Blog 6 (Week 8) Callum Olearczyk FB

As with most virtual network sites, Facebook has large corporate interests which guide its development and guidance. As a publicly traded company Facebook has been subjected to stake claims by a number of individuals, this leads to a somewhat dysfunctional way of running the site due to the need to satisfy each shareholder- the shareholders of Facebook  

Food is a large factor in Facebook; many advertisements and even blogs regarding food are displayed throughout the network. Users browsing history is recorded like many other sites on the internet, this has led to advertisements specifically tailored to users; in my “travels” so to speak I have noticed a number of food ads which are of interest to me as I regularly look up recipes online. Atkins makes reference to how social groups distinct tastes gives their identities badges which can be likened to a way of signalling their commercial usefulness to the corporate world (Atkins, 2001). Food has had a number of impacts on Facebook, in some cases it is a “signpost” to identity, a status indicator, an excuse to “brag”, or a professional ad. Users can use food to show their culinary skills and hence “brag about their worth in a social context, others can look to a user who uses this form of “signposting” and judge their social worth. “Bragging” about ones food is also common.  Atkins mentions how food gives reference to an individual’s identity (Atkins, 2001). A rather different impact of food on Facebook is that it has aided in the diversification of knowledge on the network; food has revealed many unseen parts of our actual reality to us through giving insight into different cultures and people. In a corporate sense, food is never ridiculed on Facebook; we are always told how good food is whilst being kept oblivious to the health impacts.

The intervention of corporations is clear as they lobby positions of authority to maintain the status quo in order to maintain their business interest. Patel refers to this and elaborates in which he explains how governments are lobbied in order to cover up their activities in rural farming and production (Patel, 2007). 

Alcohol use is similar to food as it can be used to gauge the social life of individuals without them needing to be known in person. In user blogs, alcohol is always regarded in the highest sense as being the “gateway” to social wonder and admiration due to its current social interpretation by today’s generations. Alcohol is definitely advertised in the highest regard as well by corporate interests as a way to continue the fad of “alcohol love”.  It is difficult to find an ad which cautions against alcohol and the associated dangers.           

References:

• Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). The origins of taste, in Food in Society: Economy, culture, geography (pp. 272-293). London, England: Arnold.
• Patel, R. (2007). Introduction, in Stuffed and starved: The hidden battle for the world's food system (pp. 1-19). Toronto, Canada: Harper Perennial.