10 Reasons People Hear News FIRST Now from Facebook

So there’s this new social networking service online you may have heard of – FaceBook? Yes, of course you’ve heard of it, unless you’ve been exploring deep space for the past seven years. It’s all but replaced the telephone as a communications medium between friends and family; so it’s small wonder that a growing number of people count on FaceBook as their primary source for news as well.

The following is a list of ten reasons why people are getting their news first from FaceBook:

1. Because They’re There – The first and most obvious reason is that many people are spending so much time on FaceBook that they’re getting all their information there, from family events to current events. That is, when they’re not sharing hugs, or planting crops on Farmville.
2. Widgets – Many people have their desktops and browsers set to display notifications directly from FaceBook. As such, these notifications tend to be the first thing they will see when booting up their PC, or while they’re working at their desks. So when news breaks, it’s no surprise that Aunt Clara’s wall post will be the first you’ll hear of it.
3. Causes and Groups – One facet of FaceBook’s popularity has been the proliferation of various interest groups on the website. Many FaceBook members who join such groups also get updates and news reports on issues relevant to their common interests, via FaceBook messages.
4. Newsgroup Profiles – Just about every entity you can think of has a FaceBook profile associated with it. If your source for news is CNN, and you’re a frequent FaceBook user, chances are good that you’ll be getting your news feeds via CNN’s FaceBook page as well.
5. Going Legit – A December 16, 2008 article on the Australian website TheAge.com, reported that lawyers in Canberra had been granted the legal right to serve court documents to defendants via those defendants’ FaceBook profiles. The point being that as FaceBook continues to shape our social, political and commercial lives/livelihoods, users are increasingly dependent upon it for information of all sorts, including their news.
6. Going Mainstream – As FaceBook has become the foremost means by which many family members keep in touch, it also tends to be the primary source for hometown news, via updates from relatives on FaceBook.
7. Trust – has always played a major role in where an individual turns for their news sources. As social networking services such as FaceBook provide members with a vehicle by which to develop their own individual networks of friends and affiliates, it’s only natural that this extends to how they stay informed as well.
8. Following the Herd – News agencies are like any other businesses. They are driven by numbers: audience size, advertising revenues, etc. And like any other business, their parent media companies are following those numbers; and those numbers are telling them that FaceBook membership represents one huge global market.
9. Scooping the Tube – The immediacy of the social media platform makes for a faster means by which to disseminate information. As opposed to the lag involved in traditional news production, it’s an attractive alternative for sharing news. So more news outlets are breaking stories via FaceBook.
10. FaceBook Members - Some events and other newsworthy items are being shared on FaceBook pages by the news-makers themselves before they actually become mainstream news. Corporate, celebrity and political entities are using profiles on sites like FaceBook and Twitter to share their news prior to the stories being picked up by the media.

There’s no question that social networking services have altered the way we communicate and socialize. Much like cell phone texting did previously, they continue become more prevalent as a medium for keeping us up to date on everything from our social calendars to current news and notifications.

Taken From Broadband Service Providers