A Facebook Degree?!

Unbelievably, “The Psychology of Facebook” course, brainchild of Professor B J Fogg sets to define the principles of this online social networking site. The reasons for its popularity are the foundations by which he builds his course.

Each week, the class dissects a certain aspect of Facebook. Whether it be profile pictures, music on display or links, students investigate how the mechanics work, the psychologies behind displays and the impression users are trying to create.

Whilst speaking to Maggie Shiels, Technology reporter, BBC News, in San Francisco, Professor Fogg said, “When Facebook came along I was one of the developers at the launch and what struck me was how there was this new form of persuasion. This mass interpersonal persuasion.”

He describes an “Oh my gosh!” moment when he saw application on the site go from, “literally zero to more than a million users in a week”.

The idea behind Professor Fogg’s work was to investigate the reason for such persuasion occurring on a site. Incredibly, instead of undergoing studies alone, he felt the best way to acieve his objectives was to teach a class simultaneously.

Indeed, the success of Facebook cannot be ignored. However, the morals behind gaining a degree around a chat site will undoubtedly attract a lot of criticism from both media scholars and academics alike.

All considered, if the course caters for nothing more than entrepreneurs looking for straightforward ways to create a successful business, Facebook could well be the answer.