Very revealing conversation
with lots of info about the behind-the-scenes workings of Facebook as
well as the site's future plans. Obviously, it's important to keep in
mind this is an anonymous interview on the Internet. So who knows how
true it is?
AllofFacebook.com, a site dedicated to all things Facebook has an analysis
but won't side one way or the other, only stating that it rings for
them (as it did for me...but I freely admit how gullible I can be
sometimes.)
(via MetaFilter)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Search
Recent Entries
Recent Comments
This Month
Month Archive
Links
|
Friday, January 15
Friday Fun Link - Conversation with an Anonymous Facebook Employee (January 15, 2010)
by
Jason
on Fri 15 Jan 2010 10:36 PM CST
Sunday, December 27
Facebook's Great Betrayal
by
Jason
on Sun 27 Dec 2009 01:42 PM CST
This article entitled "Facebook's Great Betrayal" is a bit out-dated now but a few weeks ago, users logging in to Facebook were asked to choose some new privacy settings - many of them ominously set to "Everyone".
A lot of the success of Facebook versus other social networking sites was that it gave users such granulated control over who could see what information about them but now, in an attempt to catch up to Twitter and with Google adding "Real Time" search as a major factor in generating search results, Facebook has made another move that has rubbed a lot of users the wrong way including encouraging users to share more information publicly and making some information public no matter what the user wants (lists of friends, profile pictures, etc.) Coincidentally, I'm reading "Accidental Billionaires: the Founding of Facebook - A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal" which gives some insight into the personalities that created the world's most popular social networking site. Thursday, October 15
If It Was Good Enough For Genghis (And A List of Controversial Topics)
by
Jason
on Thu 15 Oct 2009 07:11 PM CST
Shea posted a hilarious anti-breastfeeding article pro-Nestle Fake Milk Formula to her Facebook status with the usual heavy response to anytime this type of topic comes up - from both pro-breastfeeding moms and those who weren't able to or aren't as worked up about the prevalance of formula in our society.
It made me think, what are the most controversial topics you can bring up with someone to guarantee a good argument (or awkward silences): - religion/atheism - politics - abortion - euthanasia - parenting - breastfeeding - social programs (pick one) - economic programs (pick one) - pornography - sex - gambling - anything to do with races/gender issues/sexual orientation and all that fun stuff - why the Leafs suck so badly (okay, nobody disagrees about this!  )So anyhow, that's a long way of saying that I hope Shea posts this article about the completely different attitude towards breastfeeding that exists way around the world in Mongolia (although if you did a study, I'm sure the attitudes in Mongolia are much more common worldwide than the typical North American way of doing things - baby breastfeeds for maybe 3-6 months if they're lucky or else mom says she just wasn't able to do it - which might be true but you shouldn't admit in the same article that you "didn't realise how much work breastfeeding would be" or mention that being able to leave baby with grandma and grandpa for a night out is a nice bonus as was the case in the article Shea posted to her Facebook.) Thursday, September 17
Twitter Times
by
Jason
on Thu 17 Sep 2009 10:10 PM CST
Facebook has stolen added a new feature, inspired by Twitter, where you can tag another user by using the "@" sign and then typing the person's name in your status updates.
When I was trying it out to tag Shea in a post, I ended with a rhetorical "Is this a Twitter killer?" A few people were quick to respond that this wasn't the case with one very succinctly saying "Um...no." So I should clarify what I meant with my half-baked comment. I obviously don't think that one appropriated feature, no matter how core to the experience, means that Twitter's going to disappear (although they appear capable of doing this to themselves regularly anyhow!) But I do wonder if the rapid Twitter-ification of Facebook does mean that the casual user (here I'm talking about people who aren't early adopters, who don't work in libraries and get excited about every new technology that comes along, and yes, I'll say it, the type of person who answer a LOT of Facebook quizzes) might be less inclined to make the jump to getting on Twitter if they're already on Facebook? Nah, those people can still follow Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears if they join Twitter. They'll leap too!  (Now, as for whether MS-Office Online will kill Google Docs, that's a much more plausible scenario...) Friday, September 11
Friday Fun Link - Funny Facebook Threads (Sept 11, 2009)
by
Jason
on Fri 11 Sep 2009 11:23 PM CST
[2009-09-17 - Edit: "b" and "c" aren't that close on the keyboard so I wonder what sort of a Freudian slip it was to type "Facecook" in the subject line of this post originally?]
