Facebook: We see the C's

Hello and welcome aboard the B-Train Express. In this blog we will be discussing media, more specifically web 2.0. In this first blog I will look at one of the most famous Web 2.0 "apps", Facebook. I will discuss why this "app" is a Web 2.0 "app" and how the 4 C's of social software apply. Lets get started shall we.

Facebook

When we talk about what constitutes a Web 2.0 app, we need to look at what is at the foundation of the idea of Web 2.0. Essentially, it is this idea of building communities and linking people together instead of information, the primary function for the web upon its birth. If Web 2.0 revolves around this idea of linking people, you can look no further than Facebook. It is a website designed to link people from all over the globe, together. One of the most basic functions of Facebook is creating your group of friends, who you can contact. The site will provide any updates your friends make, and can allow you to invite these friends to events you create. Of course Facebook is a lot more than these most basic functions, but these have been the functions from the beginning of Facebook. They are the things that don't change during Facebook's continuing evolution. The reason? These are the functions which are the mission statement of Facebook, connecting people, which is also the mission statement of Web 2.0. View Here

4C's

Communication, Cooperation, Collaboration, Connection

Communication

This is the idea of enabling people on the "app" to converse with one another using "text, image, voice or video- or a combination of these. Examples include discussion forums, blogs, instant messaging, social presence and virtual world". Facebook pretty much has you covered in every one of these departments.

Instant Messaging

Virtual World

These are just a few examples of how Facebook integrates the idea of communication into it's structure.

Cooperation

This is the idea of people being able to share content with one another. This content may be photos, videos or thoughts/ideas. Facebook does a very good job of integrating this "C" into their set up. Additionally, it is both structured and unstructured by enabling you to organize photos into albums,

or post content on your friend's wall.

Collaboration

This is the one "C" that is a little dicey as to the together of it's functionality found within Facebook. Facebook can be used as a way to moderate arguments between people, personal experience tells me this. However, the main functions of Facebook don't serve collaboration nearly as well as it serves the other C's. Sorry Facebook, but your good at other things, like Dolphin Olympics.



Connection

Ah yes, the bread and butter of Facebook, connection. This served as the founding notion for Harvard nerds who created her. Facebook was a tool intended to connect the classmates at Harvard. It has grown to much more than that, which we have seen. However, one of the main functions and reasons for people to get onto Facebook is to stay connected, be it with friends or family members (weird but true). If we are talking about Facebook as a social networking site, well it is and it isn't. It isn't the traditional go to site like Linkdin is. It caters to a much younger audience and the capabilities of Facebook aren't as business oriented as these "professional" networking sites. So can Facebook serve as a social networking site? Sure. Would it be recommended for that purpose? No, unless you just want a summer job and your friend is hiring.

Facebook follows many elements of the 4C guide, but based on who it targets and what its objectives are, it follows some more than others. It still remains one of the number one Web 2.0 "apps" out there because it has learned how to evolve over time. It's hip, it's fun, it must be Facebook.