How To Be Popular On Facebook, Quantified 97
Hugh Pickens writes "Network World reports that Facebook has just released an analysis of the word usage for about one million status updates from its US English speakers with the words in updates organized into 68 different word categories based on the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC)--a text analysis software program that calculates the degree to which people use different categories of words across a wide array of texts. The results? To be popular on Facebook all you have to do is write longer status updates, talk about music and sports, don't be overly emotional, don't talk about your family, don't refer to time and use the word 'you' a lot. Facebook's study also confirms something that bloggers and Fox News have known for years: negative comments produce more online activity. Sure, Facebook users might click the like button more often on updates expressing positive emotion. But Facebook found you can't beat negativity for user engagement, as dismal status updates garnered more comments than positive ones."
Yes, absolutely (Score:5, Insightful)
None of the correlations seem particularly high (Score:5, Insightful)
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters (Score:4, Insightful)
This story is about as far from Slashdot's slogan as you can get.
Re:News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:This just in (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't understand it, how come someone tells us that the news is at 11 and he is modded insightful? Let me try it also: Simpsons at 8! Jay Leno at 10!
P.S. :).
If you are going to reply with a Whoosh, then I Whoosh you back, be warned
Re:Yes, absolutely (Score:5, Insightful)
If you have any evidence of a positive correlation between friends and "Facebook friends", now is the time to present your paper.
I know it is popular to sneer at Facebook on Slashdot (which is kind of ironic given the similarities between two community internet sites people spend time posting stuff on hoping it is of interest to others, but mostly not), but this "they are not real friends" argument really baffles me. As there can be only one kind of relationships, that was defined face to face in a cave at the dawn of time and can never change. Social structures change, the way people relate and communicate change. People I have on Facebook are there because I know them (they are still in the hundreds), they sometime share and/or discuss something interesting or funny, and it is sometimes ok to catch up this way, quite a few live in other countries. If they spam with uninteresting stuff I'll just remove their updates from the news feed, done.
Uh, what's the point?!? (Score:5, Insightful)
"...all you have to do is write longer status updates, talk about music and sports, don't be overly emotional, don't talk about your family, don't refer to time and use the word 'you' a lot.
Uh, don't talk about family? Don't refer to time? What's next, we shouldn't talk about friends either? Seems to me they're kind of missing the whole point of Facebook. I don't think it was meant to be a sports and music site.
And what kills me is since when did Facebook need to become a popularity contest? There's no "winner" for who has the most "friends". It's an extended address book to stay connected with friends and family when you really break it down. YOUR friends and family, not friends of friends of friends families (kind of starts sounding like the old jokes that start with "my cousins best friends sisters roommates dog groomer"). And all the other bullshit on there (games, polls, puzzles) are all just revenue streams for Facebook, which don't really change the whole point of the site.
And as far as people who run entire businesses off Facebook and nothing else, do yourself a favor now and stop being cheap and just get your own domain and host your own site. Because when the popularity of Facebook dies, so will your company.
Re:You can win (Score:5, Insightful)
The only way to win facebook is NOT TO PLAY.
Re:News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters (Score:5, Insightful)
> Facebook requires friends.
No. Facebook requires "friends".