Week 9: Social networking sites Flashcards
Social network sites (SNSs)
What are SNSs?
Web-based services, allowing individuals to:
Construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system
Articulate a list of users (whom they are then connected to)
View and traverse connections within the system
Social network sites (SNSs)
MySpace, Facebook, Twitter
Hundreds of SNSs exist
Utilised by millions
Used in such a manner that they are integrated into daily practices
Social network sites (SNSs)
Maintain pre-existing social networks (Facebook(
Shared interests, political views, activities (Twitter, Instagram)
Range from sites catering for diverse to specific audiences
Differ in terms of information and communications provided (photo-sharing, video-sharing, blogging, games, etc)
Social network sites (SNSs)
Word “network” does not wholly describe SNSs activities
SNSs are not special for connecting individuals with strangers
SNSs participants are not networking or seeking to meet new people
Social network sites (SNSs)
“latent ties” – denoting some sort of offline connection – meaning
SNSs unique as users can articulate and make visible social networks, which then leads to connections between individuals that would otherwise not be made
Yet Another Social Networking Service - YASNS
History
Visibility
Profile pages “type oneself into being” (“self presentation”, “impression management”)
Specific questions on age, location, interests, “about me” section
Applications
Friends, Acquaintances, Followers (network visualisation)
Care2, MyChurch, Couchsurfing, YouTube
Xanga, LiveJournal
History
Facebook
Designed to support Harvard only network in 2004 – required a harvard.edu email
Started adding associated users.
Why?
History
Facebook
Expanded to include high school students, corporate professionals and eventually, everyone
Used to maintain existing offline relationships or solidify them
Online interactions interface with offline ones
Users search for people with whom they ‘share’ an offline connection
Korea, Cyworld – maintenance and reinforcement of pre-existing social networks are main motive for use
MySpace and Facebook – enables US youth to socialise even when they are unable to gather in unmediated situations
Privacy
Concern re older users preying on younger users
Concern re false information
Gender: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/13/transgender-facebook-expands-gender-options
Names: http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024671475_apxfacebookdragqueens.html
Contexts
Identities
Micro-celebrities
Self-representation
“imagined audiences”
Microblogging – 140 characters
Everytime a user tweets, he/she has a sense of an audience
Self-representation takes place through ongoing tweets and conversations
Textual, not visual
Authenticity – losing audiences
Strategic audiences – balancing authenticity
“’real me” vs “localised, temporarlly situated social construct that varies widely based on community”
Self-censorship
