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<ul><li>The <keyword id="8115529" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook-oversight-board">Facebook Oversight Board</keyword> has thrown the ball in <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword>'s court to come up with a fresh set of guidelines that will determine how influential users on the platform are treated. </li><li>While the 'Supreme Court of Facebook' upheld Facebook's decision to ban Trump, it deemed the 'indefinite' ban to be arbitrary. </li><li>Now, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are on the clock and they have six months to answer some tough questions and navigate the potential political land mine that lies ahead.</li></ul>Facebook’s Oversight Board upheld the decision to suspend the account of former US President Donald Trump from the social networking platform, earlier this month, but it has also set the clock on Mark Zuckerberg to answer some tough questions in the next six months. <br /><br />While the ‘Supreme Court of Facebook’ agreed that suspending Trump’s account was the right move, it also ordered a further review of Facebook’s policies. <br /><br />        <div type="image" title="trump 4" msid="82729636" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Former US President Donald Trump was banned from Facebook for allegedly inciting violence that led to the Capital Hill riots&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Facebooks-Oversight-Board-issued-a-scathing-criticism-of-the-company-for-avoiding-its-responsibilities-in-suspending-Trump-with-an-arbitrary-penalty/articleshow/82409945.cms">primary criticism</a> put forth by the board was that the social media company is trying to skirt the responsibility that comes with moderating content on the platform — an allegation that has also been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/mark-zuckerberg-said-content-moderation-requires-nuances-that-consider-the-intent-behind-a-post-but-also-highlighted-facebooks-reliance-on-ai-to-do-that-job/articleshow/81697855.cms">made by others</a> in the past.<br /><br />Not everyone is happy with the board’s decision. Many have criticised the fact that Facebook is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/facebooks-oversight-board-members-reportedly-earn-6-figure-salaries-and-only-work-about-15-hours-a-week/articleshow/80898640.cms">reportedly</a> paying its Oversight Board six-figure salaries just to tell the company to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/as-facebook-prepares-to-outsource-tough-content-decisions-to-its-new-supreme-court-experts-warn-it-still-operates-within-a-dictatorship-and-cant-legislate-a-better-government/articleshow/78334383.cms">come up with its own rules. </a><br /><br />“A lot depends on how Facebook reacts to this ruling as it's not binding. We need to get to the bottom of how all this works instead of allowing companies to pretend to go through the motions of doing something,” Mishi Choudhary, technology lawyer and legal director at the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), told Business Insider.<br /><br />Even though many of the questions that Facebook has to answer may not necessarily have universal answers, it’s now a countdown of six months to figure it out.<br /><br />These are five main questions that Facebook needs to address.<br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Who constitutes an ‘influential user’?" comment="subhead" text="Who constitutes an ‘influential user’?"><span data-til="noop">Who constitutes an ‘influential user’?</span></cmsannotation><br />As the President of the United States, Donald Trump had a high level of influence. According to the Facebook Oversight Board, 'it is not always useful' to draw a firm distinction between political leaders and influential users. This means that users, who may not necessarily be political leaders but still have a large fan following, can contribute to risk from hate speech. <br /><br />With the ball now in Facebook’s court, its chief executive Zuckerberg needs to lay out how the social media company defines ‘influence’ — will it be by the number of followers, the number of impressions a post gets, or just the general activity level of a person online?<br /><br />    <div type="image" title="modi zuckerberg" msid="82729774" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the US at the social media platform&amp;#39;s headquarters&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />“This is critical because, in an increasingly regulated digital world, it is most important for social media platforms to avoid arbitrariness and ensure that penalties are proportionate to the offensiveness of the violating content,” Saket Shukla, a co-founding partner at Phoenix Legal told Business Insider India.