Profile Picture Cracked

in collaboration with Noel Nasr

published in Comma

part 1: June 2012 in ArabAd vol.22 no.6 – part 2: October 2012 in ArabAd vol.22 no.9

 

This research saw the light of day while questioning a simple phenomenon about which we were quite curious: on what basis do people choose their profile photos on Facebook?

The variety of facebook profile pictures seems infinite. Close ups of eyes, illustrations, action shots or even photos of favorite celebrities. Some change it twice a day, others have had only one since they opened an account. This active process of self-representation unveils an interesting pattern to the cyber world.

As visual communicators our reading of photographs has always been analytical but how do Facebookers describe their choices?

On May 20, 2012, we selected randomly 100 friends and sent them private messages asking them to answer the following set of 3 questions regarding their facebook profile picture.

• Why did you choose your current picture as your profile photo?

• For how long did you have it?

• For how long do you intend to keep it?

Out of 100 candidates, 60 answered, 39 never replied and 1 person who is soon to become priest, preferred not to have his photograph published. Our friends generously agreed to give us the permission to publish their photograph as well as their answers.

Out of the 60 answers, 25 participants were females and 35 males. The pattern was classifiable in 6 categories, where the reason for people’s choice of profile picture turned out to be: 30% emotional, 9% for no particular reason, and 9% for other reasons, among which creative.

The timeline visually presents the findings of our research.

The profile image arguably acts as the most pointed attempt of photographic self-presentation on a Facebook profile. This image “stands in” for the user’s body in this virtual environment. Some theorists have claimed that personal pictures are the equivalent of identities; ‘our pictures are us’.

But does this apply to a virtual environment like Facebook?

Previous research has shown that users of “nonymous” networking sites tend to present profiles that are somewhat true to their offline identities, although positive traits may be emphasized and flaws may be omitted. The nonymous online world, however, emerges as a type of environment where people may tend to express what has been called the ‘‘hoped-for possible selves”; identities they hope to establish but are unable to in face-to-face situations.

By analyzing the content of our candidates’ replies about the reason for their choice of profile photos, a pattern was revealed, which closely matched our research findings.  Since Facebook profiles are not created in a social vacuum, interactions with other users play an important role in shaping identity presentation. We may think that we master our online decisions but we are implicitly influenced by others’ behavior and choices. This is part of social learning and social comparison, where not only our friends create an important influence, but personal demographics and assumptions about the perceived audience may also impact the ways in which we portray ourselves on Facebook.

It is worth noting that Barthes’ analysis of the social and cultural aspect of image formation is still valid in the virtual space. Having one’s photograph taken, as Barthes observes, is a closed field of forces, where four image-repertoires intersect: ‘the one that I think I am’ (the mental self-image); ‘the one I want others to think I am’ (the idealized self-image); ‘the one the photographer thinks I am’ (the photographed self-image); and ‘the one the photographer makes use of when exhibiting his art’ (the public self-image or imago). The only difference is that the value of the photograph has changed today. Thousands of Facebook photos may be worth a single word: ‘see!’

While researchers still don’t know the reason(s) behind Facebook’s rapid growth, this particular research is but a modest contribution to 412 peer-reviewed papers that have been published on this topic from Feb 2004 (the birth date of Facebook) until 2011 (launch of Timeline & Video calling).

It is also worth noting that Facebook related research can be classified in five categories that correspond to five broad questions: (a) Who is using Facebook and what are users doing while on Facebook? (b) Why do people use Facebook? (c) How are people presenting themselves on Facebook? (d) How is Facebook affecting relationships among groups and individuals? And (e) why are people disclosing personal information on Facebook despite potential risks?

Some Facts:

• There are 250 million photos uploaded each day.
• Facebook has 845 million active users.
• There are 2.7 billion  likes/comments per day.
• There are over one billion  facebook posts per day.
• Facebook has reached 100 billion friendships.
• The average user has 130 friends, contributes 90 pieces of content per month, and is connected, on average, with 80 community pages, groups, and events.
• 5,000 friends is the maximum number of friends allowed by Facebook.
• After Mubarak relented to public pressure and resigned as president, an Egyptian couple named their newborn daughter Facebook Jamal Ibrahim, in an expression of gratitude to honor the role of Facebook in this historic event.

