Studii și cercetări, seria Geologie-Geografie, 18, Complexul Muzeal

Bistrița-Năsăud, 2013, p.87-95

THE DISSEMINATION OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATIONS BY

FACEBOOK

Ioan BÂCA

1

Abstract. Facebook is the second global social site after Google, which in recent years has

acquired true cultural and educational functions as they contribute to the dissemination of

information from diverse areas of interest. For geography, facebook is particularly useful

because, through it the specialized information is disseminated to a large number of applicants

(students, teachers, researchers, professionals in various fields, ordinary people). Depending

on the source that contributes to the movement of geographic information there is following

types of accounts on the network: private parties, specialized institutions (universities,

colleges, research institutes), organizations (environment, ecology), travel agencies, travel

service providers and specialists (teachers, researchers), interest groups. Depending the

structure of geographic information posted on Facebook distinguish information as: photos,

articles, films, announcements, posters, travel packages, etc. This study aims to highlight the

importance of Facebook not only as social network, but also as a way of disseminating

geographic information, both between specialists and the general public.

Key words: facebook, social-network, geography

Introduction

Facebook is a social network on the Internet, created by Mark Zuckerberg in

2004 to provide the opportunity to contact people close, but people still unknown. At

first, network operating in closed circuit in Harvard University in the U.S., but from

2006 this network is public. The number of users has increased continuously, so that

in 2013 it was 1.1 billion (table 1, table 2)

Table 1. Number of Facebook users in several American cities in 2007

New York 273530

Chicago 246759

Washington 210160

Boston 171837

1Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Geography

Coresponding author: Ioan Bâca, Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Tourism

Geography, Bistrița Extension, Andrei Mureșanu st., No. 3-5, Bistrița, Romania, e-

mail:john_grimo@yahoo.com

Atlanta 156643

Los Angeles 144718

Dallas / Fort Worth 120602

Minneapolis / St. Paul 114404

Philadelphia 112495

Detroit 110704

Source: http://blog.geoiq.com/2007/07/18/the-geography-of-facebook/

Table 2. Evolution of the number of Facebook users

Year and month Number of users (millions)

August 26, 2008 100

April 8, 2009 200

September 15, 2009 300

February 5, 2010 400

July 21, 2010 500

January 5, 2011 600

May 30, 2011 700 700

September 22, 2011 800

April 24, 2012 900

October 4, 2012 1,000

March 31, 2013 1,110

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

In Romania network Facebook had 0.5 million users in January 2010, 2.4

million users in January 2011, over 3.7 million track users in September 2011 and 5,8

million users in 2013. The age and genre situation of facebook users in Romania is

shown in figure 1. As you can see, most users are young, which is relevant for

geographic information collection be cause young people communicate more with

each other, have more concern about the life in nature, travel more and need

information in their training school.

In Europe, the number of facebook users in 2012 was 319,9 million, of wich

174.2 million in Western Europe, and 145.6 million in Eastern Europe, according to

eMarketer's estimates (source http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/regional-

overview/103-europe?start=5). The facebook users percentage in Europe countrys is

shown in fig. 2.

Hailed as the second social world site after google.com by number of visits,

Facebook is part of the recent phenomenon called Web 2.0. Regarding the age of the

users, it is observed that the largest share is young, because on the one hand, they feel

the need to socialize, and on the other hand, have computer knowledge, necessary to

access and managing the facebook account (fig. 3).

Fig.1-The chart by age and genre of Romanian facebok users in 2013

(source http://www.ziare.com/facebook/utilizatori/peste-5-8-milioane-de-romani-au-cont-de-

facebook-vezi-topul-oraselor-infografic-1223454)

Fig.2-The chart of facebook users in Europe in 2012

(source http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2340893/Britons-second-prolific-

Facebook-Twitter-users-EUROPE-fifth-aged-65.html)

Fig.3- Facebook users by age diagram

(source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook)

Facebook site by its social character, has become in recent years the true

cultural and educational functions. The mode of organization and operation, this

network can post a variety of information from different areas of interest, articles,

announcements, photos, videos, and can engage in dialogue on various issues that may

elucidate some problems.

The geography network Facebook has a specific role in disseminating

information in several ways, as follows:

-aims posts spatial distribution of events within the geographical cover;

-users post various information of interest Environmental, social-economic, cultural,

geological, meteorological, etc.;

-users post pictures of landscapes and other subjects that reflect geographical reality

(customs, traditions, cultural events, geomorphological processes, urbanization,

tourism, etc.);

-users swapped views on different aspects of transformations of the surrounding world

in various fields (social, economic, natural);

-posts help promote tourism in some regions with attractive potential.

