Facebook

Key Features

Find and meet others with common interests
Communicate with groups and users via posts, mobile updates, and private messages
Post pictures and other media (both privately or to the entire network)
Create polls and lists to further define an online identity
New development tools allow new applications to be installed and applied as they are developed

Overview

What Is It?

Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to:

Create a profile detailing affiliations and interests
Post pictures and other media
Find and contact others with similar affiliations and interests
Expand a personal social network by various groups

Who Uses It?

Facebook began as a way for college students to find and meet each other based on college affiliation and other interests. Recently, Facebook became an 'open' network (like mySpace and others), allowing anyone to create a profile and start joining groups with similar interests. However, college students remain the core audience for Facebook, often using its various communication tools in place of email and IM.

How Does It Work?

facebook profile

Creating a Facebook account is fairly simple. Once an account has been created, the user receives a blank "profile page", which can then be edited and updated to include the following information: contact info, personal interests, education and background, work info, and picture(s). Generally, the more complete the profile, the better chance the user has of being invited to join other groups and networks (since others with similar interests and characteristics will eventually find and link to the user based on what's in the user's profile). Once the user is connected to "friends" (being people the user has given full profile access to), the user can post and reply to comments left by friends, update status and location, etc.

Uses as an Instructional Technology

Though not a traditional Content Management System (CMS) like Blackboard, Facebook could be considered a course tool in a broad sense, as it can accomplish many similar tasks, including the following:

Use it as a communication tool

Students and faculty can post messages to each other
Students and faculty can update status
Students and faculty can update each other on projects using the "wall"

Use as a image sharing repository

Several add-on applications make it possible to use a Flickr account to show and share pictures
Facebook has its own small photo uploading and sharing application which can be made public or private

As a community-building activity

Faculty with Facebook profiles can let students know a bit more about themselves, their research and/or their personal interests
Faculty can learn more about students via their profiles, including more about their extended interests

Additional Information

Link to PDF from Educause "7 Things You Should Know About...Facebook"
Link to Facebook Education Applications
Study profiling differences in types of users between Facebook and MySpace