In the interest of tracking news coverage of Facebook as it pertains to non-collegiates, I set up a Google News Alert. One of the first things I’ve learned is that Facebook, in general, gets lots of press attention – my Google Alert delivers a regular news round-up of news articles, blog entries, and press releases about Facebook – perhaps 10-12 new items each day.
Many of these alerts do not pertain directly to non-collegiate uses of Facebook. But a significant number do address the topic.
A story in the Detroit Free Press, “Offering easy dialogue, Facebook gets rush of users over 35,” reports that Facebook has surpassed MySpace and become the leading social networking website worldwide, attracting 150 million users. According to this story 46% of Facebook users are 35 or older.
One popular use of Facebook is for re-establishing social contacts. A columnist in the Home News Tribune (L. Granieri, 10/2/08 - available for a fee) wrote about how she drifted apart from a close friend in college and then got back in touch with her over Facebook. They recently got together for lunch, for three hours (that’s some lunch).
A blogger on the US News & World Report website shared the heartwarming account of a young professional in CT who created a Facebook group, to collect stories from former students of his mom, a soon-to-retire school teacher. The group has over 300 members. And in the less than savory dept., the Mirror of Great Britain reports that an English gent used Facebook to contact his high school sweetheart and then promptly left his wife of five years for her. His jilted spouse has formed an “I hate (name of old girlfriend)” Facebook group, which has 28 members.
What these three stories illustrate, I believe, is that social contacts that people pursued for generations have become easier through Facebook. Human nature is to be sentimental at certain stages in our lives; Facebook allows us to act on those impulses with greater speed and effectiveness. Sometimes the results are heart-warming, other times heart-breaking.
Another growing area of Facebook use is for work related activities. The Democrat Chronicle of Rochester, NY reports that Paychex, Verizon Wireless, and Bausch and Lomb are using Facebook to recruit new personnel. A story in CNET News online reveals that Great Britain’s secret service, the M16, is placing ads on Facebook seeking new recruits. They’ve also formed a Facebook group that has over 700 members.
The Detroit Free Press article highlights one young professional, a party promoter, who spends 16 hours a day on the site working to drum up interest in the latest place-to-be-seen. The Democrat-Chronicle article also relates the efforts of Kodak to promote their latest products and company news on Facebook.
So companies are using Facebook to reach out to young people of college age and a little older, to promote products or professional opportunities. What remains to be seen is if established businesses are or will soon be using Facebook to reach the growing segment of Facebook users who more than a couple years past college age.
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