Wie berichtet, nehme ich einen 6-Wochen MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) über “Foundations of E-Commerce) an der Nanyang Technological University Singapore. Ich bin jetzt in der letzten Woche. Ein Assignment muss ich noch schreiben. Hier mein letztes über Facebook:

Some thoughts about Social Networks  (Option 2)

Introduction 

Human beings as social animals tend to communicate with each other for various reasons. The internet is a prop which helps to fulfill the desire for instant gratification in this context.

Social Networks are technologically advanced successors of  bulletin boards, chatrooms. Networks like Facebook or WeChat attain an increasing numberof users. One reason is the network’s multitude of options.

As Social Networks are free for users and cross frontiers, they have the potential for users to get to know other cultures, to aggregate opinions, to befriend others with common interests, to exchange views about pressing topics, to participate in grassroots movements. If a user plays out its individuality which runs contrary to accepted conduct in the net it will be confronted with a shit-storm that either subdues the individual or lets it leave the network which results in creating peer pressure.

The growing number of participants increases the network effect of  social networks and their value which is driven by augmented advertisements and click numbers.

Switching cost 

As learned, switching cost in context of Facebook is the cost  of moving friends to another social network if you want to move over yourself. In this context they are irrelevant.

How does Facebook make money? 

According to www.business-management-degree.net it makes its money through “skillfully targeting ads based on personal information users share”. While the Click-through-rate is less than that of Google it is still sufficient to be a major contribution to Facebook’s revenue.

Distinction of Facebook Users 

The research about Facebook Users boils down to banal categories like the stalker, the brand promoter, the newbie, the non-user, the over-sharer, the lurker, the gamer. Source YouTube.

Marketing organizations like http://60secondmarketer.com categorize Facebook Users by age groups.

Ages 13-17 Years: 10 %, 18-25 Years: 29 %, 26-34 Years:  28 %, 35-44 Years: 18 %, 45-54 Years: 13 %, 55 -65 Years: 7 %.The advertising focus should be on the age group of 18 – 44 Years.

What is missing? 

One option could be to power up an educational branch which could be visited directly from the Facebook homepage. With more than 1.2 Billion monthly Facebook users it could have an enormous impact. The above mentioned age-group could be a target group for continuous education. It consists of persons in their prime age, able to transform an educational impact into further knowledge which lifts their career and well-being. An example could be the integration of Coursera and the Khan Academy into Facebook.

Arguments against it.  

Why change a model that works? To change a network with about hundred users would have a low adverse effect. To alter a model with over a billion participants could be catastrophic.

Suggestion 

An educational option should be given the same weight like the others.A stealth like integration would be an interesting challenge but at the end of the road it could make the world a better place to live in.