How Are You Not On Facebook?

1. How Are You Not On Facebook? Phil McDaniel Valerie Kielmovitch Dan Moore Claire Robinson University of South Carolina Virtual Case Study Competition 2006

2. Outline of Presentation • Background of virtual communities • Student motivations to create online profiles and continued use of virtual communities • Issues concerning virtual communities (Pros and Cons) • Orientation session proposal • Online tutorial proposal • Reasons for content • Assessment of programs

3. What Are Virtual Communities? • A community of people sharing common interests, ideas, and feelings over the Internet or other collaborative networks. • Examples: • Facebook.com • MySpace.com • Friendster.com • Xanga.com • XuQa.com • Livejournal.com • Collegehumor.com Most Commonly Used

4. What is MySpace? • “Social networking website offering an interactive network of photos, blogs, user profiles, groups, and an internal e-mail system” - Wikipedia • Founded in July 2003 by Tom Anderson (graduate of UC Berkely and UCLA)

5. What is Friendster? • Founded in August 2002 by Jonathan Abrams • Has more than 20 million users • Blog service attached with website

6. What is Facebook? • A virtual community reserved exclusively for members of institutions of higher education • Only members with a “.edu” email address can access and join the website • Members can only view profiles of friends or those who attend the same institution

7. Facebook Quick Facts • Created on February 4, 2004 by Harvard students • Today it connects more than 2,600 colleges nationwide • Facebook tallies 250 million hits everyday • Has 11 million users worldwide • The average member spends 17 minutes a day on Facebook

8. Uses of Facebook • Create a profile • Share pictures • Join groups • “Poke” people • Send messages • Be reminded of upcoming birthdays • Stay in touch with friends • Meet new people

9. Why Do Students Create Online Profiles? • Peer pressure/friend recommended (most common response) • Meet people in college • Class schedule & know classmates • Use message tool as a meeting reminder • Birthday reminders • Communication with high school friends • More structured than other online communities (Facebook) Data obtained from students polled by group members

10. Positives of Virtual Communities(Emphasis on Facebook) • Freedom of expression • Keep in touch • Updates • Meet people • Create groups (shared interest, study, etc.) • Advertising campus events

11. Concerns of Virtual Communities(Emphasis on Facebook) • Internet Stalking • Security/Safety • Internet privacy • Identity theft • Time waster/procrastination • Future implications dealing with profile content (employers, post-graduate program, professors) • Class distraction • Email spamming • Facebook shares member information with 3rd party vendors per its privacy policy

12. "If you tell your professor you study all weekend when the groups you join highlight binges and bongs, then your hypocrisy is exposed.“ - Professor of Philosophy, Dan Lloyd “Facebook Raises Privacy Concerns” By: Fabrizio Montermini Issue date: 11/29/05 Facebook Dangers

13. Learning Outcomes of Orientation Session and Online Tutorial • To learn basics about virtual communities • To educate students and parents on positives and negatives surrounding virtual communities • To address issues dealing with students safety and security • To teach students to be more conscious of internet uses and public domain issues

14. Orientation SessionProposal

15. Why an Orientation Presentation is Necessary for Diversity College? • Gets students thinking about positives and negatives about Facebook before they create their own profiles • An effective medium of getting information to all incoming students and some of their parents • Proactively addressing possible pitfalls of student online use • Helping students transition into positively using online communities they are now able to use

16. Orientation Presentation • During Orientation two presentations will be given, one for students and one for parents Reasoning: • Students will be more open in their dialogue and discussion with their parents not around. • Presentation will be tailored for each group, through topics discussed and presentation styles.

17. Orientation Presentation (cont.) • Each session will be lead by 3 individuals • Student Leader • Campus Police/Security Officer • Campus Administrator (i.e. judicial affairs or student affairs) • Each presenter will discuss information that pertains to their position and their point of view • Each Presentation will be delivered in a large group setting

18. Reasoning for Presenters • Student Leader • It will give the presentation a student perspective on Facebook and communicate the positives of Facebook • Campus Police/Security Officer • Shows our campus is concerned about our student’s well-being and safety • Also makes students and parents understand that the campus police/security are here for their safety keep them out trouble • Campus Administrator • It will show that the University wants to make students and their parents aware of Facebook and the potential troubles that may arise • The University is committed to taking steps to ensure student are well informed about Facebook

19. Orientation Presentation Outline • Brief discussion on what are virtual communities, emphasis on Facebook • Led by Campus Administrator • Why do you think students create these profiles? • Led by Student Leader • Go into common responses not touched on and why students continue to use Facebook • Focusing on positive reasons • Safety concerns of Facebook and virtual communities in general • Led by Campus Police/Security Officer • Internet Privacy Concerns & Web is public domain • Personal Information • Internet stalking • Personal Possession Theft • ID Theft

20. Orientation Presentation Outline (cont.) • Other negatives of Facebook use • Led by Campus Administrator/Student Leader • Time waster/Procrastination • Personal Reputation and Impression • Future Employment • Teachers and Administrators • Possible Judicial Repercussions • Facebook is not the end all be all of your collegiate life • Led by Student Leader • Discussion on face to face contact/getting involved on campus • Discuss Online Tutorial • Led by Campus Administrator • Mandatory to use college technology services

