Facebook: Not So Social Anymore

When I first started planning this post I was very much going to argue that Facebook was aging, and aging poorly. It is a platform that at first sight has everything in one place and takes the posts from Twitter, the photos from Instagram and the live videos from Snapchat and combines them in one feed. This on paper, seems to be a way to get all of the best from social media in one place, yet instead, often results in a messy and overwhelming stream of content. Leading to many users engaging in a more active way through these other social media platforms that Facebook has integrated.

Audiences often prefer to post original content on more specialised social media platforms. Photos now go on Instagram seconds after they were taken, and funny happenings are instantly shared on Twitter with friends. But when researching I came across the idea that perhaps the reason people are now showing a preference to socialise on platforms other than Facebook, is because Facebook is no longer a social media platform.

Social Media Apps by Flikr user Jason Howie, CC by 2.0

Facebook has always been the most iconic social media platform, it took over Myspaces place in the online world in 2004 and has quickly grown to be a digital platform for engagement in a different league from all of its predecessors. Facebooks 2016 statistics showcase that its popularity is still unquestioned . According to the CNBC facebook has on average over 1.79 billion monthly active users this is more than ‘WhatsApp (500 million), Twitter (284 million) and Instagram (200 million)—combined’. Facebook is statistically the biggest social network, but taking a closer look will reveal that although people are using Facebook regularly, they are engaging with the platform differently. Facebooks primary use isn’t as a social platform anymore.

Facebook has known its down coming for a while, and they have tried several different techniques to restore the site to its former glory. This is visible with the introduction of the ‘react’ options to posts. These were intended to give users a new and more authentic way to interact with online content, as they could express more that just a ‘like’ but could show they were saddened, excited, shocked or infuriated at what they were seeing online. They have also changed the language of the status box to, ‘Whats on your mind?’, a question that is set to encourage users to post more statuses and share more about their personal lives via Facebook. The dwindling user generated content is potentially due to the platforms formidable size. The thought behind this break down of intimacy is that with the platform becoming so exponentially large, and people having friend lists that consist less of actual real world friends and more of people they met briefly, users are less inclined to share personal information and their lives with hundreds and hundreds of strangers.

so how does a website that has known struggles of user produced original content have statistics this strong?

Simple, adaption.

Facebook has has taken this trend into account and has begun its transition into something beyond a social media platform. Facebooks trending topics and hashtag features have made it now a commonly used source of news and current affairs for users. In fact, 40% of US adults get their news from Facebook through the trending topics section. Facebook is also a huge supplier of entertainment and games, and provides users with a feed of advertisements, stories, multimedia,  forums, and even an online buy and sell marketplace that align with their personal interests. Facebook provides its users with what has been dubbed as ‘a personalised portal to the online world’. Facebook has become more than a social media platform, it is often a persons first stop when online, and it is from the facebook provided links that people often begin their internet browsing.

So I wasn’t entirely incorrect, Facebook is beginning to show its age. But it is far from becoming obsolete, it is growing and developing to in a very sophisticated way that ensures it will continue to hold a firm bookmark in billions of peoples browsers.

Can I see your ID please?

Our identities are complex and multifaceted. They are constantly evolving and being influenced by external factors. So, it makes perfect sense that this would also be the case for online identity.  If we can even call it that in this technological age, a time where we are constantly online and we never really log out or turn off our computers. Perhaps our online identity is just simply, our identity, full stop.  But where does the power lie? With us, the creator of our online selves? Or do our curated online identities influence and inform who we are too?

When interacting online we reveal our identities ‘on different sites with the expectation [that] different audiences [require] different norms’ (Cinque,T 2015, pp.79). While I agree wholeheartedly with this statement, I am skeptical of the notion that this means we procure false identities when representing ourselves online. It is far more likely that we allow different facets of our diverse selves to be showcased according to the customs and intended use of a particular platform. The user names we adopt, the carefully selected profile photos, and the small two line biographies we all write are always strategically chosen to suit the platform’s standard and are indicative of our aims behind using that digital platform.

