure it will not affect any of your future ventures or job opportunities.

Facebook – An Addiction – Should I or Shouldn’t I?

nteraction and sharing are essential to make life more happening and interesting to live. Even not for these social networking websites, talking and sharing with ones friends is a common thing. How much time you spend with your friends and on what is a valid question irrespective of whether the interaction is online or offline.

The serious drawback about virtual interaction is that students hardly get to know when they started using the facility, how long they have been using it, what is that they are disclosing and finally how addicted are they with the so called Facebook social networking website. It is time to remember that every opportunity or facility comes with in built drawbacks and shortcomings. Youngsters or say teenagers, students, working professionals spend quite a lot of time in these networking services that some of the companies have even banned the usage of these websites considering the amount of time wasted by the employees in the so called social interaction. And for the students you don’t have to say, even otherwise hardly do you find them sitting with their books and revising their lessons. Just another excuse for not scoring marks provided the exams are not held on the Facebook. It is so addictive that students eat, drink and sleep updating every movement of theirs in their Facebook profile. Parents are seriously concerned on the amount of time wasted and the aftermath of the information disclosed, mainly photos in their Facebook profiles and fun filled networking activities.

The Bottom Line

For a quiet sometime now you have been reading about Facebook, its advantages, facilities offered, disadvantages and the addictiveness. I am sure you are a bit confused about what is that I am trying to convey. Well my message is short and simple. It is a facility, use it. Are you addicted that’s fine ensure you use it wisely. The cons of Facebook should be considered seriously or it might lead serious drawbacks. So if you are now asked the question “Should I or Shouldn’t I use Facebook” what will be your answer?