Assignment 5: Beth

My mom actually just joined the Facebook network. As soon as she “friended” me, I wondered what made her join. What was she looking for in this social tool?
Obviously there are many appealing things about Facebook that draw people in. Training middle-aged users to use Facebook would have to point out more than just its features, as Orlikowski concluded from his research of people adopting Lotus Notes. It should emphasize the many ways to use this all encompassing social tool. A how-to would include a brief description of uses in sections including editing your profile, adding friends, keeping in touch through wall posts and messages, posting and viewing photo albums, fixing privacy settings, playing games, and creating or joining groups and events. I would include where you click for these items from the home page and tailor it toward what a middle-ages person might want to use it for. For example, I would not focus on attending college events, but might discuss how to search for an old college friend instead.

Orlikowsky writes that when people start to use a new technology they “understand it in terms of their existing technological frames, often augmenting these frames to accommodate special aspects of the technology.” To accommodate for this tendency, the training would also be careful not to focus too much on things they already use. For example, relating messages to email too much might mean that they will use it in their technological frame of email and never see the other advantages of Facebook beyond this frame. Orlikowsky shows that it is not always enough to use a new tool to replace what you already use, but to use it in new ways. To achieve this, training would have to strive to integrate this tool into their existing habits as well as show them new things they might want to use it for in order to get more out of its use.

Grudin writes about many ways to measure the effects of technology besides productivity performance. In these terms, Facebook not only could make it faster to message people or see what their favorite movies are, but it could give people abstract rewards like interaction with others, feeling more included, and maybe make them fill in style as Facebook has become so popular. It might help them participate in things, like in a group or events they might want to attend. I realize now that it’s not so strange for my mom to use Facebook for the social network effects just like us college students.