Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#11

Post by o0-0o » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 4:15 PM UTC

jbrooksuk wrote: post #6

Spearchucker wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not so sure. According to Facebook I'm 6 years younger than I am, I live in Monaco and studied rocket science at Harvard. Most of my friends have similar distortions, and when the subject comes up we're surprised when someone tells us their profile uses real data. I know that my experience is hardly indicative of anything, but I'd like to believe that it's happening more and more.

Really? Apart from the odd few who use "Full time mummy" as their job description, everyone I know uses real information.

I just want to point out in the most friendly way possible: Everyone you know is likely just like you. ;p

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#12

Post by k-mcgrady » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 4:50 PM UTC

Spearchucker wrote: post #5

jeffjose wrote: post #4

I'm sure the discussion will soon slip to "OMG, Facebook has data and its gonna do evil things". That's a valid point, but I hope people here see the amount of information we now know about _us_, that equips for more informed decisions of tomorrow.

Not so sure. According to Facebook I'm 6 years younger than I am, I live in Monaco and studied rocket science at Harvard. Most of my friends have similar distortions, and when the subject comes up we're surprised when someone tells us their profile uses real data. I know that my experience is hardly indicative of anything, but I'd like to believe that it's happening more and more.

I'd estimate over 90% of my friends show accurate information. Some don't fill it all out and a few use fake jobs or a silly middle name. Most of the fake information I see is left over from when people were younger and put up 'funny' stuff in the job field as they didn't have one then.

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#13

Post by taliesinb » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 5:34 PM UTC

My team and I did an analysis on our Facebook dataset recently that might (or might not) have inspired this particular work.

You can find the geographic analysis within this blog post:

http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2013/04/data-science-of-the-f...

There is a much higher resolution version of the "migration wheel" available here:

http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/12/start/facebo...

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#14

Post by Tycho » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 5:41 PM UTC

Does that give them enough of an edge to make a killing in the property market? (by investing in up-and-coming areas before everyone else catches on)

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#15

Post by eftpotrm » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 5:51 PM UTC

From that data? It's way too basic.

Mine isn't completed, partly because the real friends know it and the casual acquaintances don't need it, but if it were? Well, I can't tell them where I'm from with any precision. I grew up in four different towns, none particularly close to the others, went back to one for University (well, sort of - a stint in each of two towns in a conurbation), moved to a fifth for work, currently live in a sixth but will probably move to a seventh later this year - and I don't expect that move to be a 'forever' home.

So, Facebook, where am I from?

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#16

Post by sirkneeland » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 6:24 PM UTC

ihsw wrote: post #8

Google's Moto G seems a lot more interesting now -- their marketing effort has been summarized as "getting the next 1 billion people online." This alludes to anticipating urban migration and knowing 1) who moves where 2) when they move. This can be very interesting and (in most cases) frighteningly accurate advertisement information.

The Moto G is a great effort and I applaud them for it (and my Moto X is the best Android I've ever had), but the real next billion don't come from a phone that still costs $179 or so. It will come significantly cheaper smart or smart-enough-for-facebook devices. Think the even cheaper Chinese OEM Androids, think the Nokia Asha devices.

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#17

Post by agscala » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 6:34 PM UTC

eftpotrm wrote: post #15

From that data? It's way too basic. Mine isn't completed, partly because the real friends know it and the casual acquaintances don't need it, but if it were? Well, I can't tell them where I'm from with any precision. I grew up in four different towns, none particularly close to the others, went back to one for University (well, sort of - a stint in each of two towns in a conurbation), moved to a fifth for work, curre…

Do you think that your situation is typical? I don't think so

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#18

Post by bonemachine » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 6:54 PM UTC

eftpotrm wrote: post #15

From that data? It's way too basic. Mine isn't completed, partly because the real friends know it and the casual acquaintances don't need it, but if it were? Well, I can't tell them where I'm from with any precision. I grew up in four different towns, none particularly close to the others, went back to one for University (well, sort of - a stint in each of two towns in a conurbation), moved to a fifth for work, curre…

It's a very rough sample with considerable selection bias, of course. But it's the kind of data that's (essentially) never reported in a centralized way and on a global scale, otherwise.

Re: Facebook Is Using Your Profile to Track Global Urban Migration Trends

#19

Post by eftpotrm » Thu, Jan 02, 2014, 7:14 PM UTC

agscala wrote: post #17

eftpotrm wrote: post #15

From that data? It's way too basic. Mine isn't completed, partly because the real friends know it and the casual acquaintances don't need it, but if it were? Well, I can't tell them where I'm from with any precision. I grew up in four different towns, none particularly close to the others, went back to one for University (well, sort of - a stint in each of two towns in a conurbation), moved to a fifth for work, curre…

Do you think that your situation is typical? I don't think so

No (though I'd suggest less atypical than you might think), but that's the point.

If you're looking to model migration patterns and you have a data gathering system that biases your data to capture a bimodal migration pattern - childhood in one location, adulthood in another - then I might suggest that you'll disproportionately find the data you were apparently expecting which fits that pattern.