A minor trend I've noticed lately is people posting screen caps of funny Facebook threads they come across... "Michael Jackson is dead?" "OMG! I HATE MY JOB! My boss is a total pervvy wanker" "Thank-you Michael. I had a great time." (NSFW!!!) Why You Shouldn't Friend Your Parents On Facebook Why You Should Always Log Out of Facebook While At Your Parents' House Why Parents Shouldn't Be Allowed on Facebook in General So stupid... "I split my vag!" (I would hope that the NSFW is self-evident here.) (Hmm, and some surfing around reveals that, of course, there's a whole sub-reddit dedicated to the topic that I'd never seen before!) Saturday, August 22
My Day As Facebook Updates
by
Jason
on Sat 22 Aug 2009 11:53 PM CST
I rarely do Facebook updates so here's a glimpse of how today would be if I did them all the time.
7:11am - Jason is awake before everyone else to attempt to catch up on his usual e-mail backlog. Getting from 130 down to 50 feels like success. 8:27am - some people say leftover pizza is disgusting. I say it's the best breakfast food ever invented. 9:29am - Having moved all the furniture from the living room to the dining room last night, Jason is a steam cleaning machine 11:00am - Jason, Shea and Pace are having lunch on the patio while the carpet dries. 1:30pm - Jason is trying to convince Pace to have a nap. It's not going so well. 1:32pm - Knees to the face on the day we have family pictures scheduled = no good. 1:34pm - Ouch. And now he's standing and taking running leaps at my head. 1:45pm - Shea's here. Thank god - she'll convince him to sleep. 2:02pm - Okay, well, at least she took him away so I could have a quick nap. 3:00pm - Jason is awake and man, naps are one of the greatest things on earth. 4:38pm - Jason is sitting in the van in the driveway after having taken Pace for a drive - the only way he was going to nap today. So I'm playing crib on my iPhone and he's zonked out...finally. 5:45pm - Jason is off to have family pictures done by one of Shea's colleagues who moonlights as a photographer on weekends. 6:35pm - Jason is pretending to be a model for family pictures at Luther College. Someone tell the photographer that the human body doesn't bend that way! 8:30pm - Jason and Shea are at the Barley Mill to meet one of Shea's old friends and her new boyfriend for a late supper and a drink. 11:02pm - Jason is driving the babysitter home and having a "when did I become an adult?" moment (similar to when he stopped to pick up Pace at daycare on Thursday and one of the kids yelled "Pace's dad is here!" and I was like, "Pace has a dad? Really?" before realising, "Oh yeah, that's me. I'm a dad!") 11:52pm - Jason is going to bed just as soon as he comes up with some stupid idea to fill up his blog post for the day. 11:53pm - Oh, I think I've got one that I could even re-use anytime I'm hard up for material... Tuesday, May 12
Meili 2.0: Party Renewal In The Information Age
by
Jason
on Tue 12 May 2009 08:02 PM CST
I slipped over to the University today to sit in on the press conference for Ryan Meili's official launch of his campaign videos. The release of these videos was tied into the larger theme of the changing role of technology and especially its abiility to level the playing field in modern politics. (See his press release below.)
