User:Marlon/PTT1

Facebook & Greasemonkey

Description

What you experience as real completely depends on your own frame of reference. Any form of media has its own kind of influence on how we perceive. This also applies to the internet. For example, during one of the thematic seminars with Richard Wright, Menno and I conducted a Wikipedia game: how long does it take to get from Random page to 'Dominoes'? And what are the pages you find in between?

After reading the chapter Peer Pressure (from Cyburbia, by James Harkin), I wanted to do a (small) project about Facebook. And then delete my account. Lately, Facebook seems like a constant stream of promotional material: the ads that pay to keep it online, friends advertising their work, friends 'liking' bands, products, places and the possibility to promote your posts to 'increase their visibility' ("a $15.00 promotion has an estimated reach of 2,000"). I'm wondering, how 'real' is a Facebook friend? What kind of hidden message has a Facebook status update?

Project

Part 1

Originally I planned to, by using a Greasemonkey script, completely enhance/overreact those PROMOTE! aspects of Facebook. See sketch:

Part 2

But simultanously the idea grew to approach the subject a bit more personal. I've been using Facebook as a 'fix' lately: log on, quickly scroll through News Feed, quick glance at pictures, then closing the tab in my browser. Takes only a few seconds. So I decided to use Greasemonkey to make-over my Facebook template. I've deleted the ads, the chat, the pictures and enlarged any text people have posted on their wall. Without anything to distract me, I can really pay attention to what's being said.

Fullscreen: (1) (2) (3)

Link?

I plan on uploading the script to Userscripts.org when it's finished.