Using myself as a case study, this can be seen very clearly when flipping through a variety of the social media platforms that I utilise. My Instagram account username is ‘lipsticks_make_me_blush’. It is a username that has no similarities to my birth name but upon closer readings of it, is highly insightful as to who I am as a person on Instagram. I am a member of the LGBT community, and fall heavily into the ‘lipstick’ sub stereotype within it, and am also very passionate about makeup and cosmetics. It is a play on words that gives a brief mention to two aspects of my identity that I deem important, and hints at the content I post on my Instagram account.  I use this platform only in my personal life to post about happenings and activities I do throughout my week. However, the content I post is not always a true representation of my everyday life. I post only when I’m doing something interesting or important. Everything from the image, to the captions and hashtags, are carefully curated and edited multiple times to showcase myself at my most interesting, entertaining, and attractive self. Polletti and Rak wrote that ‘Identity is the expression of consciousness that is continuous over time, but identity is also a product’ (Poletti, A and Rak, J 2014, pp. 8), a product that us, as individuals and creators, make all the branding and marketing decisions for.  I could say I use the Instagram casually, but in reality that is certainly not the case. My Identity and self expression on the platform are true and honest, but they only reveal particular aspects of myself that I choose.

Screencap of @lipsticks_make_me_blush @18.12.16

Screencap of @lipsticks_make_me_blush @18.12.16

As much as I believe that I control my online persona and the representation of myself that I put out, I also strongly agree that my online identity has a significant amount of power over who I am offline and my own personal development. ‘Identity formation is undoubtedly impacted by social media experiences’ (Newman, M 2015, pp 222), and the representations of ourselves we put online usually are slowly realised and become more significant to our identity. Social media is often a method we choose to utilise for self discovery and self growth; where we can track our progress and success, or lack thereof. The online world, with its options of pseudonymity, seems to offer the perfect place for experimentation with our identity; we are able to express and develop different aspects of our identity with the false belief that it is separate from ourselves. However, this is a huge misconception. People will generally discover that as their pseudonymous persona grows it cements itself as one of the many facets of their identity.

This is something that I have found to be very true through personal experience. Throughout the last six months of my university course, I have been required to write blog posts and utilise a Twitter account for assessment. Two things that I had previously not associated myself with in a very firm way. Though here I am months after the completion of those units, and I have moved my blog posts from the unit blog forum to a public access blog provider, and I have continued to write regularly in a professional manner about media and public relations topics. I now check my Twitter feed each morning, and at several points during my days, and I have also begun to not just retweet or share interesting articles, but get involved. I have shared my own images and promote my blogs. I reply to other people’s tweets and respond to polls. Using Twitter and writing blogs because I have had to, have in effect, changed who I am. I am now a regular blogger and a daily user of Twitter.

Screencaptures of @ellen_emary

But even beyond this shift in my identity, is how I have strategically represented myself on these platforms and how these calculated choices have had real influence over my identity. I started my public blog and twitter with the hopes of improving my professional skills, expanding my knowledge, and beginning to build a credible professional identity. To evolve from a nervous student, to an employable and practiced PRP was my goal, and surely I am improving. My own perception of myself, and hence my identity, is more professional, educated, and experienced than it was prior to my exposure to blogging and Twitter. I have become more motivated and inspired to continue to grow my online persona beyond university units. Through establishing a professional online identity I have increasingly begun to see myself as this online persona and view it as another facet of my identity.

Made via Eas.ly 18.12.16

References:

Cinque,T 2015, Changing Media Landscapes: Visual Networking, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, AU, pp 79

Poletti, A and Rak, J 2014, ‘Introduction: digital dialogues’, in Poletti, A and Rak, J, Identity Technologies: Constructing the Self Online, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, pp. 8.

Newman, M 2015,’ Image and Identity: Media literacy for young adult Instagram users’, in Visual Inquiry: Learning and Teaching Art, Intellect ltd, Bristol, UK, pp.222.

Further reading on online identity.

 

Broader Online Activity
In relation to the unit ALC203, I have become quite active in the unit discussions that occur across the online platforms. I have utilised Twitter well, by posting regularly and checking the #alc203 daily to keep up to date with the thread and to engage with my peers through likes and replies. I have followed numerous other students enrolled in the ALC203 or ALC703 and have enjoyed responding to their tweets. I have also began a WordPress for myself where I have written almost weekly blog posts about unit related topics. I have enjoyed writing these to further my own understanding of the unit and sharing them whit my peers via twitter. Please have a scroll through both my WordPress and my Twitter accounts.

