Facebook will soon remove their ban on children under the age of thirteen creating accounts which is set see their number of members increase from the current number of an estimated 900 million. Simon Milner, Facebook’s head of policy in Britain admitted that it was difficult keeping kids out anyway.
There is reputable evidence there are kids under thirteen lying about their age to get on to Facebook. Some seem to be doing it with their parents’ permission and help. We have a strict under-13 rule because of legal issues in America and we apply the same rule all over the world. But a lot of parents are happy their kids are on it.And everyone is getting in on the Facebook rush. Popular News site Fijilive and radio station 2day FM are also getting in on the Facebook wave hitting the country. Vodafone Fiji and Digicel Fiji run regular add campaigns and promotions on their Facebook pages. Even Fiji fashion week uses Facebook as it's primary source of advertising their events. Even the "most popular" Fiji coup blog, Coup four and a half, is on Facebook and despite Facebooks popularity in Fiji, only has a meagre 334 members.
As Facebooks popularity increases, all businesses increase their Facebook presence. News is uploaded directly on to Facebook. Citizen journalism is on an all time high as any eye witness to a news event can instantly post on the story. While don't really have much credibility as they are opinion based, many citizens who are present have camera Fones and take the video which is then uploaded onto Facebook and usually irrefutable.
One site which posts opinions as news is the popular Kava Cookie. The primary opinion its owner has is to free George Speight, the leader of the 2000 coup. It however posts happenings in and around Fiji and many people comment on it. Kava cookie however does not balance or verify its news.
Facebook is perhaps the most popular form of media in Fiji as thousands of people subscribe to its membership and exchange information. It is probably the biggest competition media in Fiji has, much bigger than any blog or other online entity which people are using. This is probably why media organisations themselves are now migrating onto Facebook where all their news are now posted.
4 comments:
Lose the first three paragraphs. Just start with the news. Everyone knows what Facebook is. Don't write in the first person plural. Observe Reuters style on numbers, ie. 13 not thirteen. Proper nuns must be capitalised, ie. Facebook. Edit your copy to catch typos like "peop;e." The word "it's" is a contraction, not a possessive.
Facebook is indeed becoming the most popular media tool in Fiji. As an avid social network user, I see alot of Fiji businesses and organisations online and that usually means good things for their clients. Yet, they only use them for announcements and advertising when they could use them to promote Facebook-only specials or discounts. Personally, I try to follow as many local-owned companies as possible, awaiting the day when the discounts and savings appear. Then I, as a consumer, can then truly say that Facebook is useful in that regard. But then again, just how long does Facebook have until it fades away and another social networking website comes to the fore and blows all opposition away. Only time will tell.
Facebook is definitely changing the way we get news now. I remember during the floods earlier this year, getting instant photos, videos and news on Facebook. Traditionally, we would wait for the 6pm news or wait for the next day’s newspaper. With Facebook there was no wait. Of course people can easily temper with news and post fake photos and what not. I guess we all have to be responsible in that sense so we don’t believe everything that is on Facebook or online for that matter. A good example of how Facebook resulted in false news was the Miss World 2012 saga. It was funny how the international media labeled Fiji as a racist nation after a few comments made on Facebook. We cannot blame Facebook though; it is the people who are at fault. I think we can have Facebook as a useful tool, but we just have to responsible.
So true that Facebook is taking over the world, it’s an undeniable fact. I’m not too optimistic though of how removing the ban on children under the age of 13 will help. It will definitely come down to security protocols and protection to ensure that no cyber bullying or the likes take place on Facebook. With what you mentioned about Citizen Journalism, I think this form of journalism is dynamic because of its flexibility, mobility and resources. There are a lot of people that have cameras, camera phones in Fiji that have a Facebook account and if they think that the footage they take is important then they are likely to upload. That’s news in itself! I think news corporations better take note in monitoring what’s happening on Facebook and see if there’s anything newsworthy that they can research into. Facebook has been really helpful as it incorporates images, videos and communication. It’s got to be one of the best inventions ever.
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