On Facebook, the company (Meta / its business, products and controversies).Facebook the site (how to use, features, safety).Other (such as Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Ads, Facebook Pages)?
Here is a general overview of both the company and the platform: I can go into it further, depending on what you meant.
What Is Facebook (Platform)
What It Is: Facebook is a social networking site that allows you to create a profile, connect with friends, post from your life (photos, video and text), serve comments and like other posts.
Major Features:
- Feed / News Feed: Displays posts of friends, pages and groups.
- Messenger: For direct/chats between users.
- Groups: Groups for like-minded individuals to join and engage.
- Stories: Transient stories that vanish after 24 hours.
- Risks / Dangers:
- Privacy concerns: sharing personal info can be misused.
- Social engineering or identity theft anyone?
- Facebook the Company (Meta)
- Parent Company: Facebook is a subsidiary of Meta Platforms, Inc.
- Mission: “To give everyone the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”
Primarily from digital advertising — companies pay to run ads on Facebook (as well as other Meta apps) that reach certain users.
How It Makes Money: Primarily through digital advertising — businesses pay to place ads on Facebook (as well as other Meta apps) aimed at users they want to reach.
Controversies / Criticisms:
- Data privacy were high on the list (i.e. Cambridge Analytica scandal).
- Content moderation obstacles, misinformation, hate speech.
- Advanced technologies (e.g., facial recognition / DeepFace) raised ethical discussions.