A Global "Like" Button

Just a few days ago, it was reported on TechCrunch, a new idea proposed by Facebook to expand their “Like” button. Currently, users are allowed to “like” their friends’ statuses, pictures, wall posts and so forth, but Facebook is now interested in expanding this idea to encompass the entire internet. It would allow third-party websites to simply add a “like” button to their page and if Facebook users like what they see, they can “like it” and it would appear on their wall. The complete details haven’t exactly been released yet, the most information I could find about it was through TechCrunch, and most other websites and blogs linked directly to TechCrunch.

The thought of being able to “like” anything over the web is both scary and intelligent at the same time. It is intelligent because of how it strengthens Facebook as a filter through which users can decide what they "like" on the web. Users can now interact with the websites they visit daily and say they like it and their friends can see which websites they visit and “like”. I find it very similar to the role that blogs play and ideas we discussed in the beginning of this semester. We discussed how blogs act as an intelligent filter and connect people to relevant, important or interesting websites that exist on the internet. Blogs filter the vast amounts of information and websites out there so we don't have to waste time looking around for things that interest us. Facebook now wants to latch onto this concept, and it makes sense. If I see my good friends “liking” particular websites, of course I’d go and check them out – simply because they are my 'friends' and we share similar interests.

Now while this may seem like a smart move for Facebook, I'm also sceptical of it and think its a scary thought at the same time. Facebook wants to expand to the whole internet, and it seems to be working. Facebook is becoming a Google level of scary. A few weeks ago, it was reported that Facebook was the most visited website for an entire week and surpassed Google in the week of March 13th, 2010. It seems like a smart move for Facebook to now try and compete with Google, but if the “like” button comes into effect, this will be huge for advertisers and businesses. We might soon be bombarded from third-party sites to get you to “like” their websites because it is an easy form of advertising for these companies. I’m finding it incredibly difficult to wrap my head around the idea of Facebook being present everywhere on the internet, that we simply cannot just sign out of our Facebook page, it will be everywhere on the internet soon.

Blogging is NOT a Male Dominanted Space

I came across an interesting opinion column in the Globe and Mail last week, but because of the overload of assignments I’ve had with end of semester assignments, I’m finally bringing it up now. The opinion piece by Margaret Wente, makes an argument that the blogosphere is a male dominated space, a space in which women feel they do not need to participate. She is saying that although women have opinions, they do not feel the need to express them in the blogosphere like men do. She argues that men get a ‘rush’ out of posting their opinions like then do when they do extreme snowmobiling and women don’t find the need to partake.

Wow. I think this column is just ridiculous. The whole purpose of a blog is to not get a rush off of how risqué your opinions and beliefs are, but rather to voice your opinion in a democratic space for others to read. It can be for anything, activism, on the latest technology, Hollywood gossip, even food recipes. So who is to say that the world of blogging should only be done by men? One way she strongly contradicts herself in this piece is that she says:

“Opinionizing in public is a form of mental jousting, where the aim is to out-reason, out-argue or out-yell your opponent. Women are just as good at this as men and, in some ways, better. Women are simply not as interested in doing it.”

But she just wrote a piece for an Opinion Column, is she not doing the same thing except getting paid for it? And don’t the really good bloggers get paid as well? I’m not really sure I see a difference here. By Wente voicing her opinion in a newspaper it is in the public, just the same as a blogger from the Huffington Post commenting on particular events.

I don’t think there is really a gender divide when it comes to blogs. For the most part, blogging has nothing to do about which sex can get more people out there blogging. It’s about creating a voice for yourself that wouldn’t be heard otherwise. Let’s not restrict that right.

Getting Robed Because You Over Shared on Twitter

Over sharing is a common practice on Facebook and Twitter. Some people using social networking sites use their “What’s On Your Mind” feature, a little too literally. They are updating when they go to class, work, gym, the bathroom, and on vacation to let their friends know their whereabouts at all times. However, there are some dangers with telling all your “friends” where you are at all times – they know exactly when you are not home.

When you leave for a vacation, you don’t leave a message on your home answering machine saying “I’m not home – I’m on a beach in Mexico”, simply because you don’t want just anyone calling your house and hearing this message. We also go to great lengths like, leaving lights on in the house and getting the neighbours to pick up mail to make it appear that someone is home, when we are gone.

So why do people post this information on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook?

On Facebook you could have hundreds of ‘friends’ who have access to your page and can read your status updates. When we update our Facebook pages, sometimes we can forget how much information we are throwing out there and forgetting about how much access people have to this information.

I recently found an article on Globe and Mail about a new feature for Twitter which allows people to automatically track their locations through a tracking tool which users simply have to turn on or off. With the growing popularity of people “tweeting” their locations, now they don’t have to waste an entry telling people – Twitter will do it for you. There are other social networking services that also track where you are, like foursquare, which basically rewards (gives you points) to tell people where you are.

The Globe article goes on to say that Facebook will soon follow with an application to tell people about your whereabouts. I know I won’t use this. I use Facebook as a social networking site, a place to connect with friends and share photos with them – I don’t feel the need to tell people when I’m going to the gym and class. The people who need to know will already know – without the help of Facebook. There is hope though. There is a new website called “Please Rob Me”, which is trying to inform people of the dangers of over sharing through explicit means.

While social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are convenient to check up on friends and family and share pictures, there are risks as well. Posting your location has its dangers. You don’t know who is tracking your Facebook page – but then again – maybe I’m just paranoid…

What’s All The ‘Buzz’ About?!

Since Facebook and Twitter isn’t fulfilling our online social-networking needs, Google has come out with its own take on it, called Google Buzz. Check out the video for an overview put out by Google, about how they describe Google Buzz. From the video, I’m still left with a few questions about how Buzz actually works, but to me it seems almost like a combination of Facebook and Twitter - combined. One of the major differences between Buzz, Facebook and Twitter, is that Buzz is directly linked to people who already have a Gmail account. If you are already using Gmail, you can follow your contacts that you already have in Gmail and publish updates and photos for an approved list of people to see.

But one has to question, what is all the Buzz about? What are the pros and cons of Buzz? And why would people want to start using this form of social networking rather than the two major forms that already dominate our online world.

One thing that will be an uphill battle for Buzz will be building an audience. People have been pretty loyal to their Facebook pages that when Twitter came out, most were not willing to make the switch or have two online social networking pages at the same time. Personally, Facebook is the only social networking site I participate in, as I think juggling a Twitter account and a Facebook account is too much for me. So for me, Buzz would have to offer something extremely different or more convenient features that Facebook does not have. In my search to learn more about Google Buzz, I came across a blog post which offers arguments for and against Buzz.

Another reason I’m unsure of the success of Google Buzz is that in order to use Buzz, you have to have a Gmail account. For myself, I have used a Hotmail account since MSN first became popular back in grade school. I’m comfortable with my Hotmail account and currently have no use for a Gmail account and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Many other people are probably already settled into their email accounts and not interested in leaving then to create a new one and share their email address with all contacts and make that shift.

The main reason I don’t believe Google Buzz to be successful is the fact that Buzz has come too late in social-networking sites. Facebook has been around for more than five years, first emerging as a social-networking tool for college students in the United States. Once the idea was successful there, it expanded to university students and then eventually to the mass online consumer culture. Twitter then came along, with some alterations from Facebook, but now users have the ability to ‘follow’ celebrities. Buzz is more than five years behind these two and I’m curious to see if it will be successful or not. If I were to make any prediction about the success of Buzz, I think it will have a hard time competing with Facebook and Twitter, despite the features it offers. Can’t see myself signing up for a Gmail account and Buzz anytime soon, can you?