Finding out about the so-called algorithmic gatekeepers editing our experience of the web, through Eli Pariser’s TED talk, was quite illuminating. However, Facebook users seem to have a greater awareness of these things than I had prior to this week, and they express their concerns using the source of these issues as a platform. Perusing through the Facebook profile page, I stumbled upon their new years video post entitled “Happy New You”:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=642497449121843
It depicts people trying new things in the New Year. Thereby encouraging users to post about their New Year endeavors on Facebook. A comment posted on January 12, 2014 read: “lol Facebook don’t try to fool us, all you want is to promote your marketing studies”. Critical users expressing their feelings about the intended image of the company, and their awareness of certain marketing strategies on a public forum such as a post coming from Facebook itself may lead the passive Facebook user to look into these strategies, and question certain aspects of their Internet experience.
There are also more explicit strategies used by Facebook that have stood out to me. For instance, on the company page the bilingualism of the status aimed specifically at Canadian users is quite indicative of Facebook’s conception of our country. Its cover photo is a neutral Canadian emblem, that of the Rideau canal in our capital, commentators are enthusiastic as they show their recognition of the Ottawa scenery. However, the reader’s digest promotion for Halloween varied given the language in which they were written. The fancophones are assumed to be interested in visiting les Plaines d’Abraham orla Keg Mansion de Toronto, whereas anglophones are encourage to visit Toronto’s Keg Mansion or The Old Spaghetti Factory in Vancouver.
https://www.facebook.com/facebookcanada
As a bilingual Montrealer living in Vancouver, these intentional divisions bother me. Facebook is promoting our view of Canada as a nation divided, where francophones and anglophones are fundamentally different. The post could easily include the three locations in both French and English.