Stephen's Untold Stories

One of the best blog posts I’ve read in quite some time.

The internet is a series of connected tools. It’s time to start treating it like that.

No more talking about Facebook. No more explaining Twitter. No more asking about connecting on LinkedIn.

Just talk. Collaborate. Learn. Listen.

We have daily, nearly real time access to the greatest trove of information ever known, yet all we seem to do is talk about who’s using which network, and how to do so.

Link to complete post.

Thanks to Hoke for pointing this one out. I’ve already added his RSS feed.

It’s true!

Atlanta is embracing Facebook faster than any other major metropolitan area, a new study shows.

The number of Facebook users in the Atlanta area rose 142 percent the last six months, from 535,000 to nearly 1.3 million, according to a digital marketing firm called iStrategyLabs.

Los Angeles (97 percent) and Houston (71 percent) saw the next highest increases.

Peter Corbett, a 2003 Emory grad who founded iStrategyLabs, said he has no solid theories to explain the Atlanta surge. He’s analyzed Facebook usage for two years using data Facebook publicly supplies to its advertisers.

A Facebook spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the last half of 2008, Facebook usage in the Atlanta area rose just 6.5 percent.

Overall, nearly 72 million Americans now use the social networking site, and Facebook’s demographics keep getting older.

People ages 35 to 54 comprise the biggest group, followed by those 25 to 34.

Link to article.

Very interesting post from the Apophenia Blog.

In Atlanta, I met a shy quiet 14-year-old girl that I’ll call Kaitlyn. She wasn’t particularly interested in talking to me, but she answered my questions diligently. She said that she was on both MySpace and Facebook, but quickly started talking about MySpace as the place where she gathered with her friends. At some point, I asked her if her friends also gathered on Facebook and her face took on a combination of puzzlement and horror before she exclaimed, “Facebook is for old people!” Of course, Kaitlyn still uses Facebook to communicate with her mother, aunt, cousins in Kentucky, and other family members.

Cross-town, I met up with Connor, a well-spoken 17-year-old who is more than comfortable in sharing his opinions with me. His manner of speaking and attitude means that he would’ve fit into Eckert’s “jock” category even though he plays no sport. In fact, Connor is more interested in gadgetry (Macs to be precise), but that no longer has the same geek ring as it once did. Connor tells me about how Facebook is the new thing that everyone is using and that, while he prefers MySpace, he now primarily logs into Facebook. His girlfriend deleted her MySpace profile and most of his friends now spend their time on Facebook. In fact, he can’t think of anyone at school who still actively uses MySpace. Connor is also aware of the presence of adults on Facebook. He messages with his mother and his youth pastor on Facebook and he waxes elegantly about how he thinks that Facebook is just as popular among adults as it is among teens. He believes that the reason that people switched to Facebook was because it was more “mature.”

These two narratives reflect different views about the salience of age in social network site participation. At one level, we can simply read Kaitlyn as rebellious, anti-authoritarian. Yet, that doesn’t quite work. Kaitlyn is not rebelling against her parents or teachers; she simply doesn’t see why interacting with them alongside her friends would make any sense whatsoever. She sees her world as starkly age segregated and she sees this as completely normal. Connor, on the other hand, sees the integration of adults and peers as a natural part of growing up. The difference in their ages is part of the story – Connor is two grades ahead of Kaitlyn.

Read the rest here.

Might want to watch what you put on Facebook or MySpace.

Students, be careful what you post about yourself online: That’s the key lesson taken from a recent survey suggesting that many college admissions officers are looking at students’ online profiles before they make their final decisions.

About a quarter of the colleges and universities polled in a recent survey by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) said their admissions officers research prospective students’ social-networking profiles before extending admission or scholarships. That means a Facebook picture from a weekend party might cost a student a spot on a premier campus.

NACAC released the results of its study last month, documenting how the ubiquity of online social networking–especially on industry giants Facebook and MySpace–is helping campus officials decide which students are rejected and accepted every year. The research did not mention how often a social networking faux pas might influence an admissions decision.

College officials and social-networking experts said reviewing applicants’ online profiles is becoming commonplace in higher education, but a rude comment or questionable picture won’t single-handedly remove a student from consideration.

“I believe most colleges will do whatever it takes to recruit the right type of student to their respective institution,” said Mark D. Weinstein, dean of enrollment and marketing at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind. “Like anything else, our decisions all have consequences attached to them. If we make a bad decision, there is a consequence we must face. … [But] I would not think we would decline a student based solely on Facebook posts or blogs.”

Read the rest here.

Be careful!

Some unbelievable statistics.

Facebook has hit the 175,000,000 active user mark, just 5 weeks after it hit 150 million users in January. At this rate, Facebook has been growing by well over 600,000 users per day over the last several weeks, continuing the company’s torrid growth pace.

If Facebook were a country, it would now be the 6th most populous in the world.

• 45% of Facebook’s US audience is now 26 years old or older.
• The fastest growing segment in the US: Women over 55, up 175.3% in the last 120 days. Facebook growing faster with women than men in almost every age group.
• The number of people on Facebook grew by over 10% monthly in 52 countries in January. It grew by over 20% monthly in January in 13 countries.
• Facebook’s monthly growth accelerated by at least 25% in 30 countries in January vs. December 2008.

Read the rest here.