The Old Standby: Facebook Groups | W4 Q2 | Forum

When thinking about how to define social media it is also helpful to think about Web 2.0. Oftentimes these terms are used interchangeably and refer to websites which have several defining characteristics such as 1) treating users as equally as important as the content, 2) allowing users to form connections with other users, 3) allowing users to post content using a variety of mediums, and 4) utilizing internal applications and messaging systems (Cormode & Krishnamurthy, 2008, pp. 211). One major goal of social media is to capture as much user attention as possible, and keep the user within its own ecosystem (as opposed to Web 1.0 sites which generally focus on a narrower range of content and commonly link to outside pages).

My experience with Facebook generally consists of viewing, commenting , posting photos, joining and posting in groups around my interests, and organizing events to take place outside of Facebook (birthday parties, activities, etc.). “Groups” on Facebook are available to join on almost any topic and provide a community of like-minded people that may not be available offline. For example, I am a member of Facebook groups interested in investing, and discussion in these groups takes place around specific investment strategies, stocks, or other financial matters.

Participation in Facebook Groups has facilitated my learning, but at the same time made me more likely to pursue additional learning outside of the Facebook ecosystem. Manca and Ranieri (2013, 2015) refer to three main Facebook affordances which impact users’ (and my own) experience of learning in this environment.

Mixing information and learning resources: Group members will post their own knowledge, but will also commonly link outside resources. This has allowed me to benefit from the first hand experience of members, but also others’ knowledge of outside resources.

Hybridization of expertise: In many of my groups there is a large variation in the expertise and background of members. Learning and gathering opinions from this variety helps form a clearer representation of a concept

Widening context of learning: Many members of these groups share both personal information and stories, along with educational and academic information. Thus, the group becomes both a place to socialize AND a place to learn.