Assignment #5 - Peter Clain

In Orlikowski’s article on organizational issues in groupware, she defines a technological frame as “[a] reference that individuals have about the world, their organization, work, technology, and so on” (364). When presented with a new technology, a person’s natural reaction is to seek understanding by connecting that technology with their preexisting technological frames. Explaining a modern technology such as Facebook, then, becomes a task of explaining the technology in terms of reference that the user would understand. If the user age is between the ages of 40 and 60, this reference becomes more difficult, because they may or may not be familiar with social networking sites and the potential uses for the technology.

How, then, should the technology be explained to this age group? One reference that all members of this group should share is the concept of a yearbook. Yearbooks have pictures, they connect you to all your friends, and you can write messages in your friends’ yearbooks. Facebook is much like a digital yearbook on the internet. A person’s page is a lot like their page would be in a yearbook – it contains their name, year in school (if applicable), and any other information that they may have. “Wall posts” function as messages left in friends’ yearbooks, and they can function like email communication as well (another technological reference).

After the user gains a base understanding through this reference, they will then need to go through training. According to Orlikowski, “Training […] is central to their understanding of [a technology’s] capabilities and appreciating how it differs from other technologies with which they are familiar” (365). The first part of the training would explain the potential uses for Facebook, ensuring that the user would take full advantage of the system instead of simply using it like a reference technology. This would include the explanation of Facebook’s event, group, and application features – all within the context of enriching communication with others (so as not to encourage it as a personal technology). Details about using these features, as well as other aspects of the site, would constitute the rest of the training.

The real factor in this user adopting Facebook, however, would come down to their return on investment. Because it is not a corporate technology, the real return on investment comes from the user’s happiness. “[The user is] happy if it makes life easier, more enjoyable, or garners respect” (Grudin, 324). Staying in touch with friends and communicating using Facebook’s features would, hopefully, achieve this result.