References

Strano, M. M. (2008). User Descriptions and Interpretations of Self-Presentation through Facebook Profile Images.

Robert E. Wilson, Samuel D. Gosling and Lindsay T. Graham (20120),  A Review of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences.

J. van Dijck (2008). Digital photography: Visual Communication, identity, memory.

Shanyang Zhao , Sherri Grasmuck, Jason Martin (2008), Identity construction on Facebook.

http://www.thesocialskinny.com

Out of chaos, Designers the rising Entrepreneurs.

“Teach me design thinking and I am set for a lifetime.”

Somewhere between overstatement and reality, lies one of the universal growing dilemmas, which is the role of design in shaping the future. There is no doubt that design has long served as an influential instrument aiming among others at altering lifestyles, fulfilling needs, promoting wellbeing and embellishing things, and that is an acknowledged fact. When it comes to design thinking it is certainly a distinctive matter.

Looking back at the past years, one can clearly see that the pace of change has drastically picked up speed. Visionary people used to predict what the future would look like in ten or fifteen years or even more. Nowadays, it is becoming harder and practically impossible to foresee how the new dynamic of change will impact our lives even in the close future.
A new reality of no unique truth, but a bunch of possibilities seems to be taking place. Diverse possibilities lead to uncertainty and then to chaos (by chaos I mean the positive openness to opportunities). The real challenge becomes to survive all changes, and that in itself is a vigorous chaos full of potentiality.

Going through the design process, designers alternate creative and critical thinking to approach a problem. They use various research methodologies and creativity instruments in order to develop possibilities. They try, investigate, observe, assess, test, develop, amend, revise, and try again, but most of all, designers accept to work with uncertainty. It surely doesn’t come without effort since our left-brain, the most powerful of the two hemispheres, has a fierce tendency towards taking control. The left-brain is conservative by nature; it definitely prefers to bypass the vagueness to a more settled stage.

Designers fight this censorship and venture into the unknown. Throughout their particular education and training, designers are equipped with means to circumvent the control of rationality that becomes a limitation. They feed the right brain, empower their confidence and build an autonomy that all together make them fully prepared to deal with the chaos or take advantage of any state of extreme confusion or disorder that may result from the lack of control.

In fact, total chaos is a considerate segment of the design process. While indulging in the journey of design, designers embrace ambiguity and learn how to live with it. Finally they turn this chaos into an innovative and functional solution.

On the other hand, entrepreneurs, and in their own way, place themselves in similar circumstances. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”, this saying attributed to many people, has always been associated to the definition of entrepreneurship. Upon further investigation into this definition, it might seem obvious that entrepreneurs undertake innovation, look for possibilities in unconventional areas, and create opportunities. They become daring leaders who do not hesitate to defy conformist patterns and explore the unknown. On top of all that, entrepreneurs bring measurable and effective results.

Entrepreneurs seek new opportunities, so do designers.

Entrepreneurs take risks, so do designers.

Entrepreneurs bring innovation to the world, so do designers.

Entrepreneurs transform new ideas into applicable solutions, so do designers.

Entrepreneurs convert their solutions into desirable results, so do designers.

But most importantly, real entrepreneurs care, and so do aware designers.

Avant-garde entrepreneurs are socially conscious and environmentally aware. They do believe in social change, authentic identities, collaborative awareness and sustainability. All of these human qualities also hold true for pioneer designers who voice their empathy through their designs. They stand out among operators just as entrepreneurs rise from strictly business-oriented minds.

Looking at these essentials, one cannot but recognize the fact that designers are predisposed, by instinct, education and practice, to become entrepreneurs. They gain the required skills and develop thinking approaches that they link to their human qualities and become ready to take the next step.

To conclude, let me quote Albert Einstein who said: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” I will add to that and say: “… Design thinking will then channel all that into a conceivable direction.”

Design thinking undoubtedly becomes an asset to train effective and aware individuals who are prepared to survive a vague future full of potentials.

