Logic is Variable: What you do at facebook?

What you do at facebook?
Saturday, December 7, 2013

Facebook is one of the busiest destinations online. With over 500 million active users and millions of them updating their status millions of times per day has made it the most ubiquitous way to interact and reconnect online. One wonders what users do at Facebook?

Facebook has grown fast over time. I started using then not very popular social site when it was young, meant only for students who had .edu email address. Later it was opened to general Internet users and now one finds everyone (ok, almost everyone on facebook) including old people, businessmen, celebrities, writers, artists, political activist, governments, organizations, NGOs and a whole lot more promoting and pursuing their concerns.

It is hard to categorize who people use it? Adam N. Joinson (University of Bath) who studies Facebook users says, “The main use of Facebook is the recreation of social connections between people who had, or still have, a connection in their everyday lives. So, people mainly used Facebook to reconnect with people they went to school with, worked with, or friends they lost touch with. But, the key question is 'what do people do once they have created this network?' The results of the research suggest that this can be divided into four main activities – they can use applications within the site to interact with their network, they can browse their friends' friends and learn more about them, they can join groups and express their identity via shared social experiences, or they can use the site to inform others of their news, and keep up to date with others' actions.”

Adam N. Joinson’s work urged me to observe what users in this part of the world are doing. My personal scouting and spending some time on Facebook reveals two groups: some local members are using facebook purposefully promoting what they like (products, services, ideas). Other group uses facebook simply to have their presence, tagging other simply or replicating what catches their fancy. And ironical, I know of children who interact with their parents through facebook (pun intended).

Interestingly, I know facebook users who have created online profiles, displaying whatever biographical information they want, locations, workplaces, photos, hobbies, interests and some who simply don’t display any of the information through which someone can recognize them to become a friend. I know a few who update their status and sit by connected computers to wait for who comes and likes what they have done.

How you use facebook? Care to share here.

Follow Logic is Variable on Facebook and follow sAJs on Twitter for much more all day long.

Labels: Facebook, Social Media

posted by S A J Shirazi @ 8:00 AM,

31 Comments:

At 12:13:00 PM, Anonymous said...: And what about money that changes hands on FB?
At 1:01:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Well yes, I do nothing at facebook save wasting time. LOL. But I cant live without it. It is very addictive.
At 1:32:00 PM, Ramla said...: Whether you love it or hate it, you have to admit Facebook has accomplished a lot in the past 6 years. The company recently just announced they have more than 400 million users, and had changed it's layout. So with 400 million users on the site, what are they all doing on the site?

It's funny you should ask. Occasionally Facebook will release new statistics of what Facebook users are doing when they are the site. And it just so happens they released an amazing list of what Facebookers are doing. So without further ado, take a look at the latest Facebook statistics here:

http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-seattle/what-400-million-facebook-users-do
At 1:40:00 PM, Muhammad Sohaib said...: The utilization of Facebook can very well be commensurated with the axiom 'To see behind the Wall'. It has provided us an opportunity to understand and comprehend the various problems that the humanity is going through at one particular moment.
Nevertheless, we share our thoughts on various issues pertaining to the present era and in this way, we learn about the traditions and culture of one another, despite the fact that we are distances apart from each other.
At 1:58:00 PM, Anonymous said...: A very Interesting question. Well as for me, I interact with people. Post my ideas on it and wait for the comments of the friends. I read what my friends are posting and offer my comments. It is a very good link for all those people, whose loved ones are away in different countries or even cities of the same country. They, including me, all interact with them, on almost daily basis and keep abreast about them on the latest. All of us, the facebook family, enjoy each others happy moments as well as sad moments. We even share our latest photos with each other. Like me, many share their life experiences on it. Whatever good I read or observe through a movie or a photograph, I share it on facebook. This generates very healthy discussions in shape of comments. Another very important aspect of Facebook is that, through it the facebook centre must be collecting mega data of people around the globe. I have noticed that most of the people are not even aware of information security and they post almost all their information in their profile. I have found facebook as a help of guiding the young lot by us seniors in their human behaviour and the way they should use language on the net which may make or break their image on the net. I have though noticed that some evil minded people do try to spoil the younger lot. Though of course we the seniors are there to check them but then, they block our viewing. This is a great drawback. One more think I have noticed is that whenever I try to upload a movie or matter which is to propagate Islam or Pakistan, the uploading fails. This is equally good if one tries to upload matters which are in response/rebuttal to some negative propaganda about Islam or Pakistan, that also fail. Overall it is a good facility and really creating a larger group of friends around the globe. Thank you
Zaffar Iqbal Durrani
At 2:04:00 PM, Asif Alvi said...: I learn to handle computer in 2010 and i may say in old age. Towards the mid of 2010, I came on face book and it became an exceptional commitment. Notwithstanding, many of its uses i feel the greatest to me is to express myself and also carry feelings that i am being heard - what an amazing facility and psychological satisfaction.
At 2:14:00 PM, Khalid Rahman said...: I started Facebook as an alternate for Orkut which I had joined to find such intellectuals as SAJ and interact with intelligent young people. But it was quickly populated by freaks and I passed on. Then I joined Tickle which was an interesting site and had many attractive quizzes. I found some good friends there too. Then I discovered FB. That, again, gave me several good friends. Despite its shortcomings such as time-wasting games, I think it is a good social site to keep tabs on your friends and relatives, to discover people having common interests.
I have yet to discover its money-making side.
At 2:37:00 PM, Zaffariqbal Durrani said...: Sherazi, you may like to go through this:
Occasionally Facebook release new statistics of what Facebook users are doing when they are on the site. And it just so happens they released an amazing list of what Facebookers are doing. So without further ado, take a look at the latest Facebook statistics.

