(http://ryanfeeley.com/2007/04/21/torontonians-surpass-12-million-mark-on-facebook/),
Toronto has the largest Facebook network, surpassing New York and
London, UK. I would have thought that San Francisco or San Jose (some
place in Silicon Valley) would surely beat us, since they're strongly
into online social networking and Web 2.0, but apparently we're
beating them in Facebook.
So, what does this mean for Toronto, does this mean that we're leading
the pack in social networking technologies and online social
networking? Does this mean, that Toronto lacks face-to-face and
social contact compared to other cities? Or, does this mean that
Toronto forms a more cohesive and larger social network and virtual
community than others because due its multiculturalism. What are some
factors that make this Facebook statistic?
It would be interesting to conduct a study analyzing Facebook in
Toronto and compare that with physical community in Toronto, and see
if due to the social fabric in Toronto, this is how the Facebook
network comes to be.
Alvin
2 comments:
Great ideas here...
I would love to see a socio-cultural study like this done !...u should draft an abstract and an outline for a study idea and submit it to UofT Department of Sociology or another large ontarian university. They would definetly take interest.
Your comment about Toronto lacking personal contact is quite apposite, I find. I lived in Toronto for years and I can only reiterate your sentiment. I found it to be a very cautious place, with people not openly gregarious or easily accessible. This is the Internet age so any innovation, or increase in members, of the online community is wholly expected. However, the fact that Toronto is far from the biggest city in North America, yet ranks as the largest network on an internet networking site should ring alarm bells, surely.
There is something wrong with us in Toronto and I hope we fix it; I was in London; the interaction was so much more visceral, exciting, and engaging. There's more to life than being cold and suspicious - we need to get out of the virtual realities facilitated by the computer, and back into the playground of real social interaction.
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