Facebook Wrap up Assignment 1 4 6

Facebook Wrap Up

       Over the last six weeks I have learned a lot about Facebook that I was not aware of.  In theory Facebook is used to keep in touch with our friends and family. Also most people thought that it Facebook was mainly used by college students.   Take a closer look and Facebook is actually acquiring a lot of information about us. What stores, products and foods we like. Facebook has mathematical equations in the program that counts the choices that we make on Facebook.  Facebook has been able to also capitalize on this by selling the collected data and advertising space that is passed by friends liking products, stores and then it is posted on their friends walls. Companies also have Facebook pages for people to get information about products, services and events.

        During the past weeks I have also learned that people do not always apply safety reasoning when using Facebook. There are safety settings that people may use so that only people you select may view your information and page. However people do not always set them.  People have posted that they are on vacation and not coming home. Upon arriving home realize that their home has been broken into and their belongings stolen.   

       Now every time I log into Facebook I will be aware of what I am curiously clicking to view.  Being fully aware that people I may not know could possibly view my information and who my friends are, I will make sure the safety settings are on.  Personally I have a teen in my home and I will be checking their profile also to ensure all the safety settings are on.  

       Facebook is a wonderful tool to keep in touch with people in our families and friends. Just like every other wonderful new technology we also have some responsibility to ensure privacy and safety. The cost is advertising for products and giving new marketing strategy and information in demographics.

Facebook and Formulas

Facebook and Formulas

        Facebook has more than one formula. Facebook as an organization has mathematical formulas that collect user information from each of our pages and the formula decides what advertisements to display. This same formula also decides what people to suggest as our friends.

Different businesses use Facebook as a marketing tool and these companies also have a formula their own to get the attention of the audience they desire.

        Following is the Facebook formula used to determine what is in a streamed into a newsfeed on a Facebook page: affinity is how often the user’s friends are interacting with the published content on the page, weight is how each type of content is weighted differently based on the user’s past interactions, and time is the age of the post (Sietsema, 2010).

       The insights gained from the formulas mentioned previously are; that every click we make on Facebook is now put through this formula and analyzed. The information gathered is being used to post the most appealing advertisements and posts for each user and the friends on the user’s page.  Facebook also uses this formula to collect information for businesses that pay to market their product on Facebook.  Every time a user clicks that they like a business or product it is displayed not only on their page but their friend’s page also. The user’s friend also has the option of clicking they like it and then it is displayed on all their friends Facebook pages.  Marketing of houses, restaurants, healthcare managed care companies and stores is widespread through Facebook.  What we are exposed to on Facebook is based on the clicks we make so before I click the next time I will be thinking about what I am clicking.

References

Browne, R. B. (2005). Profiles of popular culture. (pp. 115-117). Wisconsin: The University

               of Wisconsin Press.

Sietsema, C. (2010, 05 12). The formula behind the facebook news feed. Retrieved from  

       http://teachtofishdigital.com/facebook-news-feed-optimization/

Rn B Analysis Music Analysis 1 3 2

      R&B Music Analysis

Audience

       The intended audience for this particular article is for the person with a love of music history. The author explained where B.B. King started from and where his choices took him in life and in the music industry.  B.B. King started as a sharecropper and tractor driver in the deep south before 1948 (Adelt, 2011).  B.B. King was exposed to country, gospel, and rhythm and blues music. B.B. had moved to Memphis, TN in 1948 and became a DJ on one of the first radio stations aimed at the African- American market. B.B. started playing and singing in the clubs on Beale Street and received the nick name “Beale Street Blues Boy” (Adelt, 2011).  Later that nick name was shortened to B.B. King (Adelt, 2011).

Summary of Article

       B.B. King music has crossed racial barriers in America and overseas. Music should not have a race or economic level. B.B. King had started to rise in popularity in the 1950 decade most of his fans were African American “I used to play at the Fillmore when it was owned by another person. At that time it was about 90 percent black.” (Adelt, 2011).  In 1968 B.B. was scheduled to play at the Fillmore, when he arrived he thought he was in the wrong place there were 98% white kids in the audience waiting to hear him play (Adelt, 2011). B.B. later had emphasized gratitude for the new audience for his music. B.B. King had started lose momentum in his career after the civil rights movement his African American crowd was listening to James Brown and other musicians with a more upbeat message than the blues message.  Although most people would put a race a different kinds of music, B.B. had a unique view of the division. B.B. was from Mississippi where the mainly white country folks sang “Here is how B.B. King describes

the plethora of musical styles around which he grew up in the area in the Mississippi Delta where I was born, there was a lot of white people around that sang country music, so the blacks would sing gospel and blues. Not all of them sang blues, but I mean the majority would sing gospel. Some sang blues, and a few would sing country, and jazz was just starting to kind of come in a little bit. Well, all of the whites sang gospel, some would sing country, and a

few would sing blues. So it was kind of like a balanced type of thing.” (Adelt, 2011).  

