EnemyGraph Facebook App Lets You Declare Your Enemies

Maybe we should be prepared for the phrase "enemy someone on Facebook" to enter the lexicon.

EnemyGraph, a new app for Facebook, allows users to do just that: Declare their enemies on the world's most popular social network.

It may sound sinister, but the motivation is more sociological, say the developers, a group from the Emerging Media + Communications program at the University of Texas at Dallas.

SCROLL DOWN FOR IMAGE

"Facebook has this artificial positivity kind of forced upon it," said Harrison Massey, a student at UT Dallas who, along with Dean Terry, the director of the program, and Bradley Griffith, a graduate student, collaborated to develop the app. "We believe that there is a certain amount of health in saying that you don't like something, that something is your enemy, because you can create conversations about that. You can bond with people over that."

Massey said, for example, that users could bond over the common dislike of a company or a political party.

Here's how the app works: Those who've installed EnemyGraph can choose "enemies" from both their existing friends list as well as from a list of other users of the app. They can also choose to "enemy" public figures and companies with pages, or, in the words of EnemyGraph, "pretty much anyone or anything on Facebook."

So far, "Trending Enemies," as they're referred to in the app, have included the Facebook Timeline, George W. Bush and racism. Massey told The Huffington Post that Justin Bieber, and various iterations of his name, has by far been the most popular enemy.

"We are misusing the word 'enemy' the same way that Facebook misuses the word 'friend,"' Terry, the UT professor behind the project, told HuffPost. "It's totally inaccurate. It's not about individuals. It's really about things in popular culture."

EnemyGraph was officially released on March 15, but until Sunday night, when an article about it came out in The Chronicle of Higher Eductation, the app only had about 300 users. As of Thursday afternoon, following articles from Mashable, CNN and PC Magazine, the app had amassed over 20,000 users, Massey said.

So many, in fact, that the team has had to move EnemyGraph.com, the app's website, to a new server to accommodate the traffic. And on Thursday, the application itself was having issues, also a function of the influx of new users.

Facebook users for several years have spoken about the desire for some sort of "negative" tool. Online petitions (and scams) about a "dislike" button have circulated since at least 2010, and there's even a "Facebook Dislike" add-on for Firefox.

But as Jeffrey R. Young notes in his article in The Chronicle, "the word ["dislike] is literally banned by the service to prevent developers from creating a dislike button."

Facebook has not yet responded to a HuffPost request for comment, but the developers of EnemyGraph would not be surprised if the company asked them to shutter the app.

"The project, like others we have done, was begun as a sort of experiment," Bradley Griffith, one of the developers, wrote in an instant message. "We wanted to see what people would do if given a chance to have such an outlet."

"The main goal was to get people talking about these issues," he added. "I think the app has served its purposes there."

LOOK: EnemyGraph:

Check out 17 Timeline apps recommended by Facebook.

From our partners

Comments

[Daouda S Diane]

02:15 PM on 04/07/2012

I believe it is their right to create such an application, obviously the motivation behind it is not to hurt anyone but unfortunately, this new tool given to Facebook users would make it easier to bully others and even used to convey hate message and behaviors of that kind. Even though protected under the first amendment, we have to really ask the question if it is ethical or not?
Do we need to create more tensions than necessary between users? Personally Im not against that application but I believe it could become a potential way to create harm to people once users start to misuse it.

[Skeetshooter]

12:24 AM on 04/04/2012

There are already enough people who hate me for no reason. Why give them cause? News sites like HuffPost make a virtue of political ire. Not sure why FaceBook needs to get Foxed, Kardashianed, or Tea Partied directly. Our friends should already know about our pet peeves, and in case they don't, we can already link our screeds and complaints to our home page. Crisis enabled!

[Denise Lee Helams]

01:00 PM on 04/03/2012

This is allowing bullies to unite.... SHAME ON FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sprouts]

12:07 AM on 04/02/2012

People need ANOTHER outlet to spread negativity on the Internet? I really don't think that's the case. What a sad excuse for some "U" professors. Imagine what business/political groups, you name it, competitors will do with this app? What about the ex-spouse? Maybe the students ought to rise up and start a particularly NASTY campaign about one of them?

