I recently
read a quite interesting Norwegian article about a new study that creates
personality profiles based on what we like on facebook. Obviously I agree that
because I like “PLU Scandinavian Club” and “all of us that don’t smoke”, people
may make the assumption that I am a Scandinavian student at PLU that doesn’t
smoke. What shocked me about this article was that American scientists believe
that based on the combination of a person’s different facebook “likes” they can
tell what kind of person you are in a much deeper sense then just music preferences
and so on. If it wasn’t for the fact that they can back it up by a study
surveying 58 000 Americans I would probably never have believed it.
To me this
sound really random, but according to
the article I read, people are revealing much more personal information then
they might be aware of. This is one of the theories in the study done by Cambridge
University. They argue that it’s just as a reliable prediction as many of the exciting
personality test’s that many of you probably have taken. Nevertheless I do believe
that In this relationship area it is important to create an online network, and
it might be just the right thing to for example like your future dream job’s
company on facebook, or maybe your future employer might appreciate a common interest
for “Nike Running”.
The lesson might however be that you should
think before you put your thumb up. It isn’t necessarily a negative thing that
people learn about your personality from your facebook page. Perhaps you can use
this tool to create a good reflection of your personality exactly as you want
people to perceive you.
Regardless
of this being the first day of finals week, I hope you all have a fabulous week
- go easy on the “liking”.
This was an interesting blog to read. It's crazy how powerful Facebook is and the things it can do, and how a persons personality can be discovered just through the things they like on a page or a friends status. With respect to Facebook, do you think there will ever be another social media website that has as much impact on the world as Facebook does?
ReplyDeleteThis is a question I have asked myself many times. I believe that for our generation there might never be a bigger social media website covering the need for socializing on the casual and personal level with such a wide range of features. On the other hand it will not only be interesting to see how long people will have this need, but we can also already today see the trend of more customized networks that focus specifically on one feature like Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram. The online environment is changing so fast, and time is more and more valuable to people. I also think it will be very interesting to see what the new generations choose to use. Will they follow in their parent’s footsteps, or will they create their own and more “hip” world?
DeleteInteresting blog post. I agree that many people "like" pages very quickly without thinking how Facebook is using this information. For advertisers this is a real treasure since they can target consumers more effectively based on their interests. Regarding Jordan's question, I think Facebook has become the dominant player but you can tell by their efforts in mobile that they are afraid to loose their ground.
ReplyDeleteFinally I found my way to post a comment... I hope! I have created some new accounts, and hopefully this is enough.
ReplyDeleteYou are writing very well, Lise, and I really find it interesting. You have some meaningfull point of wiev, and interesting perspective on current topics.
Keep on, I am proud of you!
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