Facebook Strives for Internet Domination

This is an article I wrote for my journalism class about the growth of Facebook. I have also used Facebook to my advantage and I expect most of the people who read this post saw it on my profile.

When Mark Zuckerberg created his social networking website in his Harvard University dorm room, nobody had any idea that Facebook would become a life changing social movement in the coming years. First limited to Harvard students, then Boston area colleges, the other Ivy League schools, then Stanford University, Facebook is now available to anyone at least 13 years of age with a working email account. With over 400 million users around the globe, the Facebook phenomenon is one of the most staggering movements in the history of civilization, but how big will it get? And when will it end?

Every time a major event occurs, people’s Facebook statuses spread the word. Facebook has revolutionized the concept of social networking, for better or for worse. In addition to connecting with “friends”, people can connect with bands, athletes, politicians, statements, and other public figures that they “like”. Some celebrities update their own public profiles to connect with their supporters. One good example is President Obama. With over 8 million people publicly supporting, this page provides updates on the president’s plans and agenda to keep people in touch with their government. Although the page is not run by Obama himself, it is run by people who work directly with him.

Before Facebook, people behaved differently. The way people interact on Facebook has perhaps subconsciously had an effect on the way people interact face to face. “Since I joined Facebook, I have felt the need to tell people what my plans are as I get up and walk away. I might only be gone for a few minutes, but I feel like I have to post a status so people do not get worried.” Said high school senior Andrea Bray. With all it does, Facebook impacts more than just the way people act online.

Facebook has had an impact on other modes of mass communication. In February, Facebook users launched a campaign to get Betty White to host an episode of Saturday Night Live, which the 88 year old Golden Girls star had never done in her long career. White’s SNL appearance was a hit, and since then, there has been a new campaign to get Carol Burnett to host the show next season. Another was launched to get Mary Tyler Moore on the show.

A recent change to Facebook was to change the act of “becoming a fan” of a public profile to “liking” it. There was already a “Like” button so people could express their appreciation for someone else’s status without writing out a comment. Now in addition to liking Facebook pages, outside websites have enabled the ability to like articles, links, and videos from all over the internet. By liking it, that web page becomes linked to your personal profile. It appears that Facebook is attempting to become the central site on the internet—the place one goes to navigate through everything else that is going on.

Facebook really has come a long way since the days of a college student trying to connect with his classmates. With the millions and millions of users, confusing and changing privacy settings, and the ability to link almost any web page to a person’s private profile, Facebook is trying to join the hierarchy of powerful and innovative technology companies like General Electric, IBM, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Apple, and, most recently, Google.

In spite of its continued growth, many people are starting to grow tired of Facebook. Every few months, when Facebook changes the layout of the “news feed”, there is public outcry to change it back, yet most people refuse to deactivate their accounts is they are unhappy with the site. A lot of young people feel that the thrill of social networking is gone once their parents joined Facebook. The applications and the time wasting that Facebook creates are starting to get old for many. “I am just about done with it. If it wasn’t such an easy way to keep in touch with people, I would quit.” said FSC senior Sarah Hovagimian. That is a sentiment shared by a lot of people these days. Facebook will continue to change, and the changes will continue to frustrate the people who think they had it figured out, but they will stay with it until a better product is made available.

April Fools Day: More Important Than You Can Possibly Imagine

April Fools Day has come and gone once again. This is a holiday that, more than any other, I always end up wishing I had taken more time to prepare for. Every Halloween, Christmas, and New Years Resolution contemplation I have similar feelings, but none of them top the wonder that is April Fools. It also makes me wish that I worked for a company that encourages this holiday, like Google or Wikipedia. It is a day that makes us second guess the media, question the government, disbelieve what our friends say on Facebook that we normally assume to be true. April Fool's throws away our complacency in our daily routines, for one day, anyway.

Instead of just one day, April should be the month of fools. If you don't prank someone before lunch, they will know not to believe you because they have already been pranked by someone else. It will spread the magic across thirty days, and you will be forced to think more critically about the things you are told. This year, I successfully convinced one of my friends that I was dropping out of school to go into the priesthood. The other people I tried it on, did not believe me, but if I had a whole month to do it, more people would believe the things I tell them by April 14. By the end of the month, people will demand citations, and proof that their claims are true. If nothing else, April Fools will make people think twice about the so called "journalism" that is really just right-wing biased opinions on a story that uses the "fair and balanced" slogan to cover up the lack of factual reporting that is done on Fox News every day of the year.

According to Wikipedia, (which I am not sure I can believe anymore because it said yesterday that the Rusian Federation was consolidating time zones so it can be more efficient, and that a Japanese company is investigating the disappearance of some of its employees who were sent back to the year 1999) April Fools has it's origins in the Middle Ages. Chaucer mentioned a day where people played tricks 32 days after March. This would actually be May 1, but many readers over the years have mistaken him for saying March 32, which is sort of like April 1. The most intriguing explanation comes from The Simpsons.

The internet has really done a great job of keeping this wonderful holiday fresh and relevant. I wonder how many people from Tokpeka, Kansas woke up and were stunned to see that their city was being honored by Google and that they would soon be called Googleians. April Fools is a holiday far too often overlooked, but the nerds who control the internet certainly keep it entertaining for those of us who like it.

It is my hope that if you read this blog post, you will realize why April Fools is necessary. April Fools is like Harvey Dent. It is not the holiday America deserves, but it is the holiday America needs. Halloween is the Batman to April Fools' Harvey Dent. It is darker, scarier, and tries to achieve the same objective, but with much different methods. The two divide up they year. Both trying to save society's rationality by making us absurd for a day. Honor April Fools. It is more important than we know.