<br /><br />The committee also highlighted that while the same rules should apply to all users, context matters when assessing the probability and imminence of harm. <br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How will Facebook decide when to ban an ‘influential’ user?" comment="subhead" text="How will Facebook decide when to ban an ‘influential’ user?"><span data-til="noop">How will Facebook decide when to ban an ‘influential’ user?</span></cmsannotation><br /><br />Not only does Facebook need to define what constitutes an ‘influential’ user, it also needs to figure out when it is appropriate to ban such a user. “The decision of the Board in the matter of Donald Trump requires Facebook to develop a clear, necessary and proportionate policy which will balance public safety and freedom of expression,” said Shukla.<br /><br />According to the Facebook Oversight Board, an indefinite suspension is “indeterminate” and “standardless”. So far, the social media platform’s normal penalties include removing objectionable content, imposing a time-bound suspension, or permanently disabling an account. <br /><br />In Trump’s case, Facebook did not say the ban is permanent — it only banned the former President for an ‘undefined’ amount of time, which creates uncertainty. “Facebook should publicly explain the rules that it uses when it imposes account-level sanctions against influential users,” said the board’s decision statement.<br /><br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is the maximum amount of time an ‘influential’ user’s account can be banned?" comment="subhead" text="What is the maximum amount of time an ‘influential’ user’s account can be banned?"><span data-til="noop">What is the maximum amount of time an ‘influential’ user’s account can be banned?</span></cmsannotation><br />Once Facebook has regulations in place to identify an influencer user and the circumstances that can lead to getting banned from the platform, the question still remains around how long the ban should be. <br /><br />“They need to be very clear in their communication in terms of what violation occurred and based on that, they need to specify whether it’s a one time ban, it’s a ban for x-number of months, or it’s a permanent ban,” Sanjay Mehta, the co-founder and joint CEO of digital marketing agency Mirium India, told Business Insider.<br /><br />Zuckerberg's brain child will need to figure out how to walk the line between public safety and freedom of expression.<br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How will Facebook protect its staff from political pressure?" comment="subhead" text="How will Facebook protect its staff from political pressure?"><span data-til="noop">How will Facebook protect its staff from political pressure?</span></cmsannotation><br />Having rules in place to address troublesome content is only half the battle. The other half is addressing conflicting views about what should and shouldn’t be circulating on the internet. And when you’re as big as Facebook with everyone’s eyes on you, political pressure is a given. <br /><br />In September last year, the social media giant was accused of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/facebook-accused-of-favouring-bjp-mp-with-fake-followers/articleshow/82105953.cms">going easy</a> on supporters of the <keyword id="58687" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharatiya-Janata-Party">Bharatiya Janata Party</keyword> (BJP) who allegedly violated Facebook’s hate speech rules. Meanwhile, the BJP was accusing the company of having a bias against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<br /><br />    <div type="image" title="ankhi das_edited" msid="82729732" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Facebook&amp;#8217;s policy chief in India, Ankhi Das&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />A month later, Facebook’s policy chief in India, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/facebooks-india-public-policy-head-ankhi-das-quits/articleshow/78894786.cms">Ankhi Das</a>, resigned. "I have decided to step down from facebook after long service to its mission of connecting people and building communities to pursue my personal interest in public service,” she said in her farewell statement.<br /><br />“Rapidly escalate content containing political speech from highly influential users to specialised staff who are familiar with the linguistic and political context. These staff should be insulated from political and economic interference, as well as undue influence,” said the Facebook Oversight Board in its ruling.<br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What will this mean for Facebook in India?" comment="subhead" text="What will this mean for Facebook in India?"><span data-til="noop">What will this mean for Facebook in India?