What is the hype with Facebook?

Who hasn’t heard about the social media site, Facebook? It is everywhere we look and when asked how someone learned something, might we be safe to say they would reply, “I saw it on Facebook”. Facebook is used by both individuals and organizations to share information that is both work related and for personal interest (Kappan, 2010). Individuals, groups, organizations, businesses, etc. may disseminate information in a text, link, photo, or video, and share with whom they like; all through their personal account. In addition, Facebook provides a resource for individuals to carry on instantaneous messaging, and internal email without leaving the site.

In addition, “groups and organizations can establish collective pages, ” (Kappan, 2010) which provides two additional avenues to reach others with the same interest. Users can create a group page, or a fan page. The group page allows a platform for those of shared interest, any user, to converse and share information. The fan page is an opportunity to establish a professional presence, mainly by an official representative.

User settings provide a level of security that assist permission and controls of interactions between users. What is amazing is that the user interface is continually changing, some updates for good, some not so good, and users are able to adapt quickly to the communication techniques utilized.


Ewbank, A., Foulger, T. S., & Carter, H. L. (2010). Red Bull, Starbucks, and the Changing Face of Teacher Education. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(2), 25-28. Retrieved from EBSCOhost on February 15, 2011.