Organization

Reading the article was easy to follow for most of the article. Some of the history was hidden inside the paragraphs with opinions from the author. Distinguishing between fact and opinion in some of the paragraphs was difficult. The main idea was presented but not clearly until the end of the article. The main idea of the article is very clearly stated at the end of the article, however throughout the article as a reader you will find a lot written questioning if  B.B. was ”whitened” or changed his music to play for the white people (Adelt, 2011).  The text was easy to read the author did not use complex words.

Key Idea

        The key points that stuck with me after reading the article was that: B.B. King loved the music he played, B.B. did not put a color on his music that was a stereotype from other people.  B.B. King is a historical icon he played with rock stars and on television shows. The R&B musician broke through more than American racial barriers he played for several other people in other countries who also love B.B. Kings music. Although he is known for playing rhythm and blues guitar and singing, B.B. King has had a very interesting journey and appeared on national television shows, was a part of radio history and has won several Grammies. B.B. King loves music and loves to play for anyone willing to listen.

References

Adelt, U. (2011). Black, white, and blue: racial politics. The Journal of Popular Culture, 44(2),  

         195-216. doi: DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00828.x

Heroes and Cult of the Celebrity on Facebook

        Facebook has many different dimensions. Heroes and the cult of the celebrity both are represented. Heroes from the Facebook game Heroes and Villains to a Facebook page dedicated to a favorite superhero.  The cult of celebrity is also available in different forms on FaceBook.  There are very famous people, actual celebrities on Facebook. There are also people that do acts of violence, or acts so out of the ordinary that for a short time they are a passing celebrity.  There are websites just about pictures and comments that are posted.

       The theory of people having heroes to fill some need they have would describe some the heroes chosen by Facebook subscribers. People have chosen several different heroes and people to be celebrities.  Facebook helps us keep in touch but it also is a way of spreading information and pictures faster than ever before.  For example if I see a picture or a video of someone singing and I like it I can post the video to my Facebook page.  A friend on my Facebook may post it to their page or share it with everyone on their friends list. By the end of the week that video could spread all over the nation and the singer a celebrity.  Although the status of the singer being famous could be just a short period of time.

          Celebrities post comments and photos on Facebook. They also post what they are doing and people  read daily what they post. The insight I gain from this is people are looking for other people to inspire them to reach for whatever they desire to accomplish.  Being a hero today does not necessarily mean you’re a hero, the person could just be well known for doing something or just well known. A person could be famous one day and the public will move on to the next person in a very short time.    Presently people do not seem to distinguish between a hero and a celebrity.  Facebook has helped change the way society views what a hero or celebrity is in society now.

References

Browne,A. 2009,Jan 24. Facebook heroes and villians free train and cheats Retreived from

          http://voices.yahoo.com/facebook-heroes-villains-free-train-cheats-2559533.html          

Browne, R. (2005)Heroes and Heroines.Popular Culture. The University of Wisconsin Press

The cult of celebrity.(2007,March7) Retreived from http://www.mycultlife.com/the-cult-of-   

         celebrity/

 

Assignment 1-4-3

Facebook Rituals and Stereotyping

         Facebook has not only rituals posted but people have daily rituals of using it. There is more than 500 million people that use Facebook and on average a person has 130 friends (Anderson, 2011).  Daily people log onto Facebook as a daily ritual. There are also several rituals listed on Facebook. Memorials for loved ones as part of the funeral ritual posted on Facebook has become a way for people to share with everyone on their friend list pictures  and  milestones of their loved ones (Freedman,2012). There are birthday walls for people to list birthdays to celebrate and Facebook will notify you of any of the people on your friend list having a birthday.

        Karen Anderson in the 2011 article “The Serial Kvelller and 11 other Facebook stereotypes” describes 11 stereotypes of people who use Facebook. This is article put labels on the style in which people choose to post on Facebook. Example the person that post where they are and what they ate is labeled the status –conscious status updater. 

       Facebook also has stereotyped nations with the like button feature (Kilian, 2011).  According to Abc news the data collected from all the different nations like buttons go hand in hand with that particular countries stereotype. American top like choices are Fast food restaurants. Ireland top like choices were beer and Britain and UK were chocolate and sweets (Kilian, 2011). 

         Facebook can be used as a tool for people to enhance already longstanding rituals; Facebook is used to send invitations, share births and deaths. The ability to include several people in the ritual that normally would not normally participate, even if it is just a comment.

There are many different stereotypes associated with Facebook. These include the people that use it and the statistics that are collected from using it.  The insight into using Facebook as part of society’s rituals is being able to reach a large audience of people. Invitations and notifications can be received by the stroke of the key board. Support and comfort from friends and family can be received.  Stereotyping to some extent can help with marketing to different people around the world.

