Assignment 6

On September 5, 2006, Facebook launched its News Feed feature. You might recall that much fury ensued among Facebook users at the time. Raised eyebrows faced computer screens as users witnessed every step they made on Facebook being "broadcast" to everyone on their friend list. Even Facebook groups were formed regarding support for the removal of the News Feed. The feeds were viewed as an invasion of privacy, and "going too far."

On September 8, 2006, three days after launching the News Feed feature, Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, issued a public apology in response to the Leviathan:

We really messed this one up. When we launched News Feed and Mini-Feed we were trying to provide you with a stream of information about your social world. Instead, we did a bad job of explaining what the new features were and an even worse job of giving you control of them. I'd like to try to correct those errors now.

In response to the Leviathan, the initial outcry from users opposing the new features, Facebook backtracked and revised their algorithm to give users the ability to customize the level of their presence in the News Feed.

While I do not use Facebook obsessively, I remember asking my friends last semester, "what was on our Facebook home pages before the introduction of the News Feed and Mini-Feed?" We could not recall. Wallace would argue that Facebook users have conformed to accepting the presence of the Facebook News Feed, which occurred even within several months of its introduction. It can be argued that the News Feed has in fact made Facebook what it is today: the focus of obsession of online users all over the world.

The reaction of the Leviathan had a definite effect on Facebook's current state, and their original concern that the News Feed was a breach of privacy has dissipated quite a bit. The Facebook News Feed has become a social norm, while a year ago, it was perceived as invasive.



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