Studii i cercetri, seria Geologie-Geografie, 18, Complexul Muzeal Bistria-Nsud, 2013, p.

87-95 THE DISSEMINATION OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATIONS BY FACEBOOK

Ioan BCA1
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 Chicago Washington Boston
1

273530 246759 210160 171837

Babe-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Geography Coresponding author: Ioan Bca, Babe-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Tourism Geography, Bistria Extension, Andrei Mureanu st., No. 3-5, Bistria, Romania, email:john_grimo@yahoo.com

Atlanta Los Angeles Dallas / Fort Worth Minneapolis / St. Paul Philadelphia Detroit

156643 144718 120602 114404 112495 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 August 26, 2008 April 8, 2009 September 15, 2009 February 5, 2010 July 21, 2010 January 5, 2011 May 30, 2011 700 September 22, 2011 April 24, 2012 October 4, 2012 March 31, 2013 Number of users (millions) 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000 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/regionaloverview/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-defacebook-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-prolificFacebook-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-offacebook-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; -Bistria 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 Bistria, 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 informaiilor geografice prin intermediul reelei facebook. Facebook-ul este al doilea site social mondial, dup Google, care a dobndit n ultimii ani adevrate funcii cultural-educative, deoarece contribuie la diseminarea unor informaii din diverse domenii de interes. Pentru geografie, facebook-ul este deosebit de util, deoarece, prin intermediul su, informaia de specialitate este rspndit spre un numr mare de solicitani (elevi, studeni, profesori, cercettori, specialiti n diferite domenii, persoane obinuite). n funcie de sursa care contribuie la circulaia informaiei geografice se disting urmtoarele tipuri

de conturi n reea: persoane private, instituii de specialitate (faculti, licee, institute de cercetare), organizaii (mediu, ecologie), agenii de turism, prestatori de servicii turistice, specialiti (profesori, cercettori), grupuri de interese. Dup structura informaiei geografice postate pe paginile de facebook se disting informaii sub form de fotografii, articole, filme, anunuri, afie, oferte turistice, etc. Studiul de fa i propune s scoat n eviden importana facebook-ului nu numai ca reea de socializare, dar i ca modalitate de difuzare a informaiilor geografice att ntre specialiti, ct i n rndul 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-defacebook-vezi-topul-oraselor-infografic-1223454 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2340893/Britons-second-prolific-FacebookTwitter-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-offacebook-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-MuntiiMacinului/546370245375770

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parcul-Naional-Retezat-NationalPark/168705939972143 https://www.facebook.com/nootkasport https://www.facebook.com/himalaya.bikeshop.7 https://www.facebook.com/craimont