•More than 400 million active users
•50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
•More than 35 million users update their status each day
•More than 60 million status updates posted each day
•More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
•More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
•More than 3.5 million events created each month
•More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
•More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
•More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
•Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans
•Average user has 130 friends on the site
•Average user sends 8 friend requests per month
•Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook
•Average user clicks the Like button on 9 pieces of content each month
•Average user writes 25 comments on Facebook content each month
•Average user becomes a fan of 4 Pages each month
•Average user is invited to 3 events per month
•Average user is a member of 13 groups
•More than 70 translations available on the site
•About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
•Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application
•More than one million developers and entrepreneurs from more than 180 countries
•Every month, more than 70% of Facebook users engage with Platform applications
•More than 500,000 active applications currently on Facebook Platform
•More than 250 applications have more than one million monthly active users
•More than 80,000 websites have implemented Facebook Connect since its general availability in December 2008
•More than 60 million Facebook users engage with Facebook Connect on external websites every month
•Two-thirds of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites have implemented Facebook Connect
•There are more than 65 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
•People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are almost 50% more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
•There are more than 180 mobile operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products
To stay up to date on Facebook's statistics be sure to visit their statistic page.Thank you.
Zaffar Iqbal Durrani
At 5:43:00 PM, Muhammad said...: Facebook is a place where people already enjoy autonomy, where they see themselves as doers as contributors. Combining cell phones and web services, students are hands-on learners who adapt technology to their own personal uses. They make new connections by sharing their experiences, answering the question: “What’s on your mind?” They are learning to develop their own social networks.
If you make a difference, people will gravitate to you. They want to engage, to interact and to get you more involved. If you make a difference, you also make a connection. You interact with people who want to be interacted with and you make changes that people respect and yearn for.
Famous Economist Tyler Cowan points out in his book “Create Your Own Economy,” they are already producing real value.
Create your own social network on facebook, and create your own economy.
At 8:28:00 PM, Asghar Javed said...: @Muhammad Sohaib, Asif Alvi,Khalid Rahman, Zafar Iqbal Durrani and Muhammad Yaqoob: Thanks for your informed comments.
At 8:29:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Mein gheer gheer ke logon ko friend banati hoon our phir flirt karti hon.
At 8:29:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Mein gheer gheer ke logon ko friend banati hoon our phir flirt karti hon.
At 9:31:00 PM, Serpico said...: Catching up with old friends.
Searching for people I know [family/friends].
Looking back on some of those moments I spent with family, photos mainly.

These are the ONLY things I do on Facebook, other than that it's just secretly about finding out what some lot are doing with their lives.
At 2:33:00 AM, Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...: Initially, I saw FB as a time waster, but I signed on because I knew that as a communicator, I'd better know how to use it.

In the beginning, FB was just connected to my work and my blog. Now my page has a much more personal touch. I moved to a new city when I got married -- away from my family. FB has been a great way to stay in touch and share photographs.
At 2:35:00 AM, Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...: Initially, I saw FB as a time waster, but I signed on because I knew that as a communicator, I'd better know how to use it. FB was connected to my work and my blog.

Now my page has a much more personal touch. I moved to a new city when I got married -- away from my family. FB has been a great way to stay in touch and share photographs.

