#mark zuckerberg is kermit the frog | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mcninjakitty · 5 years

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_The irony in this? You’re on Tumblr. _

Ice Cream

**Uce Cream **

We’re all pretty familiar with the term “like for like” or “follow for follow” right? It

exists on almost every website you visit. Even in Youtube videos, publishers are

making sure to include that statement in their recordings. It’s a pretty important

sentence, it’s the only way to spread the word about you or your brand. For big

name companies, it’s pretty easy as they’re already well known to everyone,

things like “Like our page on Facebook for weekly coupons!” will get just about

any savvy shopping consumer to hit that thumbs up! For the most part, we all

know that, the social media marketplace was created by big companies to profit

from the internet. And what a glorious decision that was! Schwans grocery store

home delivery!? I never have to leave home again! (seriously!) We’re also

aware that social media network is just an easier way for us to communicate to

each other about Schwans grocery store home delivery! insert sarcasm _

I ordered the chicken. Staying for dinner?

So why exactly do we constantly find ourselves getting lost on Youtube at night,

posting that sad picture of our salads, or a status update thinking like our

friends could relate to it? A little word called Homophily. (It’s kinda’ little, I

think?) It’s derived from the ancient Greek word Homou, “together” and it’s

known as wanting to seek out people who act and think like ourselves. Pretty

much narcissism, just a fancier word.

_Feeling the Need _

So, by now you’re probably wondering, “well, what does your fancy word have

to do with me? I like surfin’ the web to pass the time in the john, you know the

deeaal! “Well that’s my point, so does everyone else. See, there’s plenty of

people like us, and it’s that very reason we tend to keep our inner circles close.

We feel as though we may not find others, yet we keep trying. Once we

establish a connection in real life, we find ourselves wanting an online

connection as well, so as to not lose touch, you know? because someone will

definitely act like they don’t know you after going home and then seeing them

the next day. (there’s that sarcasm again) According to Seiter, (n.d.) the feeling

of wanting likes on social media, taps into our primal urges of wanting attention,

creating addictions and what brings us joy. Social connection becomes

desirable because let’s face it, NO. ONE. WANTS. TO. FEEL. ALONE. Being

alone makes us do and say things that don’t end up benefiting us in a positive

way at all. Feeling lonely however, makes us re-evaluate the way we look at

ourselves, we wonder why we’re alone and why no one approaches us

(Zhivotovskaya, Alloro, n.d.). Maybe it’s our appearance, maybe it’s our

interests, or, maybe our hygiene but you’re too embarrassed to tell anyone

about it so you hope no one notices you smell funnier and funnier every day!

Social media allows us to develop a digital persona where no one can see the

real us unless we really want them to. It’s those feelings of insecurity that gives

us the need for attention, and who can blame someone who has never had it?

Once you get offered a snack you want the whole kitchen!

_One in the same. _

_I like it, Do you?_

One like can go a very long way in social media. The algorithms of websites like

Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, are specifically designed to constantly monitor

the search and “Like”, “Follow” or “Tweet” of its users. This is how the always

refreshing “feed” of the sites is showing something related to your previous

online history. The concept is, “hey you like this, so does this person. oh wait!

This person does too! Check out how many likes or shares this person got for

liking the same thing! Actually, everybody likes it!” More and more of the same

will pop up on your feed. This phenomenon is known to expand on social

media. It’s the only place where things expand instantly! The more people like

memes of Kermit, the more he becomes a more prominent presence when

logging in. Bisgin, Halil & Agarwal, Nitin & Xu, Xiaowei in (2012) wrote in their

article “A study of Hemophily on Social Media”, that it, [social media] which is

more than just the space for interactions, surpassed all the requirements

needed in terms of growth for reasons unknown. You meet new people online

the same way you meet them in real life. Rad! _

They’re Watching You..Yes..THEY. _

Today, everybody that’s anybody knows now that anything you search

especially on Google , will somehow appear on Facebook as an ad. I mean

really! I was freaking out when I saw the Purple Mattress ad on my Facebook

feed. Like, this isn’t some regular thing on Facebook, why is it appearing now?

OH! It’s because of the Algorithms. Videos, pictures and quotes appear more

based on how relevant they are. If you’re an avid social media user like me,

you’ll recall that Facebook used to just show content from the brands,

companies and big names you liked with the occasional high school friend

posting about their 5th child. Well at a conference in 2018, Facebook founder

Mark Zuckerberg, announced that the algorithms for the site will be set to

prioritize more family and friends (Tien, 2018). The point of online interactions

is to stay connected with family in new ways right? WRONG! What about social

media marketing? (That’s actually a job!) The fact that people hit thumbs up on

the same things makes for an impressive use of resources when it comes to

business. I mean, if I was Target and I noticed that people are liking a lot of

pictures of a puppet of Kermit the frog sippin’ tea in different positions, I would

show them where to buy that exact puppet to make their own hilarious photos..

To share and have people like and go viral and continue the cycle!

_References _

Bisgin, Halil & Agarwal, Nitin & Xu, Xiaowei. (2012). A study of homophily on social media. WorldWideWeb. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220301971_A_study_of_homophily_on_social_media

Seiter, C.,(n.d.) The Psychology of Social Media: Why we Like, Comment and Share Online. Buffer. Retrieved from: https://buffer.com/resources/psychology-of-social-media

Tien, S.,(2018) How the Facebook Algorithm Works and How to Make it Work for You. Hootsuite. Retrieved from: https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-algorithm/

_Zhivotovskaya, Alloro,(n.d.) Why Social Connection is So Important. The Flourishing Center. Retrieved from: https://theflourishingcenter.com/why-social-connection-is-so-important/ _

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