</span></cmsannotation><br /><br />It is inevitable that parallels will be drawn from Facebook’s action with respect to the Board’s decision regarding Trump and other similar cases around the globe as they come up in the future. And while Facebook may be a global company that has one set of regulations, it also needs to adhere to each country’s law of the land. <br /><br />“Facebook will be free to define the contours of its own policy basis the recommendations of the Board. However, any such policy developed by Facebook will have to remain subject to the local laws,” Anupam Shukla, counsel at Pioneer Legal, told Business Insider.<br /><br />(IT RULES ANNOUNCEMENT PHOTO)<br /><br />In India, for example, they recently enacted the IT Intermediary Rules that require social media intermediaries — like Facebook — to have detailed policies that address any content that is defamatory, obscene, in violation of a local law or incites violence. <br /><br />“FB would have to ensure compliance with applicable law of each jurisdiction, to the extent the standards do not cover such compliance,” said Phoenix Legal’s Shukla.<br /><br />      <div type="image" title="facebook-office-golf-course-road-gurgaon_edited" msid="82729706" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Facebook&amp;#39;s offices in Gurgaon, India&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />This is already seen in the way that platforms operate in the US versus how they operate in Europe with respect to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). And, in countries where Facebook can’t adhere to the law of the land, it always has the option to exit. Something we’ve already seen happening in nations like China and North Korea. <br /><br />Facebook has said that it will ‘consider’ the Facebook Oversight Board’s decision and determine to take clear action accordingly. “While these recommendations are not binding, we actively sought the board’s views on our policies around political figures and will carefully review its recommendations,” it said in a statement.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtels-india-business-is-back-in-the-black-after-a-very-long-time/articleshow/82709100.cms">Airtel's India business is back in the black after a very long time</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mphasis-aims-to-be-a-10-billion-company-in-the-next-3-5-years/articleshow/82700898.cms">Mphasis aims to be a $10 billion company in the next 3-5 years ⁠— that's twice its current size</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/cyclone-tauktae-is-intensifying-with-surprising-speed-bearing-the-tell-tale-signs-of-climate-change/articleshow/82705780.cms">Cyclone Tauktae is intensifying with surprising speed, bearing the tell-tale signs of climate change</a><br /><br /></strong>

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has six months to answer these five questions

<sup></sup>A war over <keyword id="6354427" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="apple" source="Orion">Apple</keyword> users being able to turn off tracking via its latest mobile operating system update iOS14 has Mark Zuckerberg and <keyword id="191843" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tim-cook" source="Orion">Tim Cook</keyword> in a fierce duel.<br /><br />Bowing to worries among Zuckerbeg's festive-season advertisers, <keyword id="6354576" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook" source="Orion">Facebook</keyword>, the world's largest social media platform, laid out a confession: "Apple has announced changes with <keyword id="75489" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ios" source="Orion">iOS</keyword> 14 that will affect how we receive and process conversion events from tools such as the Facebook pixel. Businesses that advertise mobile apps, as well as those that optimise, target and report on web conversion events from any of our business tools will be affected."<br /><br />Facebook has been fiercely critical of Tim Cook's masterstroke of retiring the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) in the iOS14 update.<br /><br />Not surprising at all. Apple's search ad revenue market share has improved, while personalised advertising has been hit on other platforms - read Facebook, the most.<br /><br />"Specifically, Apple will require that apps in the App Store that engage in what Apple defines as 'tracking' to show a prompt to iOS 14 users, in accordance with their app tracking transparency framework. Apple's policy will prohibit certain data collection and sharing unless people opt in to tracking on iOS 14 devices via the prompt. As more people opt out of tracking on iOS 14 devices, ads personalisation and performance reporting will be limited for both app and web conversion events," Facebook blogged over the weekend.<br /><br />"In response to these changes, we will also start processing pixel conversion events from iOS 14 devices and later using aggregated event measurement. This will support your efforts to preserve user privacy and help you run effective campaigns," the company sought to assure.<br /><br />Cook indeed is doing more damage to Zuckerberg than a series of scandals so far.