“We’re on the cusp of a new way of doing social science,” said Nicholas Christakis, a Harvard sociology professor who is also part of the research. “Our predecessors could only dream of the kind of data we now have.”
Facebook’s network of 58 million active users and its status as the sixth-most-trafficked Web site in the United States have made it an irresistible subject for many types of academic research.
Obviously, Facebook succeeded in being a useful community because it wasn't out to make profit in the beginning (and CEO Mark Zuckerman claims he still isn't, despite Microsoft winning the bid to place ads on it). Following what we studied in class, Facebook is a community that is useful because its purpose is simple and clear (social networking, info sharing in one place), isn't a marketing ploy, has easy barriers to entry (well, it is now; it started off as open to only Harvard undergrads, then to all college students, then to high schoolers, and now to everyone), and doesn't fragment discussions on message boards and walls.
It's also a natural place for Connectors and Mavens, and around May 2007, started to cater to the Salespeople as well, by allowing companies to place classified ads on its site.
Facebook also encouraged a talent pool, by allowing third-party developers to create their own applications for Facebook (I remember this being introduced in May 2007 also--adding much more to my time-suckage).
But, back to the article itself.
Because it's such a successful community site, (the clean user interface probably helps too--MySpace just looks amateurish, imho) no wonder social scientists are now flocking to study Facebook.
I think one of the more interesting points in the article is how it builds on real-world relationships, yet is still different enough from them:
An important finding, Ms. Ellison said, was that students who reported low satisfaction with life and low self-esteem, and who used Facebook intensively, accumulated a form of social capital linked to what sociologists call “weak ties.” A weak tie is a fellow classmate or someone you meet at a party, not a friend or family member. Weak ties are significant, scholars say, because they are likely to provide people with new perspectives and opportunities that they might not get from close friends and family. “With close friends and family we’ve already shared information,” Ms. Ellison said.
Ms. Ellison and her colleagues suggest the information gleaned from Facebook may be more accurate than personal information offered elsewhere online, such as chat room profiles, because Facebook is largely based in real-world relationships that originate in confined communities like campuses.
Mr. Sundar of Penn State agreed. “You cannot keep it fake for that long,” he said. “It’s not a Match.com. You don’t make an impression and then hook somebody.”
Of course, Facebook is only as interesting as you make it, or as interesting as your friends make it. I was pretty addicted to it up until this semester (when I got swamped with my 4 classes & work). I know people who don't really use it much (usually guys). For me, the attraction is definitely about community, especially when I moved across the country to study here. There is a truth to what Prof. Ellison said about "weak ties". It really does work better when you know those people in "confined communities like campuses" or maybe even offices, because it gives you a chance to turn those "weak ties" into strong ones.
--Hana
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