Declassified: Facebook "playing" your emotions-Facebook, Facebook-IT news Declassified: Facebook "playing" your emotions

If it weren't for a few days ago an academic report of the privacy backlash, 1.3 billion Facebook users should know few social boss has been a mysterious "data science team" (Data Science Team).

For some brain to mend them, how this seething storm seriously.

In the year 2012, with 700,000 customers without the knowledge of the circumstances, emotions by Facebook for a week-long test. Test content is easy to understand: the Facebook page of the test object "artificial" to set some positive or negative emotional keywords while controlling everyone reading the content in their News Feed, then collect different user behavior in its own Post. After more than a week of data, big data observed by the team member can take this: external information will the mood contagion effect on users.

Ultimately the answer is Yes.

Published two weeks ago, the findings of the study, published in the United States National Academy of Sciences. Conclusion: "other people's moods on Facebook expressing will affect our own emotions, and massive emotional contagion in the social network ."

On this warm enthusiasm, Xiao bian recently visited the Facebook data team, Beitou, is this look rather lofty Data Science Team do?

Was such that, there are two Facebook data scientist, first class's main responsibilities are: to test new products-they get FB different products to different users, and watch everyone's reaction . Through the analysis of hard data to determine product of the show? What do well can develop? Another direction of what could be improved? etc.

Data scientists on the larger number of the second kind: their work and study, presented to the authority of the various academic journals . You know, Facebook holds the sociology of today's largest database. Most of the time, social leader is willing to share their data with various institutions of higher learning resources. Today we can see this privacy storm is no exception; this ' emotional test ' is actually from Facebook and United States Cornell scholar from the University of design and implementation. After publication, Facebook didn't expect the public's reaction to spicy at all.

A lot of people don't know is that Facebook data science team since its inception in 2007, and so far has published many professional very influential papers, previously only ordinary people without special attention. No one thought he would be FB as mice, as academic subjects.

This ' affective tests ' provoke controversy at last Facebook data capture method into the public eye. After a period of time, we will see a lot of public discussion, rebuttal Facebook do morally valid? Believe will also give a lot depends on the academic field of research data have far-reaching impact.

This ' affective tests ' involve 700,000 FB users. Today, this group of ' mouse ' still does not know that he has been involved in the test ... ... There are still pending issues to be, these test objects can get some sort of ' notice '? Because all the data is subjected to ' anonymous ', so it's likely these subjects even Facebook can't be pigeon-holing. We just know that these people speak English in FB's users, also includes minor user. There is no doubt that this is another controversial point of the turmoil.

Real public anger is that Facebook is likely to consciously ' manipulate ' their emotions, make people more than usual, ' sorry ' or ' down ' a bit, because FB blocks some users is of positive significance in the Newsfeed posts.

FB how to respond?

Yesterday, Facebook COO Sandberg in India held a press conference, said that the research problem of communication with the outside world, she feels sorry for that. The implication, she doesn't think the study itself there is no problem, but how it rendered and painted in public (for example, using the ' manipulated ' and other words) does not think that is appropriate, a shame.

Data team member told me that Facebook caused controversy this storm very seriously, and is likely in the future to introduce a series of reforms, is likely to be in academic research more rigorous and standardized for each review process.

While small series also understands that this storm is not only linked to the lead FB, FB and many have on cooperation between institutions of higher learning are also disturbing. A PhD candidate in social psychology at the University of Cambridge told me: "these days, the series FB are being discussed throughout the laboratory building in the paper and it caused controversy. Our research environment will not be changed because this paper? Everyone is watching. ”