jfg wrote:It is stupid that Facebook changes their privacy settings at least once a month and that they don't make the settings default to paranoid mode. But, it's also stupid that everybody thinks that Facebook is going to give all their info to Russian spies. These are the same people who have no problem giving out their mailing address on the internet to get a half price dinner at Applebees or sign up for multiple internet sites to try to get an iPad.
I don't think it's stupid to be upset with a site allowing other sites access to your personal information....and I have never given out my mailing address on the internet to get a half price dinner at Applebees or anywhere else, and I've never signed up for multiple sites in an attempt to get an iPad.
I deleted mine a few days ago. I had virtually no personal info on there and only a handful of photos, but I don't feel like dealing with the constant worry about my privacy.
I still have to keep my Facebook for testing Facebook apps for clients. I had more FB-related projects a year or so ago, but I made the mistake of closing my FB account straight out of school, without realizing I needed it as a developer account as well.
I refuse to use Facebook for personal reasons and I try my darndest not to have any of my friends find and friend me. I convince them I have no FB, but I still get an odd friend request here and there. You either catch me on my cell, email, IM, or Skype, but Facebook? Not happening. I realize the business and social value of FB, but it's just not for me really.
Is Facebook really capable of collapsing though? Amazing that they'd be continually screwing up like they seem to have been lately.
It's not the first time Facebook has come under fire for privacy concerns. Over the last couple of years, they had issues with people barking about alleged breaches of privacy (Facebook Connect comes to mind) and shoot, you had people who threatened to leave Facebook over a site design change.
Point is, those people still stick to Facebook and countless others do because they don't want to "lose" their connections or at least the number of connections. It's sort of become the medium for keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances alike. Facebook won't collapse, although they could go in the way of Myspace too (I doubt that though).
I know they are huge, but that doesn't mean they aren't above a relative collapse. This alone doesn't exactly open up the market for a possible competitor to step in, but if they continue down this path it's gotta be possible.
The Artful Dodger wrote: Facebook won't collapse, although they could go in the way of Myspace too (I doubt that though).
It is absolutely inevitable that Facebook collapses or becomes second rate (ala MySpace) IMO. It is the history of the internet and communication in general. There will always be something better that comes along, it is a question of when not if.
Well, they've continued down the path you're talking about for the last couple of years, which is why I don't believe Facebook will collapse. There's too much of a "social risk", if you want to call it that, in the minds of some if not most folks on Facebook if they do bolt.
The last couple of years have been a consolidation state for social networking. It's why networks like Bebo and Hi5 are still around only because they serve a niche but they're not even another social network to visit on a daily basis like FB, let alone the place. Facebook has become that place because it's sort of is the gatekeeper of your social identity. Less is more for most folks and having just one site to visit is good enough, as long as it's easy to use and presents itself as simple. They might go the way of Myspace, but a few things to keep in mind. Myspace lost its way when they were sold to Newscorp and they absolutely tried to have all kinds of services on their site, to the point they lost direction and focus of who and what they were/are. Facebook could be a fad if they lose focus from what they're really strong at, but they can also build something sustainable like Google as well. The social graph initiative, however, could be a make-or-break thing for them as a business and as a social network.
There's a project called Diaspora, which hasn't started yet but raised money through donations to become an open-source kind of Facebook, in the sense you can also build your own Facebook, which can link up as a unified Facebook with other sites. Sounds pretty cool, but most folks don't care if something is open source or an open book of what they do with their info. Quality tends to come first before that with most people. There's also been a social network API tool called Ning, which has been around for a few years, but again, not everyone cares for a distributed, DIY social network. It's difficult to get visitors, anyway, and that's where FB has a massive advantage. On that note, most don't realize how complicated the site architecture requirement is to build and operate a scalable site, let alone like Facebook. There are no barriers to enter per se, but no one wants to face an 800 lb. gorilla head on either.
The Artful Dodger wrote: Facebook won't collapse, although they could go in the way of Myspace too (I doubt that though).
It is absolutely inevitable that Facebook collapses or becomes second rate (ala MySpace) IMO. It is the history of the internet and communication in general. There will always be something better that comes along, it is a question of when not if.
I don't think so. The internet isn't a geeks playground as it was when all MySpace and Friendster hit it big. Techies created all of this and they were a fickle bunch, or at least willing to move on to the next thing when the time was right. The average person is not going to do that. No way are that many people going to make the decision to leave for a new site that they have to learn.
The only thing that will bring Facebook down is the kid who's running it all and his team. They're making their main fanbase pretty angry and it doesn't seem like they care too much. It seems to me like they think they can do whatever they want and if we don't like it we can leave. That'll be the downfall if it continues.
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by Metroid » Wed May 19, 2010 10:28 am 