In this context, one can define the following situations:

-the existence of facebook accounts belonging to geographical education institutions

(faculties of geography in particular);

-the existence of facebook accounts belonging to organizations or groups promoting

certain geographical aspects (tourism, hazards, demography, ethnography, ecology,

environment, etc.);

-the existence of facebook accounts belonging to teachers of geography, biology,

ecology specialists, etc.;

-the existence of personal facebook accounts within which promotes different aspects

of the natural environment, customs, cultural events, sports, tourism, etc., lived by

their owners;

-the existence of groups on Facebook in the Faculty of Geography, which promotes

various geographical aspects (interesting places, articles, announcements, tourism,

etc.).

Materials and methods

To achieve the present study were consulted several websites that contain

information about network dealing facebook and dissemination of geographical

information (institutions, organizations, professionals, academics, researchers,

students, pupils) as follows:

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook;

-https://www.facebook.com/natgeo;

-https://sites.google.com/site/mrgriffith6/geography-of-facebook;

-http://blog.geoiq.com/2007/07/18/the-geography-of-facebook/;

-https://www.facebook.com/WorldGeographyBlog;

-http://www.geographypods.com/using-facebook.html;

-https://www.facebook.com/pages/Geography-Awareness-Week/113008925394396;

-http://datamining.typepad.com/data_mining/2010/05/ethnicity-and-geography-of-

facebook-users.html;

-http://socialerr.com/facebook/facebook-geography-fail/.

Also were consulted numerous Facebook pages of some individuals to select

geography posted, and conducted a survey using a questionnaire to highlight the

importance of Facebook for geography.

Results and discussions

Facebook pages of the Faculty of Geography posts various information of

interest related to conferences, scientific articles, photos, announcements, student

activities and student circles. Facebook pages of some geography teachers in the country are posted lessons

for students and other geographically information. Students interested can access

those pages belonging to their teachers, to document or to take different topics. Numerous geographical information are posted on the National Geographic Facebook

page. These are the specialized articles and photos that are a valuable source of

documentation and educating those interested. Areas covered are the planet flora and

fauna, ecosystems, culture and civilization, geological phenomena, geomorphology,

atmosphere and weather, protected areas, etc. (fig. 2).

National Parks posted on their Facebook page important geographical

information (National Park Service, Grand Teton National Park, NSW National Parks

and Wildlife Service, Denali National Park and Preserve, Grand Canyon National

Park, Alaska National Parks, Yellowstone National Park, Retezat National Park,

Macin National Park, etc.) about organizational activities, tourism and education

taking place within them, of protected items about environmental protection and

conservation, etc. (fig.3).

Facebook pages of some organizations concerned with the environment,

containing various information. For example:

-Geographypods.com post a series of articles such as: Flood effects threaten

Nepal tourism; What causes sinkholes?; What Antarctica looked like before the ice;

That's what I call mountain biking ! ; Earth's core far hotter than thought; etc.;

-World Geography Blog post: Popularity of Google in Africa; South Sudan plans

”animal” cities; African Renaissance and Intellectual Property; The Hala'ib Triangle

and why National Geographic has it Wrong; etc.;

Fig.2-The National Geografic Facebook

(Source: https://www.facebook.com/natgeo)

-Geography-Awareness-Week post: Ice age extinction shaped Australian plant

diversity; Mapping the Nation; In Ecuador, Center of the Earth Is a Little Off Kilter;

etc;

-Associazione Geografica per l`Ambiente e il Teritorio (AGAT) it`s a group of italian

geographers wich post many information about environment, articles, photos, video

images, etc;

-Bistrița Green Map Association it`s an ecological organization with much concern in

the environment, wich post numerous specialized information related to ecosystems,

life learning programs, and issues of conservation and protection of nature.

There are also a few shops with items for tourism (Nootka, Craimont,

Himalaya Bike Shop, etc.), wich posts important information about mountaineering,

destinations and tourist routes, mountain climbing, etc.

Important geographically information posted on their Facebook pages travel

agencies, tourist resorts and tourism providers. This information highlight the

attractive potential of certain tourist destinations, tourism products offered by

operators in tourism events (conferences, fairs, workshops, etc.), and the activities of

tourism consumers.

In some universities, students can form groups on Facebook, on the years of

study, where various information of interest are posted (hourly, classrooms, projects,

courses), photos from the practical applications, announcements, etc.

Fig.3- Extract from the Facebook page of Yelloowstone National Park

(Source:https://www.facebook.com/YellowstoneNationalParkVisitor)

Private individuals post on facebook many personal geographically

information, sometimes deliberately, sometimes accidentally, not knowing the

scientific value of the information posted. This information is represented at more by

pictures made personally or redistributed, referring to geographical places with

geographic conotations (landforms, settlements, forests, streams, lakes, springs, fauna,

protected areas), traditional, cultural and modern events, negative aspect of the

environment (waste, deforestation, pollution), places and sights, geographical position

by acting ”place” option, etc. This photographic information may be useful to those

who are interested in a particular area, a particular phenomenon or a specific

geographical problem.