The Fight Against Online Authenticity

The first thing we see when we create any social media account is a box asking for our name, the degree of authenticity that we use to fill out these personal details determines how we interact on the platform. And perhaps, it is better that we don’t fill it in with our full names, but instead opt for a pseudonym. Contrary to popular belief, using a false name online can open up a variety of opportunities to reveal your true self.

After watching a conversation as part of my university course content I was intrigued to find my views on online identity were almost mirrored by the creator of controversial social media platform, 4chan. Christopher Poole, outlines in several interviews that being anonymous, or pseudonymous on the internet  allows you to reveal yourself in a“completely unvarnished, unfiltered, raw way.”

 

Now this of course can lead to some very large scale consequences as some users may see this as an opportunity to spread harmful and degrading content. This has been seen time and time again, and 4chan is now infamous for its uncensored and unfavourable content. A site where trolls run wild and there is no justice for any wrongdoings. However, if we can see beyond the instances of bullying and defamation we open up a world of possibility.

Not supplying genuine personal information online can allow you to explore yourself and articulate your opinions in a very honest way. It means that you can acknowledge and express openly all facets of yourself and engage with all of the discussions you would like to without any inhibitions. This is a huge benefit that shouldn’t be taken for granted as it means that the internet can be tailored to suit your needs at any time, you can log into twitter as your professional self to engage with one form of conversation and fulfill one side of yourself; but blog under a pseudonym and verbalise perhaps unconventional or controversial views and discuss these in a way that promotes personal growth and positive debate. We all speak to our parents differently to how we speak to our friends, so it makes perfect sense that we apply these social norms online, and not using your true identity means that in a world where everything is traceable, you are relatively private in your personal online life. Using a false name online does not mean you are being insincere, rather it allows the opposite.

To put this into an understandable context, being LGBTQ+ can have huge implications on your life, your opportunities, despite popular belief, can change once this detail about yourself becomes public. So for a professional in any field it may be beneficial for their career to keep their involvement in the LGBTQ+ community hidden from employers and co-workers. In this case using a pseudonym online would allow this person to express all aspects of themselves to appropriate audiences, they would be free to engage in LGBTQ+ community pages and reveal details and experiences online that under their professional name may cause harm to their career path. That is not saying the individual is not being ‘authentic’ in either one of their online profiles but instead they are embracing and exposing different facets of themselves in ways that incite confidence and openness.

II never thought I’d agree with anything 4chan related, before looking into the concept of the platform I was convinced that it was highly important to be identifiable online. However, upon further consideration and some thought I’ve come to realise that perhaps being unidentifiable is more authentic and true to yourself than placing your real name next to your real profile picture on an online account.

Don’t ‘Just Google It’

For many of us we have grown up with the phrase, ‘just Google it’ and it has always seemed like a solid foundation for research and information; but are you really utilising all that the humble Google search has to offer? Well that’s just it, google is no longer just a search engine, it’s a business that has expanded far beyond telling you what the weather will be like on your next interstate holiday. Valued at an estimated US$527 billion in 2015, google now has more ways than ever to provide you with valuable information, if you know where to find them.

Image taken by Ellen Emary, 2/12/16

Public Relations Practitioners need to be able to constantly monitor everything about the company and the market that they are working for. It is their business to be the first aware of any weaknesses in activities being conducted and opportunities that should be taken advantage of. Surprisingly, when used effectively,  google is a highly valuable tool for this job.

It is important to understand that google does have search algorithms which determine what your google searches return. They take into account location, browser history, computer or device being used, internet browser and many other factors. The algorithm then chooses what content is most relevant and applicable for you. This is something that public relations practitioners need to be aware of when undertaking in research. Google is by no means the only search engine that employs these techniques when returning results and it is important that this is understood. The research undertaken by public relations practitioners needs to be of a very high quality standard. That is why knowing how to navigate and really make the most of a google search is crucial, because it does offer many very useful and accessible tools that can and should be applied.  

Google news is one step above the traditional google search; it filters through all search results and supplies you with only news articles and blog posts. This simple tool will allow you to monitor the information that trusted news sources are delivering their respective consumers. This information can be invaluable in understanding public opinion towards your brand, allowing you to be an effective boundary spanner and navigate media coverage when delivering key messages to target publics.  