I still use this social networking tool to interface with my blog. Love it or hate it, FB is here to stay.
At 9:55:00 PM, Shirazi said...: @Serpico: Thanks. BTW, why have you abandoned your blog? Is it due to FB?
At 9:56:00 PM, Shirazi said...: @Deb Sistrunk: Thanks to FB. Sometime that is the only place where I can find you.
At 11:44:00 PM, Sahibzada Asim said...: A venue which facilitates my greed to influence brain of others through this mean of online social network.
A platform which facilitates my love to get in contact with the lost and apart friends.
This makes me member of the virtual world and consumer of the virtual economy.
At 12:12:00 AM, Shirazi said...: @Sahibzada Asim: Thanks for your informed comments. And many thanks for introducing me to Chishtiya Ribbat. Many thanks.
At 12:13:00 AM, Anonymous said...: As per my view point about use of FB is; now a days humans are getting too much busy these days and depending upon technology.I am living abroad in Kuwait away from my family, so FB is very easy way of entertainment.
At 2:11:00 PM, Muhammad Jamil Akhtar said...: Face-book is one of the most popular social web site.Millions of people from all ages connect with each other hence creating a great global network.As it's said in networking one person can make a number of new contacts.Everyone knows about 250 people.Add just 1 more to the network after every week that would be 50 people in a year in your level 1 contacts(relatives).If each of them knows 250 other people you now know in your level 2 contacts(friends,colleagues etc) and that 250 know another 250 people in level 3 contacts(friends of your relatives,friends of your friends).So imagine the power of networking at the end making a total of 3125000 contacts.
Facebook in this global village has made a huge difference in bringing them together like a family.
As regards what people do in the face book .....well simply they do everything except bathing,eating and sleeping!!

This also tells us how important communication is,what ever be the media.

I see the real democracy in th efacebook,you could say what you want,you could show the world what you like and what you don't.you could vote against people who are really ruining the world and you can also vote for the people you want to be rewarded for their great work
At 10:02:00 PM, Shirazi said...: @Bravo: Thanks for your informed comment.
At 10:26:00 PM, Hassan Butt said...: @durani :-) very interesting information you share, thanks for it.
FB has become a very popular way of communication, i surprised today's evening by listen from my friend who was telling me that his servant, who is manage the work of his home, use facebook regularly and update his status by his work schedule.
At 7:15:00 PM, Shari said...: I don't know about others but what I do on facebook is i connect with my relatives abroad. Thus me and my relatives don't have to be online to talk and share photo or videos etc.
At 8:14:00 PM, Shirazi said...: @Talha: That is what most of us do in the first place. Thanks for stopping by.
At 3:29:00 PM, Anonymous said...: FB is like a drug..'n i m addicted to it.waste of time :|
At 11:27:00 AM, Anie said...: Facebook to me is the online "baithak" of today. In particular for people away from home, such as myself, it is not only a great way fo staying connected with friends and family but also a convenient one.
Facebook as a platform to build opinion, form views, convene events and be connected with the society is a quantum leap in the communication industry in most senses of the phrase. I would welcome better privacy standards though, but no complains.
I use facebook, more than everything else, to learn and grow as a person and a citizen. Facebook helps me connect with the unique thoughts of many other people who often think differently than me...
I would say, you can tell a lot about a person by the kind of 'status updates' and links they share on fbook (where most people are less inhibitive), then many a cups of coffee :)
At 3:11:00 AM, Maggie Allen said...: I loved this piece about Face Book...it was interesting because it covers so much about Face Book. Things that even I, a Face Book user didn`t know. I think that Face Book will be around for a long long time as it`s now so well established and used. To take Face Book away from people now would be like taking sweeties from a child....impossible!
My own use of Face Book is not extensive, I use it mostly for keeping in touch with family and friends, looking at family photos that other family members have taken and following my son Rickys`
band `September Gun`. But the potential of Face Book is enormous, and reaches far out as you possibly can or want to go. Inviting people that I have met in other internet areas onto my Face Book pages and vice versa has opened a whole new exciting and interesting world. Face Book for me is like an open window onto a world of beautiful people, if you are reading this you will recognize that you are one of those `wonderful` people too, I welcome you to Face Book.
At 10:50:00 AM, Shirazi said...: @Maggie Allen: Thanks for your informed comment and also for including me in the list of wonderful people. Many thanks Maggie Allen.
At 8:36:00 PM, Maria Celina said...: When I first joined Facebook, it was precisely for its original intention: as a college-level social networking website, wherein the non-college student members were faculty members and other staff connected to education institutions.

Nowadays, especially since one of my parents is connected to me on Facebook, I just use it as a networking site to keep in touch with former classmates and whoever found me on Facebook who I don't mind connecting with. By "don't mind", I mean in terms of privacy. After all, the increasing accessibility of Facebook to the general public is synonymous with the issue of privacy. I admit having more candour in my Facebook posts when it was still exclusive to college-related members. Now, I hold more reservations.

On the enterprising front, the increasing accessibility of Facebook is good for the figureheads behind it. So it brings more types of people together. So before, Facebook used to be a way of keeping in touch with classmates. Now, I use Facebook to keep in touch with people I know in general, not just in the academia.
At 3:08:00 AM, Dalia said...: Hi everyone!! :)
I just went threw all your comments I would like to ask you for a favor! Me and my classmates are doing a project for our university about the way users use facebook and if anyone would like to help us by filling the survey on this link we will be more than thankful :)

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGN0b1NuMlZPV1hNbkk2eG4zVjZrMkE6MQ

Dalia