Facebook PresentationProfessional Development Workshop

Parents and StaffCreated by Ann Hazley

May 2009

What is Facebook?

• A portal for social networking• Interact with friends• Share photos and/or videos• Community organizing• Email and instant messaging• Various forms of interpersonal communication• Operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc.

Who Created Facebook?

• Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook while at Harvard University in 2004 with roommate Dustin Moskovitz and fellow Computer Science major Chris Hughes.

• Initially created for college students

• Then moved to include high school students

• Now open to anyone over the age of 13

Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes

Growth of Social Networking Sites

Unique Audience Feb. 2009 Feb. 2008 Growth

Facebook 65,704,000 20,043,000 +228%

Myspace 54,164,000 56,313,000 -4%

Classmates online 15,545,000 12,955,000 +20%

Twitter 7,038,000 475,000 +1,382%

Source: Nielson Online May 2009

Earnings

• Though Facebook is privately held and doesn’t publicly disclose its earnings, various press and analysts’ estimates of its 2008 revenues span from $250 million to $400 million.

• Facebook generates revenue through display advertising

• New York Times, March 2009

Features• News Feed – highlights profile changes, birthdays and upcoming events• Wall – space on profile page to post messages• Photos – upload albums, tag friends and comment on photos• Videos – share videos; maximum length is twenty minutes and maximum

size is 1GB• Notes – blogging feature• Gifts – send friends a small icon such as smiley face or little green patch• Status – users update what they are currently doing, thinking or planning• Events – a way to let people know about upcoming events

Example of Wall posting

Pros

• Keep in touch with friends and family• Share photos and videos• Connect with classmates• Stay informed on community events• Select your own level of privacy • Ability to reject friend requests• A tool to be used in teaching students cyber

ethics

Cons

• Information and pictures may be used against a person

• Sexual predators• Cyber bullying• Students under 18 providing too much

information (full name, address, birthday, school, etc.)

Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibility

• “WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT FACEBOOK WILL BE SAFE OR SECURE. FACEBOOK IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OR CONTENT OF THIRD PARTIES, AND YOU RELEASE US, OUR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS FROM ANY CLAIMS AND DAMAGES, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ANY CLAIM YOU HAVE AGAINST ANY SUCH THIRD PARTIES.”

• What does this mean? Let’s translate…

How can Teachers and Parents Help?

• Talk to our students• Discuss online safety• Check privacy settings• Explain ethical behavior and cyber bullying• Share how certain pictures and words can

damage a persons future• Keep computers in an openly accessible room in

the house• Ask questions

How to select privacy settings on your Facebook account

• Privacy• Profile• Control who can see your profile and personal information.• Search• Control who can search for you, and how you can be contacted.• News Feed and Wall• Control what Recent Activity is visible on your profile and in your friends' home pages.• Applications• Control what information is available to applications you use on Facebook.

• Block People• If you block someone, they will not be able to find you in a Facebook search, see your

profile, or interact with you through Facebook channels (such as Wall posts, Poke, etc.). Any Facebook ties you currently have with a person you block will be broken (for example, friendship connections, Relationship Status, etc.). Note that blocking someone may not prevent all communications and interactions in third-party applications, and does not extend to elsewhere on the Internet.

• Person

Here to stay?

• “Cool only lasts for so long, but being useful is something that applies to everyone.”

• -- Christopher Cox, Director of Product, Facebook Inc.

Webliography

• Official Facebook website www.facebook.com

• Surfing the Net with Kids by Barbara J. Feldman – helpful tips and advice for parents and children http://www.surfnetkids.com

• Wired Kids, Inc. – charity dedicated to protecting all internet users, especially children http://www.wiredkids.org/

Works Cited

• "Facebook." Facebook. 1 May 2009. April & may 2009 <http://www.facbook.com>.

• Stone, Brad. "Is Facebook Growing Up Too Fast?" NYTimes.com. 28 Mar. 2009. New York Times. 18 Apr. 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/technology/internet/29face.html?_r=1>.