Google alerts is an addon of google that is free to use and only requires a google account. This program allows you to automatically receive emails when new online content is created about a topic that is of high interest to you. This essentially means that as a public relations practitioner, you are able to receive instant updates straight to your email when anyone mentions anything regarding your brand or product. This ensures that you are always aware of information being shared that concerns your company, and enables you to monitor any issues or opportunities that may arise.

Google analytics has huge potential in helping you monitor and research your brand’s reach. For a fee, Google analytics uses a dashboard style display to show key statistics of any web pages you control. The program, when utilised effectively, can show you everything from the countries that engage most with your webpages, to which specific online advertising campaigns have been most successful, and which content on your website is most attractive to consumers. All of this information is highly valuable to your business and goes beyond public relations and into the marketing sphere. However, as a public relations practitioner this tool can be used to monitor how your target publics are engaging with your web pages, and gives you the opportunity to place key messages in places where they will be most effective. It will also allow you to see who your most active consumers are, so you can be sure that your key messages are correct for the publics concerned.  You can read more about the many features of Google Analytics here. 

Online Reputation and Visibilty

The importance of online reputation is crucial for the success of any individual looking to launch a successful career in a multitude of professions, and is more than simply avoiding having a bad one. The online world has given employers the opportunity to see beyond your paper resume and into your online identity. It is no secret that employers will google each candidate and it is important that what they find shows you at your best, most professional self.

At first glance you may be thinking that having no reputation is the way to go when it comes to the online world. However, having no online reputation can be just as damaging as a bad one and make you invisible to potential employers. The online world has opened doors for marketing yourself, and most of the free services can be just as beneficial when used effectively as paid ones. So it makes sense to use them, and use them well to ensure that your employer sees what you want them to see.

In most cases the best place to begin is to create a Linkedin profile, it is simple, free and can widen your opportunities instantaneously. In its most basic form Linkedin is your online resume, it contains information about your education and employment history. But when used to its full potential the free profile can become a place to correspond with professionals and network in order to create opportunities for yourself. It allows you to make personal connections with real potential employers, to show them who you are beyond your resume. Linkedin as a platform is also designed to encourage collaboration. It is very simple to discover other professionals or students and collaborate on projects, and add these success to your growing portfolio of work.

For a student with an aspiration to succeed in the competitive field of Public Relations, a blog is the perfect place to showcase a multitude of things. Having an active and well managed blog account can show employers that you are dedicated and have a significant body of work. It as an extension of your resume and the portfolio of professional works that accompanies it. A blog showcases your writing style and is also a record of your ongoing skill development. Having a blog in itself can lead to employment, as exposing yourself to the online world as a writer can open up many writing opportunities as potential employers discover your blog and can immediately gauge your ability. Maintaining an active blog will not only lead to personal growth and the improvement of your skills but will also get you noticed.

Twitter is a huge platform with massive professional potential, but it is often overlooked as a place for career building. Twitter is a very professional social media site and it allows everyone to engage with each other and trending topics. Everyone has something to say and twitter provides its users with a platform to do this. The hashtag organisation of the site means you can follow and contribute to discussions that interest you with great ease. Twitter promotes a community of like minded people as you follow and gain followers and converse in a multitude of topics. The character limit on posts ensure that you take great consideration with language choices and what you choose to include is concise and of actual importance.  Having a successful twitter account can make you stand out from the crowd of other job seekers, as you have developed a voice in the online world and have shown  yourself to be part of the real world conversation.

Now creating and maintaining these different online platforms is one thing but offering  them in one easy convenient place is even better. Aboutme is a website that allows individuals to lead prospective employers in the right direction. Profiles consist of a short bio and a profile picture and then a list of links to your other online accounts, accounts that showcase you in your best light. It is important to have a solid online presence across a multitude of platforms but these will only really pay off if they are seen. Aboutme makes it simple and easy for employers to see everything about you that you want them to. It is the title page on your paper resume but in digital form. It is simple and basic but it is important, and can make a big difference in employment opportunities and your online visibility.

Avoiding a negative online reputation is certainly a good place to begin but, when job hunting in the digital age, having no online presence is making you invisible to prospective employers and collaborative works. Your online profiles can help you improve your skills and get you involved in your professional community. The digital world offers up many opportunities at no cost so take advantage of them; build a strong reputation for yourself and give your career a head start.