Difference between revisions of "Facebook"
(→Concerns: removed redundant phrase, suggesting we're judging them) |
(Come to think of it, almost every myspace user does this, not just young people) |
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==Concerns== | ==Concerns== | ||
| − | * As with all social networking websites, there is concern with users' privacy. Many users | + | * As with all social networking websites, there is concern with users' privacy. Many users display personal information, such as where they live and pictures of themselves. This makes them more vulnerable to phishing attacks and stalking. |
* Some universities have begun to use students' pages to investigate underage drinking and other violations of university policy.<ref> [http://en.allexperts.com/e/f/fa/facebook.htm]</ref> | * Some universities have begun to use students' pages to investigate underage drinking and other violations of university policy.<ref> [http://en.allexperts.com/e/f/fa/facebook.htm]</ref> | ||
* Some employers have begun to research prospective employees by browsing their Facebook sites, possibly affecting their chance at being hired. <ref>[http://www.bju.edu/collegian/index.php?issue=104&article=1084 Facebook, MySpace impact employee hiring], The Collegian Staff, Bob Jones University, Accessed October 30, 2008</ref> | * Some employers have begun to research prospective employees by browsing their Facebook sites, possibly affecting their chance at being hired. <ref>[http://www.bju.edu/collegian/index.php?issue=104&article=1084 Facebook, MySpace impact employee hiring], The Collegian Staff, Bob Jones University, Accessed October 30, 2008</ref> | ||
Revision as of 20:21, March 4, 2009
Facebook is a social website originally used by college students but has recently been opened up to include high schools, geographic regions and places of employment. Users can upload pictures of themselves, write blogs, and add people as their friends thus creating a large social network.
Origins
Facebook was founded in February 2004 by Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg, with help from Andrew McCollum and Eduardo Saverin. By December of 2004, after expanding the site to other universities the number of registered users exceeded one million. In August 2005 Facebook obtained the domain name facebook.com and dropped the "the" from the site.
Value
It is rumored that Facebook generates around $1 million per week in revenue. [1] In September 2006, Yahoo! began talks with Facebook about a possible acquisition for as high as $1 billion. In October Google allegedly offered $2.3 billion.[2]
Concerns
- As with all social networking websites, there is concern with users' privacy. Many users display personal information, such as where they live and pictures of themselves. This makes them more vulnerable to phishing attacks and stalking.
- Some universities have begun to use students' pages to investigate underage drinking and other violations of university policy.[3]
- Some employers have begun to research prospective employees by browsing their Facebook sites, possibly affecting their chance at being hired. [4]
- Facebook introduced a new layout that was unsuccessful in its attempt to reorganize the site into a simpler layout, provoking angry backlashes against it by some users.