Group E Presentation--Tammy

Rhetorical Conventions & Context in Facebook

Facebook is a social networking resource, so it is hard to separate the rhetorical content from the social context/implications.

Profile Image

Maggie Haskin's article, "A quick guide to facebook.com" pinpoints the popular themes of the Facebook profile image as "the solo," "the hug," and "the desire to embarrass." Though she does this with a hint of sarcasm, there is truth within. Essentially, the image is the first thing people will see when they visit the page, so it is the primary representation of who you are, or who you want people to think you are.

• Most users conform to using an image of themselves with other people/friends
  • Back to Haskins, yes, many of these are "hug" pictures
  • Is the user expecting that people who access their page will know them, and thus can identify them in the picture?
  • Many appear to be party pictures.
• Few appear to be professional photos.
• Some use fake photos or pictures that do not conform to the average user. There are 2 levels of rhetorical context going on here, as stated by Stoner & Perkins:
  • 1. Non-participation
    • User will choose not to post a picture (or doesn't know how?)
      • Example
  • 2. Desecration/Contextual Reconstruction
    • User "violates expectations," but may also be attempting to "redefine those expectations" and make the violation acceptable.
      • Example 1
        
      • Example 2
        
      • Example 3
        
      • Example 4

Information

• Contact Info
  • Users can choose what information shows here. A cursory exploration of BSU profiles show that there is a higher occurrence of providing address and phone #s in younger users than older. This indicates:
    • They aren't worried about or aware of security issues
    • They want to be accessible to others, especially those in dorms
• Personal Info
  • These fields are pre-set, but content is open to the user. In Personal Info, aside from Quotes, entries are tagged. The idea behind this is to see who else is interested in the same things you are, but if you aren't consistent these tags are useless, aside from being read. For instance, if in your favorite music section you spelled "Motley Crue" as "Motley Crew," you'd find yourself in a one-man fan club.
  • Entries range from scarce to elaborately detailed.
  • This area is allows users to show what they are interested in (express individuality), but also allows them to see who is interested in the same things (being like others).
  • Not all categories apply to all users. If you leave a field blank, it won't show up. Some make interesting use of fields that don't apply to them or just in general (contextual reconstruction):
    • Example 1
    • Example 2
  • Did Facebook choose these categories as a comment on what they believe users value?
  • Interesting study on how people strive to stand out within a structure that inhibits genuine individuality (Barton: "Shut up and apply a label to yourself").

Status/Mini-Feed

These features allow others to see what you've been up to. Status activity appears to show up in the Mini-Feed, but not all users are using the Status feature.

• Example 1
• Example 2

All in all they're just bricks in the Wall, Or Will you sign my yearbook?

The Wall allows users to post messages to a profile page. The receiver of these messages can control who views the Wall, what gets posted and can respond to the posts. Again citing Barton, these messages, for the most part, bear a strong resemblance to the types of messages one might find in their high school yearbooks.

• Rhetorical Conventions & Context in the Wall
  • A majority of messages are short, 1-3 sentences, light in nature.
    • Greetings
    • Running jokes
    • Chain letters
  • No negative/mean comments
  • Some, however, use the Wall for communications/queries
    • Call me...
    • Can you work for me...
    • Do you want to go to Itasca State Park?
    • Similar to casual e-mail conversations
  • Wall-to-Wall
    • The Wall will show which messages the a particular user responded to, indicated by "Wall-to-Wall"
    • User will not respond to all messages
    • Some messages appear to stem from previous conversations, although not indicated with a Wall-to-Wall indication, "come on now, I've seen you several times, ya little imp"
  • Comments on Wall range from incomprehensible to witty banter to long passages. Writers are aware that these will be viewed by not only the person they are writing this to, but to anyone else who visits the page. Pressure to seem smart and witty? Need to express themselves as individuals?
  • Writing for the now. Little/no evidence that future consequences are a factor in what is written today. (Cornell University, Thoughts on Facebook)
  • Questions
    • What values does the user assign to the messages they receive on the Wall to the extent that they do or don't respond?

Questions, comments and thoughts

• Social interconnectedness
  • Haskins contends that "Facebook is about your current friends and connecting with old ones." Some BSU users have well over 100 BSU Friends. Interestingly, Cathy Small, contends in her book My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student that students are spending less time socializing and in smaller groups.
• Creativity amidst constriction
• Rhetorical choices based on what you see on other people's profiles? (I want that)
• Internal--searching/linking is one of biggest asset but tagging is tricky
• External--do you only look for people you already know?
• What's the shelf life of Facebook? Will students continue to use after graduation (some clearly are) and for how long?
• How often are "favorites" updated? Do they have a permanance, much like your yearbook entry (unchangeable) even though they are easily changeable in Facebook?