<br /><br />The changes made in iOS 14.5 - asking people if they wanted to opt-out of apps tracking them across the web - has users raving.<br /><br />Advertisers who rely on Facebook to sustain their businesses, particularly the festive season ahead, aren't amused at all.<br /><br />Performance marketers - those who want people to buy immediately after clicking - are struggling the most.<br /><br />The masses, they believe, have opted out of letting Facebook track off Facebook, so they can't be sure if people are buying their products after seeing their ads.<br /><br />Even Facebook expects us to be buying less as a result.<br /><br />"Just completely running blind" is how Aaron Paul, a performance Facebook marketer, described it on CNBC.<br /><br />Paul's company, Carousel, has moved from spending millions of dollars each day on Facebook to a few hundred thousand dollars. Before the iOS changes, Facebook generated 80 per cent of the traffic Carousel sent to its product pages. This has crashed to a bare 20 percent.<br /><br />Beyond the festive season too, Apple's iOS changes are harbingers to irreparable harm to Facebook's ad business.<br /><br />Marketers have seen that relying on one channel (albeit a very effective one) is risky. So they're looking to diversify. Paul, for example, told cnbc that he has moved his ad budget elsewhere - not only Snapchat and TikTok, "but also silent killers like email".<br /><br />On Twitter, Facebook marketers seemed to implode in agreement.<br /><br />"We've heard from many of you that the impact on your advertising investment has been greater than you expected. The cost of achieving your business outcome may have increased and it's also gotten harder to measure your campaigns on our platform. In some cases, this is due to underreporting on our part. Our estimate is that in aggregate we are underreporting iOS web conversions by approximately 15 per cent; however there is a broad range for individual advertisers," FB Vice President Graham Mudd, said.<br /><br />Storms facing the world's largest social media platform include a Wall Street Journal expose last month that "Facebook Inc knows, in acute detail, that its platforms are riddled with flaws that cause harm, often in ways only the company fully understands".<br /><br />This is "based on a review of internal Facebook documents, including research reports, online employee discussions and drafts of presentations to senior management".<br /><br />"Time and again, the documents show, Facebook's researchers have identified the platform's ill effects. Time and again, despite congressional hearings, its own pledges and numerous media exposes, the company didn't fix them. The documents offer perhaps the clearest picture thus far of how broadly Facebook's problems are known inside the company, up to the chief executive himself," the Journal has said.<br /><br />Facebook was at $303 on April 26 when the iOS14.5 version was launched. It was at $376 on September 14 when the iphone was unveiled - and now bruised at $326.<br /><br />At $148, Apple has been flat since the iPhone launch, but an impressive 10 per cent up over the past six months.<br /><br /><b>SEE ALSO:</b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-worked-with-facebook-to-undermine-apples-attempts-to-offer-its-users-great-privacy-protections-complaint-alleges/articleshow/87244342.cms">Google worked with Facebook to undermine Apple's attempts to offer its users greater privacy protections, complaint alleges</a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/social-media-company-snap-falls-as-much-as-22-after-a-blow-to-its-q3-earnings-from-apple-privacy-changes-and-supply-chain-disruption/articleshow/87209412.cms">Social media company Snap falls as much as 23% after a blow to its Q3 earnings from Apple privacy changes and supply-chain disruption</a></b><br />

Mark Zuckerberg hits out against Apple as Facebook's ad revenue dwindles

<br />
<br /> Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> and <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> CEO Mark Zuckerbeg met at the social networking site’s headquarters, with Modi taking part in first debut <keyword id="3068508" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="townhall-interaction">Townhall interaction</keyword>.<br />
 <br />
The popularity of the event can be judged by the fact that it watched by millions of people in India and abroad and that Zuckerberg received over 4000 questions for the same.<br />
<br />
The two talked about the importance of social media, Modi's plans for India, the success quotient of Make in India and about mothers, where Modi got emotional talking about the hardships faced by him and his mother.<br />
 <br />
While Zuckerberg thanked Modi for attending the townhall interaction, he also put up his favourite moments from the meet and greet on favourite social networking site<br />
 <br />
Have a look!<br />

These are Mark Zuckerberg's favourite moments from the FB Townhall Meet!