Of course, all of the NDP leadership candidates are doing the tech things you'd expect in this day and age - having a web site, having a Facebook page, having online donation forms - but Ryan has taken his use of technology to another level with a personal blog, a Twitter account, an up-to-date Wikipedia page, tribute videos from supporters, more pictures on Flickr than any other candidate plus his utilization of a popular online project management system for his behind-the-scenes communication with campaign staff and volunteers. And of course, his YouTube videos which are probably the single best demonstration of any of the campaigns' embracing and understanding of Web 2.0 technology that I've seen. (Online broadcasting is a personal interest of mine so I'm following this aspect of the campaign particularly closely.) (I just noticed that Dwain Lingenfelter's Wikipedia page has finally gotten a long overdue update after being pretty basic, even up to...(looks at page history)...today actually! And honestly, if i had to pick a winner just based on the look of their sites, Deb Higgins' site is really well-designed.) Ryan's press release announcing his campaign videos [Edit: I used a draft of the press release originally and have replaced it with the final version.] and the role of Web 2.0 in his campaign is after this brief message...  NEWS RELEASE NDP leadership candidate Ryan Meili wants to reach a new generation of political activists. To do so, he’s using the power of online social networks to change the way politics is practiced in Saskatchewan. Today, the campaign officially released a series of digital videos on party renewal, agriculture and rural life, the environment, First Nations and Métis issues and health care. Meili hopes that his supporters will promote the videos across their online social networks and in the blogosphere. “When M.J. Coldwell and Tommy Douglas were building our party, they depended on people sharing the CCF story and vision with their friends and neighbours,” said Meili. “We’re just doing the same thing in a 21st century way. Online communities created through social networking allow people with common political values to organize and to inspire each other.” The rise of social network sites like MySpace and Facebook has had a profound effect on election campaigns in the United States. Although federal parties in Canada have successfully adopted some of these techniques, the use of new technology in Saskatchewan politics has been limited to fairly staid websites. The use of online video in Saskatchewan has been limited to posting traditional political speeches on YouTube. “The Meili campaign is different because it’s exploiting the full potential of the Internet as a campaign tool,” said Dr. Chanchal Bhattacharya, an Alberta political scientist who studies the use of new technology in political campaigns. “Three of the campaigns are using the internet like it’s still 2000. Despite very limited resources, Meili is effectively using Web 2.0 social media like YouTube and Facebook to reach new voters and energize existing ones. It’s a 21st-century Saskatchewan campaign.” It isn’t just the mode of delivery that’s new. The videos are also different from the usual political commercial, online or otherwise. More like short documentaries, the videos tell the stories of people from across Saskatchewan; north and south, rural and urban, young and old. According to Meili, “This is a test run for the next election campaign, where we will use technology to share the voices of real people.” “These online tools equalize the playing field and empower those who were once excluded from the political process,” says Joshua Hannigan of Loud and Clear Marketing and Communications, the producer of the videos. “Social media will be one of the most important tools in the next election. Electoral success will depend on using these tools to their full potential.” -30- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Tuesday, April 7
The Facebook Generation vs. The Fortune 500
by
Jason
on Tue 07 Apr 2009 08:10 PM CST
Rarely do I read an article where I just keep going "yes, yes, yes!" (well, not in a mainstream publication anyhow!
 ) But that was my reaction after reading "The Facebook Generation vs. The Fortune 500", a Wall Street Journal article which outlines the 12 differences between the Facebook generation (aka Generation Y aka Millennials aka Digital Natives aka "Anyone Born Between (Roughly) 1980 and 2000) and conventional workplace behaviour and expectations.Before I copy the list, an anecdote...my boss at my last job and I were talking about something, possibly the idea of creating an electronic branch for our region, and he goes "You know what? You're a Gen X'er but you act and think like a Millennial." "Is that a compliment or a criticism?" I asked. "Neither. Just an observation." I don't know - I like my entitled apathy as a Gen X'er but I guess there's probably a fair bit of truth to that statement - especially based on my reaction to this list. Here's the list of expectations for the next generation (er, my generation?) when they enter the workplace, having grown up in a digital world: 1. All Ideas Compete On Equal Footing 2. Contribution Counts More Than Credentials 3. Hierarchies Are Natural, Not Prescribed 4. Leaders Serve Rather Than Preside 5. Tasks Are Chosen, Not Assigned 6. Groups Are Self-Defining and Self-Organizing 7. Resources Get Attracted, Not Allocated 8. Power Comes From Sharing Information, Not Hoarding It 9. Opinions Compound and Decisions Are Peer-Reviewed 10. Users Can Veto Most Policy Decisions 11. Intrinsic Rewards Matter Most 12. Hackers Are Heroes YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sunday, March 22
Ryan Meili and Dwain Lingenfelter Facebook Face-off (aka I Have Too Much Time On My Hands)
by
Jason
on Sun 22 Mar 2009 07:38 PM CST
When I first started looking into the NDP leadership race, I went to the now obligatory Facebook fan pages of each of the four leadership candidates.
