Facebook :
A Web Platform to Reach the Masses
From the start, I was enthusiastic
about creating my own piece of digital media to promote Greek life at Michigan
Tech. While there are many promotional materials available, I feel that they
lack the perspective of leaders in the Greek community. For many non-Greek
students, Greek life is a social tool and not much else, and I wanted to create
something that would display the leadership aspects it has to offer. I created
a Prezi presentation to outline the organization of an average Greek
organization, including positions and their duties; I also interviewed a few
organization leaders for firsthand accounts of their experiences. The next step
in my process was to distribute my presentation, making it available for anyone
who wants to learn about leadership opportunities in Greek life. I chose
Facebook as my medium, as it is a very widely used social network by students
at Tech, and the most effective way to reach a large number of my audience.
According
to geniusrecruiter.com, over 90% of college students use Facebook. It is a
simple way for them to stay connected to friends and family and for advertisers
of all kinds to reach them. Millions of products have pages that can be
“liked,” and it is difficult to find a public university without its own
Facebook page to recruit potential students and answer their questions
(geniusrecruiter.com). Facebook itself defines Web 2.0 according to guidelines
set by Danah Boyd: it is democratized, stimulating, and provides homophily and
power. Anyone can create a Facebook account and use it to post status updates,
“like,” and “share” other updates or posts. Facebook allows us to be friends
with only those people we are interested in; any posts or profiles we do not
find stimulating, we are free to block from our newsfeed. Homophily, or the
limitation of diverse perspectives, occurs because we are generally only
connected to the profiles of people like ourselves who share similar views. The
capability of “liking” and “sharing” photos or posts gives us the power to
control the popularity of other Facebook users (Streams of Content, Limited Attention: The Flow of
Information through Social Media).
In addition to meeting these
criteria, Facebook can be defined as a web platform. It is an open space where
anyone can post any number of thoughts, opinions, or informational pieces, and
the potential for reaching an audience is nearly limitless. From the Web 2.0
visual (oreilly.com), it is an attitude rather than a technology, and user
behavior is entirely emergent. Facebook in no way guides its users or tells
them what to think or feel; it is simply a canvas on which they may express
themselves as well as gain access to new information and meet other users. In
fact, Facebook’s own mission statement is “to make the world more open and connected.”
(facebook.com) Facebook achieves this through suggesting friends, the ability
to create groups, and several other means. Users have access to millions of
profiles, pages, and groups and the ability to join or follow those that
interest them.
As a participant in the vast
world of Facebook myself, I could not think of a better place to share my
“Leaders in Letters” presentation. In the words of Sarah Stoolmiller, “It’s
intimidating to approach someone and ask about Greek life when you don’t know them.
Facebook is a great tool to share information with potential new members
without scaring them off initially. Whether they are actively pursuing Greek
life or simply looking to learn more, Facebook gives them whatever level of
interactivity they desire.” Facebook is already a commonly used medium for
promoting individual Greek organizations and recruiting new members; my
intention is to inform on behalf of Greek life as a whole. My hope is that
members of all Greek houses will share my presentation, helping to spread my
message to as large an audience as possible.
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