Poke
In an effort to further explore the algorithms associated with Facebook and how they may be relevant to our social networks, I came across an interesting article based on arguably one of Facebook’s most ambiguous features – The Poke. What most people fail to realize, is users had the ability to poke their friends on Facebook prior to more iconic features, such as timelines, likes, or videos. So why was it created? And better yet, how does Facebook suggest which friends to poke? Since implementation, Facebook has been coy about the basis of poking, and “thought it would be cool to have a feature without any specific purpose.” But leaving the feature open to interpretation has been damaging, as most users either deem it creepy or a lazy way to flirt.
Similar to that of its origin, the process behind “Suggested Pokes” remains unconfirmed. Nevertheless, the Internet is filled with speculative theories, one of which I will further explore. According to various sources, poke suggestions are either casual acquaintances or people we have not interacted with and viewed their profile. If this is true, it could be said that the process behind “Suggested Pokes” is Facebook’s way of balancing networks. Take a network consisting of 3 nodes, if 2 edges have positive relations and one has a negative relation, the triangle will not satisfy the Structural Balance Property. In suggesting people to poke, perhaps this is Facebook’s way of encouraging interaction amongst nodes with negative relations in hope of making them positive.
Sources:
Wickman, F. (2014). What Was “Poking”? Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/02/facebook_s_poke_function_still_a_mystery_on_the_social_network_s_10th_anniversary.html