References

         Anderson,K.(2011,February 23) The serial kveller and 11 other facebook stereotypes. Writer Way. Retrieved from http://writerway.com/2011/02/23/facebook-stereotypes/

        Freedman, S.(2012,February 24). In a new ritual, many find solace online.The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/us/on-religion-in-a-new-ritual-many-find-solace-online.html

       Kilian,A.(2011,July 23). Facebook rankings reflect national stereotypes. abc News. Retrieved from  http://abcnews.go.com/International/facebook-rankings-reflect-national-stereotypes/story?id=14127438

Assignment 1-4-2

Facebook Theories

        Facebook has the popular belief that the primary use is to keep in touch with friends and family. There are more than 150 million Americans using Facebook (Consumer reports 2012). The company has made the service easy to use; many of us share photos, events and accomplishments in our everyday lives. The fact is Facebook does in fact help us keep in touch and find people we would not otherwise keep in touch with. However, Facebook collects data on the sites we visit and the sites people choose to click the like button. Even if you have chosen only to reveal the information to friends the data is transferred. Facebook is able to sell this information for profit (Consumer reports 2012). People also tend to make poor choices of what information to share.  Some entries have described where people are going to go and where they are going to be there.  Information normally people would not share outside of the people the trust. Unfortunately the user did not set the privacy controls and it is shared with anyone who happens to view it (Consumer reports 2012).

       One of the most common myths is that Facebook is used most by college kids. Originally Facebook was released only to the creator’s college friends.  In 2010 two-thirds of the 134 million user in the U.S. was 26 years and older.  Facebook is being used in several different countries by all age groups. The fastest growing group being middle aged females (Kirkpatrick,2010).

      Insights gained from this information; to set your privacy settings, not to share anything you that may comprise your safety, and when making choices on Facebook to like something someone is waiting to count it.

References

Facebook & your privacy. Consumer Reports,24-31.(2012, June) Retrieved from

         http://0-web.ebscohost.com.olinkserver.franklin.edu/ehost

Kirkpatrick, D (2010,September 26). Five myths about Facebook. The Washington Post.

        Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-   

        dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092304440.html

American Icons Influence

      Barbie is the one of the most common American icons for American little girls.  Barbie was a big part of playtime with friends. Barbie has been a part of playtime with girls for several decades. Children could choose a career, sports, fashion or Bride Barbie.  For many of the young girls, Barbie introduced the concept we can do anything, we are not limited in our choices.

           The second icon that was most impressionable in my house and several others is Elvis Presley. Memories of watching his last concert and movies on television and hearing his music through the house are common throughout my childhood. Growing up with an Elvis Presley fan, his music was the first kind of rock n roll I heard and danced to. Recently I took my mother to visit Graceland where Elvis lived. Visiting Graceland was a trip of a lifetime for her. Most of the trip she was on the verge of tears, stating she never thought she would get to see it. Elvis Presley even currently has several visitors to Graceland and people from all over the world come to visit.

         The final icon is Judy Garland. Judy Garland had a beautiful singing voice. In her career the movie Wizard of Oz made her famous.  Every year since I can remember the Wizard of Oz is shown on TV and we would look forward to watching the movie and singing along with Judy Garland.  Judy Garland made an impression as she sang and danced with grace. The Wizard of Oz is still popular today and now I watch it with my children and grandchildren.

Social Internet Networking

     

       Popular culture is what influences your choices and the way you live. Popular culture is made from television shows, music, advertising, internet and the media. Television shows can influence the way you view politics, new products and also be entertaining. Everyone has memories of different television shows that we watched at different ages and can remember that time in our lives and what it was like.  Commercials reach every age group and play a large part in what we purchase. Music has the same effect for most people, when you hear music from your past it will take you to that time in your life.
   Social networking is the newest form of popular culture. The first internet social networking site to become popular was My Space, Facebook, You Tube and Twitter. These sites enable everyone to communicate with large amounts of people at one time. People display current events in their lives, post party invitations and show pictures and videos.
       Popular culture is very important in business for a number of reasons. In my current position there is a need to reach our targeted population to be able receive the entire reimbursement. The company utilizes one of the social networking sites to reach our members with updates and information.  Information that is communicated can help the people we serve also use their benefits to their best advantage.  In the future as new technology is introduced and new ways to communicate with people become available the healthcare industry will need to utilize these avenues. Hopefully we will be able to find ways to utilize the new technology to reach an even larger amount of people.

      Facebook the social internet networking site would be an example of a pop culture artifact. People, of all ages and generations know the name Facebook. Even the baby boomer generation either has an account or knows Facebook. Facebook has the ability to allow businesses as well as individuals to build profiles. Facebook has recently started to upgrade features. To the left top of the Facebook page there are now advertisements endorsed by your people on your friend list. Wal-Mart is an example of the advertisement if a person on your friend list checks that they like Wal-Mart that will post at the top left of your Facebook page. The reason to choose Facebook in my opinion has been an influence on our current popular culture an continues to be.