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:350px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source">Screenshot</p></div>Yesterday, <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> announced "Home," a home screen you can add-on to an Android phone.</p>
<p>At the end of the show, CEO Mark Zuckerbeg gave a little speech outlining his vision for the future of computing, and how "Home" fits into it.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Developer Dustin Curtis transcribed the remarks, <a href="http://dcurt.is/vision">calling them "<span>the epitome of a vision statement" and "the philosophy driving Facebook's work."</span></a></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Here is Zuckerberg's vision:</span></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">At one level, [Home] is just the next mobile version of Facebook. At a deeper level, I think this can start to be a change in the relationship that we have with how we use computing devices. For more than thirty years, computers have mostly just been about tasks, and they had to be–they were too expensive and clunky and hard to use, so you wouldn't really want to use them for anything else. But the modern computing device has a very different place in our lives. It's not just for productivity and business, although it's great for that too. It's for making us more connected, more social, more aware.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Home, by putting people first, and then apps–by just flipping the order–is one of many small but meaningful changes in our relationship with technology over time.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">When I think about the world today, what amazes me most is the number of people who are getting on the Internet every day and how it's improving their lives as they join this modern knowledge economy. I grew up with the Internet, and I can't really imagine a world without sharing, and messaging, and searching, but actually only about a third of the world is on the Internet today–a little more than two billion people. So we're really very close to the beginning of this. If you look out, maybe five or ten years, when all five billion people who have feature phones are going to have smart phones, we're soon going to be living in a world where the majority of people who have a smart phone–a modern computing device–will have never seen in their lives what you and I call a “computer.”</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">So, just think about that for a moment.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The very definition of what a computer is and what our relationship with it should be hasn't been set for the majority of the world. And when it is, I think a lot of that definition is going to be around people first. We're about to see the most empowered generation of people in history, and it's really an honor to be able to work on these problems.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">This is a deeply technical problem and it's also a deeply social problem. This is the kind of problem that Facebook, our culture and our community, are uniquely built to work on. And we look forward to continuing to do it and to sharing what we come up with with all of you. Thank you.</p>

Mark Zuckerberg Lays Out His Vision For The Future And How The Next 5 Billion People Will Use Computers

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Facebook has successfully completed the first trials of its unmanned drones in the skies above Britain, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/27/facebook-successfully-tests-laser-drones-uk-skies">the Guardian reports</a>.</p><p>In a post on his profile, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101993038596471&amp;set=a.529237706231.2034669.4&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerbeg announced that the company has run test flights of its experimental drones designed to provide low-cost Internet access around the world</a>.</p><p>The final designs will be larger than a Boeing 737, fly at 60,000 feet for months at a time, and will beam down Internet access from the sky using lasers as part of the Internet.org initiative.</p><p>Zuckerberg will expand on the announcement at a keynote speech at the F8 keynote speech later today, but what's particularly interesting is Facebook's chosen site for the test: Britain.</p><p>Britain is fast becoming the drone capital of the world, and American companies are increasingly turning to the island nation to test out their new tech. Amazon is one major example: The online retail giant is keen to experiment with using drones for deliveries, but America' proscriptive regulations make it nearly impossible to carry out trials at home. When it <em>finally</em> got FAA approval for testing last week, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-says-its-approval-to-test-delivery-drones-already-obsolete-1427219327">the tech it related to was already obsolete</a>.</p><p>Amazon now operates a research centre in Cambridge, England. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/11496237/Amazon-in-talks-to-start-drone-deliveries-in-the-UK.html">The Telegraph reports British transport minister Robert Goodwill says the company approached him</a> "to ask about starting drone trials in the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> because regulations in the US were too restrictive. So much for land of the free." Amazon may soon start trialing its drone delivery program, Amazon Prime Air, in the UK.</p><p>Goodwill added that the the UK is not just working with Amazon -"[The] Government is working on the whole issue of drones. We're meeting with the British Airline Pilots Association and we're both keen to innovate."</p><p>As drones rapidly move from niche hobby to consumer product, Britain is determined to carve itself out a major slice of the pie. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/jan/16/drone-law-uk-amazon-delivery">Drone entrepreneur Giles Moore told the Guardian that</a> "a lot of countries already use the UK's regulations on drones as a benchmark."</p><p>And it's easy to see why Britain is so interested: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/drones-a-big-industry-waiting-to-be-born/">Analysts predict that the market for drones will grow to more than $80 billion by 2025, according to CBS</a>.