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Facebook – You are the Product

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Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#121

Post by Sir_Cmpwn »

yawz wrote: post #113
Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have almost 9,000 hours in a year. Surely you can find time in them to write to your second cousin.

(replying at this level, because HN seems to have a depth limit for nested messages) Drew, I think I understand where you're coming from. But as stated earlier on, I don't even connect to Facebook daily, let alone spending hours on it.

You didn't answer my question, though. I didn't expect you to write letters daily either. How does the amount of time you spend on Facebook compare to the amount of time you could see yourself spending writing letters?

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#122

Post by AndrewKemendo »

kronos29296 wrote: post #104
parthdesai wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So tell me, how do i replace around 5 different group chats i have on messenger which can have anywhere between 5-10 people in each chat? Music events that i go to are exclusively promoted on facebook. How do you recommend i find out about these events so that i can get a cheaper ticket price? if anyone wants to organize a plan that has more than 8 people, facebook groups make it much much easier. I personally hate f…

Replaced it with whatsapp for communication with friends (not fb friends but Friends). I just have a facebook account cuz everybody else has one but it is filled with notifications and messages that I don't reply to. All the people around me know that I don't respond to. Viola, I am free of facebook and don't use it though I still have an account and have never deactivated it. Maybe it will not work for you. P.S HN s…

So you moved from Facebook to Facebook (whatsapp of course is owned by Facebook and gets the equivalent amount of information on you). Did you just want a different interface?

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#123

Post by debaserab2 »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #103
compiler-guy wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a painfully simplistic response. No matter what I do, several activities and groups I want to be a part of are only advertised and organized on facebook. It's not within my power to change that. And that, in fact, _does_ makes it hard to avoid using facebook without being left out.

>No matter what I do, several activities and groups I want to be a part of are only advertised and organized on facebook. It's not within my power to change that. It is. You have the power to choose what you want to be a part of. And these groups have more members than yourself - people who you can ask to help you stay up to date on meetings and such.

I'm sorry, but get real. People use technology because it assists and speeds up areas of their life. For many people, facebook far and away is the most convenient way to manage their social life simply because they have the greatest adoption within their social groups.

Yes, we could "write someone a letter in the mail instead" or "ask a friend about the events on facebook" but that would defeat the point for the vast majority of us that aren't interested in spending hours managing our social contacts and calendars. You're not really giving solutions when you suggest things like that.

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#124

Post by yawz »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #84
bluGill wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would work for my parents. It means my second cousin and I exchange "Christmas cards" and no more which leaves a lot out.

You have almost 9,000 hours in a year. Surely you can find time in them to write to your second cousin.

How long does it take to write a 2 page letter? I'm not even talking about preparing the mail, posting, etc. I'm in software development, just like yourself, and I can probably type many times faster than I can write.

I think you're being too romantic about the good old snail mail. ;)

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#125

Post by tedunangst »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #116
debaserab2 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really possible if the majority (or even portions) of your social life use facebook to organize events. If you're interested in being a diligent contributor to your social group, you're either stuck trying to evangelize some other tool (usually less convenient for everyone else who doesn't mind facebook) or you're stuck asking for someone to check the FB event for you. You can't really disconnect and easily…

You will be surprised by how easy it is. Take the approach I suggested. Wane yourself off of it and don't quit entirely until you feel comfortable with it.

Perhaps you will be surprised to learn that not everybody is living the same life as you.

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#126

Post by Sir_Cmpwn »

yawz wrote: post #124
Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have almost 9,000 hours in a year. Surely you can find time in them to write to your second cousin.

How long does it take to write a 2 page letter? I'm not even talking about preparing the mail, posting, etc. I'm in software development, just like yourself, and I can probably type many times faster than I can write. I think you're being too romantic about the good old snail mail. ;)

You can write snail mail with a text editor on a computer and print it off...

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#127

Post by Florin_Andrei »

turc1656 wrote: post #62
olympus wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it already is. I recently deleted my FB and Twitter accounts. I had to keep my LinkedIn account because a recruiter told me that if I didn't have at least some online persona then I was weird and wouldn't be hired. I guess I'm not rich enough to delete all my social media.

Fascinating that a recruiter actually told you that. I wonder if it's actually true or if the recruiter was saying that because...they are a recruiter and having people on LinkedIn makes their life easier.

It could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If all recruiters think the same way...

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#128

Post by Miner49er »

cortesoft wrote: post #118
olympus wrote: post #31

I'm here to fix some ignorance, since the source of the "you are the product" idea is not these books. Metafilter user blue_beetle first put this idea online when he said "If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold" in response to the Digg revolt of 2010. The idea apparently existed for a few decades prior regarding TV advertising. I prefer to think blue_beetle was the one wh…

I really don't like that phrase; you are NOT the product that facebook creates. Facebook creates a product which is a social media network. You PAY for that product with your data and your eyeballs. Facebook takes your payment, turns around, and sells it to advertisers and others interested in the data. That is not the same as saying you are the product.

You are not _the_ product, but your are _a_ product of theirs.

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#129

Post by [deleted] »

cortesoft wrote: post #118
olympus wrote: post #31

I'm here to fix some ignorance, since the source of the "you are the product" idea is not these books. Metafilter user blue_beetle first put this idea online when he said "If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold" in response to the Digg revolt of 2010. The idea apparently existed for a few decades prior regarding TV advertising. I prefer to think blue_beetle was the one wh…

I really don't like that phrase; you are NOT the product that facebook creates. Facebook creates a product which is a social media network. You PAY for that product with your data and your eyeballs. Facebook takes your payment, turns around, and sells it to advertisers and others interested in the data. That is not the same as saying you are the product.

[deleted]

Re: Facebook – You are the Product

#130

Post by debaserab2 »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #116
debaserab2 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really possible if the majority (or even portions) of your social life use facebook to organize events. If you're interested in being a diligent contributor to your social group, you're either stuck trying to evangelize some other tool (usually less convenient for everyone else who doesn't mind facebook) or you're stuck asking for someone to check the FB event for you. You can't really disconnect and easily…

You will be surprised by how easy it is. Take the approach I suggested. Wane yourself off of it and don't quit entirely until you feel comfortable with it.

I'm not interested in doubling or tripling the amount of time it takes to manage my social calendar and I find your comments that seem to be treating it like it's some kind of addiction to be a tad condescending for those of us who would close their account in a heartbeat if it wasn't such a necessary tool.
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