And remember: ONCE ON THE INTERNET IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ERASE.

Fire these tenured idiots! Suicide blood will be on their hands! I guarantee it!!!!!!!

[kllswengage721]

11:05 PM on 04/01/2012

Facebook creates new how to be immature app.

[EstellaC]

04:48 PM on 04/01/2012

This is horrible. It makes me so, so sad. Why, WHY facilitate more bad feelings? People already get upset if someone simply doesn't comment on their posts! Why make dislike obvious?! This is why I quit FB at the beginning of the year. I don't need to live my life on other people's imposing terms.. :(

[Oblongato]

04:35 PM on 04/01/2012

This one was 11% more convincing than the Branson volcano diver piece.

[Anella Harmeyer]

04:12 PM on 04/01/2012

All we really want is a dislike button.

[CitizenFitz]

03:40 PM on 04/01/2012

Facebook is pass?It's a Twitterverse.

[HopeLiesBleeding]

06:28 PM on 03/31/2012

Regardless of one's enemies, this is as vacuous a gesture as wrapping oneself in the flag or religi@us symbols, purely as a means of advertising (however falsely) one's status as being better/holier/more patriotic than thou.

And now we can do it with just a mouse click? Yaaay! Instant* h@te for the masses!

*(Note: H@te may take longer on some dial-up connections.)

[JesusWasNicer]

05:01 PM on 03/31/2012

I dislike.

[shamanbart]

12:23 PM on 03/31/2012

I wouldn't mind a dislike button for corporations, organizations, businesses or other such entities, but I don't think it's useful to have a dislike button or "enemy" designation for people. There's already enough hate and animosity in the world, and doing that only adds to the rancor. People don't really need to know you dislike them and it doesn't contribute anything to society by doing so. However, having that available for businesses and organizations makes sense, since they can often cause strife in society and often need a wake-up call or some kind of counterbalance to their actions.

[Arrive2 net]

02:35 AM on 03/31/2012

Will it have a positive effect or do the professors just need to open the dark side. I think there's enough opportunity for negative comments already, but are the professors right that more opportunities to express hostility are needed? This could change the balance in social media more towards more hostility.

It seems a little like arguing that there's not enough bullying and rejection on Facebook now, and "real life" has bullies and rejection. Of course, real life also has less anonymity. Will this kind of system kill openness and creativity by creating more caution and fear of rejection? Perhaps with all the anonymity online it won't do great harm...although it seems like it will discourage real IDs online. Dislikes or enemyings could have a reverse effect, stimulating support for the disliked.

Facebook can sit back and see what happens without being directly responsible. Ultimately, the social media marketplace will accept, reject, or find a place for it, but I think on Facebook people should be able to opt-out at any time.

Bart Schuster
OnlineGraduateSchool.tripod.com/All.htm
Twitter.com/arrive2.net

[Jasper Shaw]

04:18 PM on 03/30/2012

As technology has changed, how we interact socially has also evolved. As we become increasingly more connected, we have adjusted accordingly. Some good and some bad. When texting pictures first came about, sexting became a part of our lexicon (to the worry of a lot of parents). The technology wasn't banned and we adjusted.

In the world of social media, there is a force to be harnessed when people feel an injustice has occurred. Many have felt and responded to such forces. Ask the advertisers of Rush Limbaugh how Twitter and Facebook changed their Advertising Strategy.

While some good may come about for us to voice our opinions, we just need to be able to hold those accountable when it is at the expense of those being bullied. That is where the danger lies and where the victims can be drowned out by the social groups in school. Will we be able to police ourselves when it comes to those being pushed around by bullies?

[Raven21]

03:42 PM on 03/30/2012

I predict lawsuits against Facebook down the road. There are kids who committed suicide because of bullying and hazing from their peers. Facebook has created a cyber-forum to perpetuate bullying. Doesn't matter if you can block this as a parent; kids will hear about it from others if their name is on the enemy graph; or create a new account. This is an anti-social tool.

And Massey says people can bond over mutual enemies? We'll have "Colombines" all over the USA as bonded teens go after enemies together.

[l3ama205]

04:12 PM on 03/30/2012

i agree why make this stupid crap?