The Demise of Facebook?
I’ve been reading an interesting article by Chrys Bader this morning, discussing ‘the end of the Facebook era’. It’s very interesting and one that we’re all aware of, even subconsciously. Facebook has declining numbers, teens are not so active as they were, our Facebook networks are becoming saturated and for teens in particular they’re becoming increasingly sensitive about what they share, especially when they know their parents are lurking around.
This article goes on though after discussing the why’s and therefore’s, it discusses the public company’s financial status and the ability to ‘buy cool’, such as they did with Instagram.
It’s interesting and poignant to read and digest the social network shifts that are around right now and probably will continue to be for many years to come.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
3 Comments
Laurence Zankowski
Joanne,
There is more that seems to be kept out of the conversation. The fact that it is an American Company with ties to China and wanton, wholesale data mining by state run intelligence agencies. Do not for a moment think that these social netowrk businesses have your back on privacy. It is always about selling data to those who right now are grabbing it for free.
I end with a forever true statement: Youth are wise when adult eyes are lurking….
Be well
Laurence
ValeriGail
It’s not only youth leaving/not joining/being careful of Facebook. Others have learned first hand the hard lesson social media and sharing open to the public can bring. Eyes are opening. I think the fog we’ve been in is lifting and our brains are starting to kick back in. At least for some of us. It’s really not such a good idea to post all your info for the world to see. That doesn’t help connect us, it helps endanger us.
This was a good article and it’s nice to see the numbers are dropping. I for one can’t stand the changes in Facebook. I prefer Facebook of old before it was all commercials on my feed, and only my friends and family’s posts. It will never be that Facebook again. We are a society of consumers. Why would we want to NOT be marketed to? (Sarcasm)
Jay
This is not to advocate or disparage facebook either way, but let’s face it, it’s free and the system it has created has given many people ways to share and express themselves in a way that didn’t exist before. As far as private information– well, you have control over that– if you don’t want people to know your business than don’t publish anything. And certainly, for the vast majority of us out there, government ‘spies’ have no interest in us– this fear of ‘discovery’ (in my humble opinion) is inanane. And one more thing for discussions sake– all of us that have a job or service a sector of consumers– we are all selling something and you bet your dollars and euros if we could use social media or whatever to build out base of clients, we would certainly do so– so why beat up Facebook that needs to make money to operate and why beat them up because they want to make a profit. Even not-for-profits need to earn a dime, and some of those organizations are relentless to bring in the cash. Nothing’s perfect, but those that don’t like social media– walk away. It’s like those photographers that are so fearful one of their pics will be stolen from a posting and used for someone else’s gain. If you fear that than don’t post, period. I for one would love to ‘open up’ the New York Times app and see one of my photos front and center on page one. Just think of the social media storm I could cause, and recognition I would get, rather than just get a couple hundred bucks for a photo. Cheaters do seem to get caught– look at Shia LeBouf.
Ok, this is rambling a bit, but I think the media is doing us a disservice creating this sense of fear that all our records are being scrutinized by ‘THEM’. Unless you are a criminal or don’t want to pay your fair share of taxes, believe me, you are as uninteresting as me to ‘THEM’.