Comments on: Trying Not to Lose Face

By: DCDL

DCDL — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:05:56 +0000

DC Drinking Liberally on Facebook…

Sparked by a Crooked Timber post by Henry Farrell (who did show up at DCDL once), I joined Facebook and set up a group for DC Drinking Liberally. I’m not sure how useful it’ll actually be, but it’s an experiment. So far it’s re…

By: zebbidies spring

zebbidies spring — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:26:32 +0000

Actually that link isn’t her thesis, it’s her writing about it.

I will now retire to the library with a bottle of Glenfiddich and a revolver..

By: zebbidies spring

zebbidies spring — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:09:38 +0000

There is a PhD thesis been completed on how the choice of MySpace or Facebook correlates to one’s social strata. At its most crude, Facebook = “educated ruling class teens” and MySpace = “multiple piercing, panda-eye mascara freaks” .

A rather peeved story on it at IT WIRE and the actual thesis by Danah Boyd, a post graduate student at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley, is here.

So you lot are the hegemon. Bastards!

I’m being oppressed!

By: Easily Distracted » Blog Archive » Criticality

Easily Distracted » Blog Archive » Criticality — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:57:10 +0000

[...] Henry Farrell pointed out this week that Facebook seemed to have hit a point of phase transition somewhere in the last couple of months, broadening rapidly beyond undergraduate and graduate students. [...]

By: Colin Farrelly

Colin Farrelly — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:17:44 +0000

The Facebook skit is great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FahBBnfHAQ

By: Time to Go to Bed § Unqualified Offerings

Time to Go to Bed § Unqualified Offerings — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 03:46:07 +0000

[...] why Facebook has jumped the shark that is far more confusing than the entirely sufficient, “Even the Crooked Timber guys are getting into it,” [...]

By: Ben Saunders

Ben Saunders — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:13:02 +0000

Why I joined? Well, it had reached us (UK) in my final year of undergrad though I wasn’t aware of it at the time. A few years into postgrad and it seemed every undergrad was on there – our student paper even printed people’s profiles in their blind dating column. I just joined out of curiosity really, and found a whole bunch of people did around the same time (it being start of the year). Now it’s amazing how quickly it spreads to new students in fresher’s week, and I’m finding old school/undergrad friends.

By: lindsey

lindsey — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:01:38 +0000

Sorry wrong link, I meant this post.

By: lindsey

lindsey — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:57:54 +0000

The groups are usually supposed to be funny, though some serve actual purposes. For example, I'm in a group for people doing an international internship next year. Our program gives us zero info, so as a group we collectively try to figure out what's going on. The group can be universal, so all the assistants from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, etc are on there, and I suppose this sort of community wouldn't have been as successful sans facebook. But again, most of the groups are just a way of describing your interests/etc outside of the personal info field. In fact, because the groups you join tell something about your personality, many students leave most/many of the groups they're in when they start applying for jobs (not to mention they edit their personal info, and/or pull down their account). Any thoughts on employers using facebook to check out potential employees? Or universities for that matter...

By: Jacob Christensen

Jacob Christensen — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:25:48 +0000

The target Henry & co. has to go for is 2,452 friends. Robert Scoble did that in one month.

I think I’ll just wander off to the mountains and live like a digital hermit… (No, I don’t have a Facebook profile)

By: KCinDC

KCinDC — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:35:03 +0000

Thanks, Eszter. I was confused by the interface, which says it searches “My Network and Friends” but in fact seems to search more than that. I’ll have to see if I can unearth my never-used and otherwise pointless alumni e-mail addresses so I can join my university networks.

By: Dan Bye

Dan Bye — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:00:43 +0000

I’ve joined the CT group now – and suddenly there’s a whole other conversation to be had: what factors govern what groups one chooses to join on Facebook?

I’m a member of about fifteen groups, ranging from my own theatre company through CT to “Biafra for President 2008” (although I’m not an American and I assume he’s not running). Although ostensibly one joins groups to be kept up to date about certain things, in fact I reckon one joins in order to project a certain self-image outward to one’s social networks. I want people to know I like thoughtful blogging, punk music and comically radical politics, so I join groups that help me advertise those preferences. Am I alone?

By: Eszter

Eszter — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:43:28 +0000

KC - It’s up to people to designate privacy settings as to whether they show up on searches performed by people outside of their networks. Plenty of people have found me who are not in any of my organizationally-based networks. I think it’s the default that people can find you so if doesn’t require that people have the know-how to change privacy settings. I suspect what’s going on in your case is that perhaps many people in your networks simply haven’t signed up (yet?).

By: mo

mo — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:37:39 +0000

“To me, Facebook was for undergrads, and joining was somewhat equivalent to leering at the freshman girls.”

Okay, sign me up.

By: omicron

omicron — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:58:00 +0000

Guess I should have refreshed the page before posting, thanks henry!