Facebook as a virtual cafeteria or living room, also for the Slovaks

More than 500 million people all around the world are presently registered with this popular social network and their number increases by 250,000 each day. The Slovaks are no exception. Up to one quarter of the Slovak population uses it at present, of which approximately 800,000 have a Slovak version of the website. Facebook is undoubtedly a new phenomenon that changes the way of communication and the establishment of relations. It is comparable with a virtual living room where we meet our friends, or with an imaginary cafeteria where we establish new friendships or want to be seen. And, of course, the Slovaks do not lag behind in this area.
Last year in March, a Slovak version of Facebook was launched. It was an initiative of several portal enthusiasts who called for a Slovak version. Everything started in 2008, Martin Poliačik, one of the initiators, writes in his blogs, when the portal administrators launched a discussion on the translation of Facebook into individual languages. The Slovaks demanded a Slovak version of the website as soon as possible, but their request was misunderstood. The administrators namely confused Slovak with „slovenščina“, which means Slovenian. At much insistence, they complied with the Slovaks’ request and included Slovak with a moderate delay. The process of search for volunteers to help with the translation of more than 77,000 phrases started. The number of active Slovak translators increased to 1,500, Martin Poliačik informs on his blog. Moreover, although the translation work was officially terminated, the process of interpretation continues. Facebook is a live portal where everything constantly changes and, therefore, it requires permanent care and supervision.

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The verbatim translation of Facebook into Slovak is „Kniha tvárí“. Only few people in our country know that this name is derived from leaflets that are distributed to freshmen at U.S. universities. They contain lists of students and serve for a better mutual knowledge. The Slovaks have also become addicted to the magic of public/private online life and Facebook has become a social space and a place for entertainment. Among Facebook users, the opinion has become popular that whoever is not on Facebook does not exist. This statement may seem exaggerated to some, but not to the young generation and many firms or organisations. The power to spread information and mobilise people through groups was reflected in  Slovak practice on several occasions. It seems to have been the case in this year’s parlia­mentary election. Different groups emerged on Facebook, inviting people to go to the polls or not to elect Robert Fico or other politicians. Some funny names of groups also appeared, such as: „If SMER wins the election, whoever leaves the SR last, turn off the light!“ or „Do not tell pensioners when the election is taking place“. Or an opposite view: „If an election could change something, they would have been prohibited it long ago!“ The parliamentary party SAS even used Facebook for its election campaign. Judging by the rocket success of this party, statuses and promotion materials have worked. Moreover, there are many other examples, e.g. non-profit civic organisations such as the Fair-Play Alliance that comments on different subjects resonating in society via Facebook.

Like other nations, the Slovaks like to associate and show their solidarity with fellow countrymen. Some try to find out how many Slovaks are on Facebook, some promote their fellow citizen’s acti­vities abroad and make them visible. It is a social network that offers an excellent opportunity in how to contact fellow citizens living abroad. Many groups were founded, such as Slovaks in Ireland, Czech Republic and Vojvodina, Czechs and Slovaks in the United Kingdom and France, etc. An interesting and very active group are Czechs and the Slovaks in the UK, where you can find lots of important information about activities of fellow citizens, jobs, accommodation or friendship offers, or simply arrange a date with somebody in a pub. Another similar group is the Slovak and Czech Catholic Community in London, where you can find both religious and practical information and offers for Christians and their sympathisers. Of course, SK Magazine and Slovak Centre London have their place on Facebook, too. They are interconnected by their own websites and regularly bring the news from Slovakia and from the world, specifically from the United Kingdom. They also inform about many fellow citizen’s events in London.

Facebook is really universal, with its main strength being the interactive combination of texts, pictures, and videos that serve as hypertext links to other contents. The modern social network offers excellent opportunities for the propagation of new ideas, but also a space for their abuse.  Many articles on the protection of privacy on Facebook have been written. It is up to every user to decide how much information they want to provide and to whom. Many of us take this risk gladly. It is a natural desire of a human to be seen, admired, and surrounded by friends. Life without Facebook would be different, but only because we would invite real friends to our living rooms and we often visited cafes to find new ones. On the other hand, thanks to Facebook, you may find a job in a foreign country or contact fellow citizens willing to help you. There are plenty of possibilities, and all you need is to reach out to them and use them.

Author: Nina Klusová
Photo: sxc.hu

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