</p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:114px; padding:4px;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/research-store?IR=T&amp;utm_source=House&amp;utm_term=CtgrPr-Drones&amp;utm_campaign=CtgrPr#!/THE-DRONES-REPORT/p/47962272/category=11987294"></a><strong> Get THE DRONES REPORT now!</strong> Commercial drones are already a reality. <strong>BI Intelligence</strong> takes an in-depth look at the most important aspects, including market forecasts for commercial applications, regulatory process, and the leading players.  <strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/research-store?IR=T&amp;utm_source=House&amp;utm_term=CtgrPr-Drones&amp;utm_campaign=CtgrPr#!/THE-DRONES-REPORT/p/47962272/category=11987294">Get the Report Here »</a></strong></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-solar-powered-internet-drones-2015-3">Facebook's ridiculously large drones will beam internet from the sky</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ZoZGY3dDoVTwPeVNsgH8H-kedfmIIFUt" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Facebook is testing experimental laser drones in the skies above Britain

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Everyone is talking about CS50 - the Harvard introductory computer science course that saw more than 800 students enroll, making it <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-so-many-harvard-students-take-computer-science-2014-9">the most popular course at Harvard this semester</a>. The uptake has been dramatic: CS50 once attracted less than 100 students, and in 2005 only about 20 of them attended a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerbergs-harvard-cs50-lecture-in-2005-2014-9">computer science lecture</a> given by Harvard drop-out Mark Zuckerbeg.</p>
<p>Currently, only about 10% of students enrolled in the course have any kind of background in computer science. The rest are taking it purely out of interest.</p>
<p>I wanted to see what the fuss was about so I sat down and watched Dave Malan, the course's lecturer, introduce students to the world of computer science. With no background in programming, I expected to get lost fairly quickly. But Malan is innovative and engaging, and I soon realized that his course was designed precisely with comp sci illiterates like me in mind. Malan is wildly popular because he has figured out how to make computer science fun. More importantly, he's figured out how to make it easy. </p>
<p>Here are some of the highlights and takeaways from Malan's introductory lecture: </p>
<h3>You can use algorithms to make huge problems really small. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>Malan introduced students to the concept of algorithms by introducing a problem: how do we figure out how many people are in the lecture hall? While counting people individually or by 2's would eventually lead us to a final number, it would take a very long time - much longer than it would take for an algorithm to do the work for us. Taking steps 1-5 as one complete step, Malan shows how using an algorithm it only takes 8-9 "steps" to count 400 people. </p>
<h3>There's more than one solution for most problems.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>Malan describes algorithms as a kind of divide-and-conquer approach that gains speed the larger a problem becomes. He illustrated this by tearing up phone books. To find a particular name, Malan explained, most people would flip to the middle of the phone book, see what letter they land on, and go either backwards or forwards alphabetically from there. Landing in the 'M's but looking for the 'F's, Malan tore out the half of the phone book from 'M' onwards. "There!" he proclaims. "In one step you've halved the problem." </p>
<h3>You can use an RSS Feed to create a Lolcat of the day.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>Malan then moved on to explain what an RSS Feed is, using the wildly popular meme Lolcats. "An RSS feed is basically just a big text file that has a lot of links," Malan said. He demonstrated how he went about making a "Lolcat of the Day" feature on CS50's website by downloading http://icanhas.cheezburger.com's Lolcat RSS feed and embedding it into the course's page. Easy as that. </p>
<h3>You know more about computers than you think.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>This was my favorite part of the whole lecture. According to a survey taken of students enrolled in CS50, only about 10% felt "more than comfortable" taking an introductory computer science class. The rest felt either "less than comfortable" or fell somewhere in the middle. Wanting to calm students' frazzled nerves, Malan showed a clip of Alaska senator Ted Stevens talking about the internet to show students that there was always someone who knew less than them about computers.  </p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Malan reassured students that as long as they know more than this guy, even those with the most limited computer knowledge can learn how to program. </p>
<h3>All programming comes down to some very basic math involving two numbers: 0 and 1. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>Using the number '123' as an example, Malan demonstrates how traditionally, numbers get their significance depending on the column they are in. Binary, or the system of 0's and 1's that we use to program computers to do virtually everything, works in much the same way. Each digit in binary takes on a different significance based on the column it is in.</p>
<h3>You can translate Cambridge's zip code, and virtually anything else, into binary.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Apparently, the above translates to '02138'. Figuring out how to code something in binary was already a bit above my head, but for a Harvard freshman electing to take the course, I imagine Malan's breakdown was incredibly simple and easy to follow. This is no doubt the course's appeal, and why it will likely only grow in popularity as students become increasingly eager to take control of their own technology.<br /></span></span></p>

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