The new generation of users namely teenagers follow the Facebook trend as Facebook let their users do more than send greetings in text; it allows them to upload and comment pictures, excessively poke friends, give virtual gifts and a whole lot more with various applications to choose from.
Facebook, the popular social networking site recently hit more than 100 million users in August 2008 (Source: Facebook.com 2008).
Facebook, the popular social networking site recently hit more than 100 million users in August 2008 (Source: Facebook.com 2008). Lorenz (2007) believes that "all of these methods of instant communication [Facebook] mimic the interactions that kids would otherwise have in basements and dorm rooms." That being said, he compared writing an e-mail to letter writing: time-consuming, stiled and plodding.
That would explain why Yahoo and Google came up with several plans to challenge Facebook. As reported by Hansell (2007) in the New York Times' Bits blog, Yahoo and Google hope to turn their e-mail systems and personalized home page services (iGoogle and MyYahoo) into social networks.
That would explain why Yahoo and Google came up with several plans to challenge Facebook. As reported by Hansell (2007) in the New York Times' Bits blog, Yahoo and Google hope to turn their e-mail systems and personalized home page services (iGoogle and MyYahoo) into social networks.
Multimodal texts [Facebook] (Walsh 2006) employs visual imagery and sound effects, which enable users to stimulate visual, tactile, hearing and kinaesthetic senses thus giving them more choice and opportunity to interact.
Genre such as e-mail or Facebook are never entirely single or pure as genres provide frames for social interaction (Schirato & Yell 1996). Therefore, web users have the choice to use either Facebook or e-mail to communicate with other, depending on who they are talking to. If you are talking to a friend, you are most likely to use Facebook. If you are negotiating a business deal with a potential client, you would most probably use e-mail.
All and all, Facebook should not be seen as a threat towards e-mails. Due to their diverse difference in offering, both services cater towards different sets of users. Ultimately, e-mails and social networking websites share the same goal: assisting us with our daily communication and connecting us to the world.
Genre such as e-mail or Facebook are never entirely single or pure as genres provide frames for social interaction (Schirato & Yell 1996). Therefore, web users have the choice to use either Facebook or e-mail to communicate with other, depending on who they are talking to. If you are talking to a friend, you are most likely to use Facebook. If you are negotiating a business deal with a potential client, you would most probably use e-mail.
All and all, Facebook should not be seen as a threat towards e-mails. Due to their diverse difference in offering, both services cater towards different sets of users. Ultimately, e-mails and social networking websites share the same goal: assisting us with our daily communication and connecting us to the world.
Reference:
Facebook's Videos: Inside Edition: Facebook hits 100M Users 2008, Facebook.com, viewed 9 November 2008, <http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=550766672024>.
Hansell, S 2007, Inbox 2.0: Yahoo and Google to turn e-mail into a social network, Bits Blog, The New York Times, viewed 9 November 2008, <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/inbox-20-yahoo-and-google-to-turn-e-mail-into-a-social-network/>.
Lorenz, C 2007, The death of e-mail, Slate.com, viewed 8 November 2008, <http://www.slate.com/id/2177969/pagenum/all/#p2>.
Schirato, T, & Yell, S 1996, Communication and cultural literacy: an introduction, St. Leonards, New South Wales.
Facebook's Videos: Inside Edition: Facebook hits 100M Users 2008, Facebook.com, viewed 9 November 2008, <http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=550766672024>.
Hansell, S 2007, Inbox 2.0: Yahoo and Google to turn e-mail into a social network, Bits Blog, The New York Times, viewed 9 November 2008, <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/inbox-20-yahoo-and-google-to-turn-e-mail-into-a-social-network/>.
Lorenz, C 2007, The death of e-mail, Slate.com, viewed 8 November 2008, <http://www.slate.com/id/2177969/pagenum/all/#p2>.
Schirato, T, & Yell, S 1996, Communication and cultural literacy: an introduction, St. Leonards, New South Wales.
Walsh, M 2006, ‘The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal text’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.
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