the report

0.0a Technical Requirements

This website uses the Lightbox javascript plugin to display images. Click on any chart to load it in the current screen, then click on the X or anywhere on the black background to close the image. If you do not have Javascript enabled the images should load in the same window.

0.0b Copyright
All original content is copyright Meagan Hanes. Please contact me for any further details.

 

1.0 Introduction

Facebook is, in my opinion, the leader of all social networking websites at the current time. The ability to connect with your friends in a new and tangible way, to open connections that were hidden before, to learn something new about a lifetime buddy, to reconnect with a high school sweetheart lost long ago. And to do it in such a nice and clean interface (as noted by various survey responders' comments) just makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

For those not in the know, Facebook is one of the most popular websites visited today. Initially limited to a few educational institutes, it gradually opened up more and developed more features and functionalty. Now anyone with a valid email address can have a Facebook account. Facebook is extremily popular with youths and young adults, although people of all ages are finding ways to use the website to connect with others.

Since many people now use Facebook (more than 58 million users), I thought it would be worthwhile to look at how it is affecting the way we communicate with each other. I have noticed my own behavior changing, I now use instant messaging and phone calls less, but still go to more events with my friends. Some of my communication has shifted to Facebook, while others remain in e-mail.

As I am a web developer, I am not terribly representative of the general population, so I wanted to poll the public to see what they thought and noticed, and how they use Facebook. At the same time I wanted to get to know the type of person filling in the survey, not only to check for sample skewing, but just to get a sense of what people know nowadays, a pulse check if you will. And hey, more data means more pie charts, and that's always a good thing!

I will begin by taking a quick look through the news to see where Facebook stands.