21. Student Session Differences • Since majority of students already know about virtual communities and the advent of high school Facebook, the presentation will focus more on the other points. Emphasis will be placed on positive uses and recommendations on what not to have on profile. • After the presentation students will meet in their small orientation groups where their orientation leader will lead a discussion on the presentation • Training for the orientation leaders will be designed, along with a discussion guide

22. Parent Session Difference • Since most parents may not have heard about virtual communities and Facebook there will be added focus on the description of these programs • Presentation will deal with issues that pertain to parents understanding what can occur to their children (i.e. judicial implications, future employment, and personal reputation) • At the end of the presentation there will be a Question and Answer session in the large group setting

23. Online TutorialProposal

24. Why is a Tutorial Needed at Diversity College? • Educate student body on the pros/cons of Facebook before allowing access to college technology services • Increase knowledge of virtual communities • Build awareness of common problems seen on college campuses dealing with virtual communities • Creation of a preventative measure to avoid future problems at Diversity College related to virtual communities • Assess student’s knowledge of virtual communities through online final exam

25. Outline of Tutorial • Learning outcomes, purpose, and outline of tutorial (2 min) • Overview of Virtual Communities/Facebook (5 min) • Review positives Facebook (5 min) • Discuss the benefits and how it can help students in college • Review negatives Facebook (5 min) • Discuss the dangers and disadvantages to using Facebook • Recommendations for setting up a Facebook profile (2 min) • Final Exam (10 min)

26. Learning Outcomes, Purpose, and Outline of This Tutorial • The first point students will see is a set of desired learning outcomes we want them to achieve. • Know the basics of virtual communities • Positives/Benefits of Facebook • Negatives/Dangers of Facebook • Learn tips to protect virtual self • Students will also be given an outline of the tutorial, so they know what to expect.

27. Section Content What are virtual communities? What is Facebook? Why do students create online profiles? Method of Delivery Bullet points of information will be displayed on the screen A voiceover will cover each point. General Information AboutVirtual Communities/Facebook For this section we plan on covering the information under section content through the delivery method discussed.

28. Positives/Negatives of Facebook For both the positives and negatives sections, the following steps will take place. • Students will watch a short video clip discussing some of the positives/negatives of Facebook • Student leaders will be leading the discussions in these video clips • After video clips a summary of topics discussed will be displayed • 5 multiple choice questions will be asked following each clip and summary

29. Recommendations for Setting Up an Online Profile • Topics that will be touched on are: • Phone numbers • Address • Screen names • Adding class schedule • Joining offensive groups • Posting pictures (intoxicated, illegal substances, sexual) • Discussion on the privacy settings Facebook gives its users

30. Recommendations for Setting Up an Online Profile (cont.) • Student will be asked a list of rhetorical questions to think about • Who do you want to view your profile? • What do you want your profile to say about you? • What image do you want to portray online? • How would you feel if your Facebook profile was put on a poster on campus? • Consider your future. Is there anything on your profile currently that could backfire on you later?

31. Tutorial Exam Style • Multiple choice and true/false questions based on virtual community facts, positives and negatives, and recommendations • There will be a brief scenario dealing with Facebook; followed by multiple choice and true/false questions • Students must receive an 80% or higher in order to pass • Students failing must repeat the tutorial

32. Sample Multiple Choice Exam Questions • Which of the following people can view your profile? • Which of the following is required for having a Facebook profile? • Which of the following is a positive use of Facebook? • Which of the following is a recommendation to protect your virtual self? • What is a virtual community?

33. Sample True/False Exam Questions • Facebook.com can pass your information on to third party users as per their privacy policy for marketing purposes. • Facebook has different privacy settings for its users. • Anyone with a computer can be a member of Facebook. • Students are immune from judicial repercussions by Diversity College for their Facebook profile content • Facebook prompts users for more personal information than any other virtual community

34. Reasons for Orientation Presentation and Tutorial Content • We referred to our learning outcomes to form the basis for our discussion topics • Content was derived from current research on Facebook as well as articles discussing Facebook • Student polling also helped create the framework for discussions and questions

35. Assessment of Orientation Presentation and Tutorial • Partner with the Office for Assessment on campus • Timeline to begin: Late fall/early spring • Develop a list of criteria that we will look for in each profile (references to alcohol, drugs, skipping class, etc.) • Randomly sample sophomore profiles as a basis for comparison against a sample of freshmen profiles • Compile data into categories for each criterion • Examine differences between the two groups based on numbers gathered within each category

36. Assessment of Orientation Presentation and Tutorial cont. • Survey to be given to students following orientation and following tutorial to gauge effectiveness of programs • Surveys distributed one week following each program • Use findings of assessment and results of survey to make a recommendation about whether to continue the program and/or improvements • Assessment and surveys will be administered each year programs are in place

37. What Our Group Learned • Reasons why student use Facebook • Positive and negative uses of Facebook • Ways students can protect themselves • Issues that faculty and staff face • Possible consequences to students

38. References • The Chronicle of Higher Education • “Have You ‘Facebooked’ Him” by Brock Read on 05/28/2004 • “Think Before You Share” by Brock Read on 01/20/2006 • “Facing the Facebook” by Michael Bugeja on 01/27/2006 • Wikipedia • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySpace • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendster • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook • http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213295,00.html • http://dawgnetnews.com/archive/060129/3462.html • http://www.villanovan.com/media/paper581/news/2005/11/18/verge/facing.the.facts.about.facebook-1108785.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.villanovan.com