I was a bit shocked to see that Dwain Lingenfelter had almost twice the number of supporters that Ryan Meili had - even though Meili was the much younger candidate with a lot more appeal to the younger set who would be likely to show their support for someone on Facebook. I started clicking through their lists of supporters and was a bit surprised to find that a large number of Lingenfelter's supporters were either obviously (because of their network affiliations) or very likely (based on their names) from South America. (And I'm not the only one who noticed it - Small Dead Animals, a right-wing blog I've defended on my blog before - also pointed out this incongruity.) I later learned that Lingenfelter's wife is from Columbia and this is where the support comes from - likely she's been spreading the word among her connections back home and encouraging them to support her husband's campaign. There's nothing illegal about this of course and Facebook fan page counts (like any other online poll) aren't binding in any way. But they could convey a message about support and momentum, especially to a reporter (professional or otherwise) that wasn't paying attention. For example, if tomorrow's Leader Post says "Lingenfelter has twice the online support that Meili does" without explaining that a lot of this support is from people who can't vote in the leadership race, that's misleading at best and could have an impact on the race at worst. So, in the interests of finding out what support levels might really indicate, I did some counting last night. I focused on the two people who are leading in online Facebook support - Lingenfelter who had 543 supporters at the time I checked and Meili who had 290 (For the record, the other two candidates have the following totals: Pedersen - 209 and Higgins - 69.) I went through both lists of fan page members counting *only* those who are identifiable as belonging to a Saskatchewan network in some way - most likely by having joined a city or a University or a high school network. There are numerous problems with this methodology: 1) there are some people who support more than one candidate but at least in my counts, they would cancel each other out. 2) some people I *knew* were from Saskatchewan didn't get counted. (In fact Ryan Meili himself doesn't belong to a network so didn't get counted in his own total! Plus Lingenfelter does belong to the Regina network so there was no canceling out effect on this point.) 3) some who belong to a University network may be alumni who are no longer in the province and therefore, ineligible to vote even if they support one candidate or the other. Before someone calls me on it, I'll admit that I did a pretty quick count late at night clicking through dozens of pages so my final totals likely aren't 100% accurate and I may be out a few people either way for each candidate. But here's what I came up with in terms of Saskatchewan-based support: Lingenfelter - 128/543 = 24% (or less than a quarter of his support from people identifiable as being connected to Saskatchewan. I thought about it but didn't also do a count of Lingenfelter fans who are in the Columbia network or who have Spanish-sounding names to see if my assertion elsewhere that the "vast majority" of Lingenfelter's online support comes from outside the country is true. But with only one quarter of his online support coming from Saskatchewan, it's definitely possible.) Meili = 173/290 = 60% (or three out of every five of his supporters are people identifiable as being connected to Saskatchewan) I've already seen some spin this as Lingenfelter having lots of international experience/support but I think that's a bit of a stretch. I mean, I have family in Hawaii but that doesn't mean I know how to surf!  What this really shows me is that this race might just be a lot closer than people realise - especially if Meili can continue to leverage the advantages of social networking. (To be fair, these numbers maybe just prove my initial suspicion that Meili would have the type of supporters who not only join Facebook but also join networks to expand their reach within those networks. And to be even more fair, there's a poll up right now on the citizen journalism site, Act Up In Saskatchewan, that shows it as a race between Lingenfelter and Pedersen. That poll allows you to vote more than once so that's hardly representative but you could probably claim it's as legitimate as counting Facebook supporters. Here's the current totals on it:
Friday, February 20
Friday Fun Link - 25 Things I Hate About Facebook (Feb 20, 2009)
by
Jason
on Fri 20 Feb 2009 11:29 PM CST
I did a "Seven Things You Don't Know About Me" mini-meme but I haven't succumbed to the pressure to do the full "25 Things" meme that's going around. Apparently neither has this guy...
And you know a meme has jumped the shark when Time magazine is weighing in with their own snark. So there's no way I could do an expanded version now, even if I wanted to. Maybe I'll come back to this in like, eighteen months, with all those trivial stream of consciousness details I know you're all hungering for. |
 www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from shealisahammond. Make your own badge here.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