Written by Simon Mhanna – Edited by Layal Hachem

Freedom blooms in the spring, so do revolution, autonomy and design thinking in education.

The Arab world is now facing a historical revolution. The Arab Spring is carrying the wind of massive change. While the new parameters of this freedom that the revolution entails are still far from being set, there is no doubt that the whole world will be confronted in the near future by an entire new set of realities that were not even considered as options few months before the riots kicked off.

It goes without saying that the chain of the Arab events will have a considerable direct impact on the political and economic arenas worldwide. However, it is indeed the concept of autonomy that will have the biggest impact on our Arab communities.

While the concept of autonomy was and can still be interpreted in multiple ways, its most interesting aspect within this context is the freedom of thinking.

In a realm where “autonomy” was considered as betrayal, the Arabs are now left with no leaders who dictate their way of thinking towards facing a novel autonomous existence. Then what?

Amidst new realities, one’s knowledge is not of a big help.  In the absence of any reference, a clear and preset way of doing, it is only the skills and the know-how that determine how far one can go. In that same situation, the function of Critical thinking is also limited. When logic does not seem to make any sense and when the rules are broken, it is only through creativity that one can deal with uncertainty and novelty.

Where does one develop skills and grasp creativity?

Education.

Education does definitely shape one’s way of thinking, cultivate one’s approach to life and set the roots of success.

Does it?

The Educational system that Ken Robinson described, in his book The Element, as an assembly line created in the image of industrialism that vends conformity, is facing today the severe signs of revolt. The upcoming generation is growing up in a very different fashion than the previous ones. With the advancement of technology, the shift of interests, the multitasking, the overlapping of disciplines, the shorter attention spam, the increasing number of drop-outs … the educational system has to embrace an inevitable coming change.

The challenge is big. Education has been for many years following one unique strand. With time, it became clear that theories, theorems, facts, etc.… soon become obsolete. Now how can they shift towards an open ended learning process unlimited in space and time?  Flexibility becomes not only a motto but an aim, autonomy being its vehicle.

It is very crucial for education to offer opportunities and experiences through which learners develop their skills by investing in their strengths and working on reducing their weaknesses. Learners need to get the chance to investigate their interests. They need to get a sense of how they can contribute to the world, no matter on any level or in any field they are. They need to trust their hunches, pursue their dreams and test whether their ideas are valid and worth it. Encouraging autonomy in education accomplishes these significant aims. In fact autonomous learning through skills procurement is the means.

While the world is still struggling to define “design” and to draw a clear job description for designers, everybody indisputably recognizes the fact that there is more to design than gazing at a blank paper for hours and then popping out an idea for a visual or a layout. Design, classified as a science or not, requires in-depth research, investigation, analysis, trials and errors, testing, finding links … altering critical and creative thinking to ensure problem solving that is at once new and effective.

The multidisciplinary aspect that design is embracing allows designers to continuously seek knowledge in various fields. Furthermore the challenging of facts’ aspect “what if?” that design requires, enables the designer to keep an open mind.

There is no doubt that the acquirement of design thinking as a skill provides the individual with a sturdy disposition towards continuous learning that is essential to the procurement of other skills and knowledge. Moreover, through the creative thinking and critical thinking embedded in the design process, the designer is relentlessly generating ideas that are not only innovative but also applicable. Those ideas translate into pertinent solutions that change the world around us. The world changes, thus creating new challenges and more needs/problems to be satisfied/solved. Hence the role of design as methodology of doing and philosophy of thinking

Albert Einstein once said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. Indeed, if one settles for critical thinking only, education would be no further than a transfer of knowledge and no innovation is brought to life. Creative thinking is a leap, a passionate pulse that will tackle our imagination and let us dream. It is only through creative thinking that education will open up to the new era, where democracy, freedom and autonomy will play a major role in defining the new paradigms of the field.

Socrates said “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think” and educators of the new era who would embrace design thinking would most likely become facilitators, a major requirement to the process of transferring skills and ways of thinking that will allow the new generation to succeed in undefined close future.

To conclude let me quote the wise Chinese saying “Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime”, and I say: Teach me design thinking and I am set for a lifetime.

published in Comma/Arab Ad, february 2012