Who needs an email account when you have Facebook messages? Who needs MSN when you have Facebook chat? Who needs Flicker when you have Facebook photos? Who needs Foursquare when you can have Facebook places? Who needs to watch the ABC when you can be informed of the world’s news through Facebook status updates? Who needs YouTube when your friends are going to show you the best videos via Facebook? Who needs the World Wide Web when you already have FACEBOOK?!
Facebook is no longer just a social networking site. It has evolved into a convergence destination that is slowly replacing email, instant messaging, video-sharing, gaming and other activities that were previously scattered across the World Wide Web. Jenkins (2004) states that ‘convergence is more than simply a technological shift it alters the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres and audience’ and Facebook has done just that.
Facebook has revolutionized the way we interact with and consume media. I myself have become heavily dependent on Facebook not only for socializing, sharing and stalking but also often use the platform as a news source. Today I feel as though I am more informed of breaking news via Facebook than watching the ‘actual’ news. This is due to the instantaneous nature of Facebook with a status update often able to inform quicker than a news outlet can. For example a quick check of Facebook via my iPhone on May 2nd this year informed me that Osama Bin Laden had apparently been killed. There are numerous other examples to add to this list but the point I am trying to make is that convergence within Facebook has reduced the amount of time users spend ‘surfing’ web as many have become trapped within the Facebook vortex and are thus not required to utilize many of the other platforms of the world wide web.
Jenkins, H (2004) The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence, International Journal of Cultural Studies, 7/1, 33-43.
I agree with your points about Facebook being a provider of so many sources of information.
ReplyDeleteI think facebook acts as a gateway into the WWW, just take a look how many links can be shared on your homepage!
Take a look at this video, I think it emphasises facebook as a gateway...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DydkLYMeQzU
Thanks for the video Naomi! Yesterday Mashable posted a study that found that social media accounts for 23% of all internet use which again supports the idea that Facebook is dominating the Web..
ReplyDeletehttp://mashable.com/2011/09/12/23-percent-online/
I am afraid to admit I am also stuck in the 'Facebook Vortex' you've described above. It is interesting to look at Facebook as a convergent media site, satisfying news, political, social and cultural questions, rather than just a social network, a point I definitely agree with.
ReplyDeleteI personally like the way Facebook is heading in-relation to the group-work features. It allows for group assignments to be completed with relative ease. How?
ReplyDelete- Documents can be shared online and edited amongst group members
- It allows for easy up-date posts (easy to set group meetings)
- It is easily accessible and user-friendly
This means that even more time is spent on Facebook!!! Arghhhhh