Of the 500 private facebook pages consulted for this study, the following

results were obtained:

-95% of information was in the form of photos;

-20% of the posted photos contained geographical information in the form of

landscapes, relaxing places, towns, resorts, events, traditional events;

-60% of visitors expressed their admiration for the content of those photos, and 40%

expressed a desire to know personally the places they represent.

A poll conducted on a total of 300 students from the Faculty of Geography of

Tourism Bistrița, who answered a set of four questions, highlights the following

issues:

1)Do you have a fecebook acount?

-Yes=270;

-No=30;

2)How does facebook help in your geographic preparing expert?

-facebook group membership, information about timetable, courses and tutorials,

announcements, knowledge of places around the world, knowledge of tourist

attractions =260;

- does not help at all=40;

3)What geographical information can be found on facebook?

-the natural sights and tourist resort areas, countries and cities, protected areas,

landforms, travel impressions =270;

4)What geographically information you posting on facebook?

-places visited, sights, announcements, articles, photos about natural aspects,

geographical position, etc.=270.

Conclusions

Facebook site, in addition to its social character, has cultural and educational

functions to be run over by the owners of an account or a page in the network. For

geography these functions are proved, on the one hand by the character of information

posted (pictures of landscapes, flora and fauna, landmarks, geographic phenomena in

the coating, articles, impressions) and secondly by the existence of accounts and

Facebook pages belonging to institutions, organizations and individuals specializing in

geography or interested in this field (teachers, researchers, students, pupils). By the

structure of the information posted, facebook pages are very helpful for disseminating

and assimilating geographically information and for the evolution of geography as a

science of nature and society.

Rezumat. Diseminarea informațiilor geografice prin intermediul rețelei

facebook. Facebook-ul este al doilea site social mondial, după Google, care a

dobândit în ultimii ani adevărate funcții cultural-educative, deoarece contribuie la

diseminarea unor informații din diverse domenii de interes. Pentru geografie,

facebook-ul este deosebit de util, deoarece, prin intermediul său, informația de

specialitate este răspândită spre un număr mare de solicitanți (elevi, studenți,

profesori, cercetători, specialiști în diferite domenii, persoane obișnuite). În funcție de

sursa care contribuie la circulația informației geografice se disting următoarele tipuri

de conturi în rețea: persoane private, instituții de specialitate (facultăți, licee, institute

de cercetare), organizații (mediu, ecologie), agenții de turism, prestatori de servicii

turistice, specialiști (profesori, cercetători), grupuri de interese. După structura

informației geografice postate pe paginile de facebook se disting informații sub formă

de fotografii, articole, filme, anunțuri, afișe, oferte turistice, etc. Studiul de față își

propune să scoată în evidență importanța facebook-ului nu numai ca rețea de

socializare, dar și ca modalitate de difuzare a informațiilor geografice atât între

specialiști, cât și în rândul publicului larg.

REFERENCES/WEBOGRAPHY

http://blog.geoiq.com/2007/07/18/the-geography-of-facebook/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/regional-overview/103-europe?start=5 http://www.ziare.com/facebook/utilizatori/peste-5-8-milioane-de-romani-au-cont-de-

facebook-vezi-topul-oraselor-infografic-1223454

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2340893/Britons-second-prolific-Facebook-

Twitter-users-EUROPE-fifth-aged-65.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

-https://www.facebook.com/natgeo

-https://sites.google.com/site/mrgriffith6/geography-of-facebook

-http://blog.geoiq.com/2007/07/18/the-geography-of-facebook/

-https://www.facebook.com/WorldGeographyBlog

-http://www.geographypods.com/using-facebook.html

-https://www.facebook.com/pages/Geography-Awareness-Week/113008925394396

-http://datamining.typepad.com/data_mining/2010/05/ethnicity-and-geography-of-

facebook-users.html

-http://socialerr.com/facebook/facebook-geography-fail/

http://igcsegeography.ning.com/page/www-geographypods-com

https://www.facebook.com/groups/agatweb/

http://www.opengreenmap.org/greenmap/harta-verde-bistrita https://www.facebook.com/YellowstoneNationalParkVisitor

https://www.facebook.com/GrandTetonNPS

https://www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice

https://www.facebook.com/NSWNationalParks

https://www.facebook.com/GrandCanyonNationalPark

https://www.facebook.com/DenaliNPS

https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaNPS

https://www.facebook.com/YellowstoneNationalParkVisitor

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parcul-National-Muntii-

Macinului/546370245375770

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parcul-Național-Retezat-National-

Park/168705939972143

https://www.facebook.com/nootkasport

https://www.facebook.com/himalaya.bikeshop.7

https://www.facebook.com/craimont