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Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

bradfrost.com

111–120 of 401 posts

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#111
post #41

"I’m likely not going to delete Facebook entirely since I do genuinely enjoy staying in touch with the people in my life, and for better or worse Facebook is where those people hang out" Is it likely that most people are willing to move and the only problem is there are no compelling options?

I facepalmed when I read that "not going to delete FB because" sentence. How about that thing called e-mail? If keeping someone's e-mail address and firing a message every now and then is too much hassle, then that person was not worth keeping in touch with in the first place.

FB has turned people into needy Rolodex hoarders.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#112
I think so many platforms these days employ so many attention-grabbing techniques, that they wear down people. So now they have to go to the bottom of the barrel, notifying you for things that aren't really notifications -- the fact that you haven't posted in a week, for example.

The content quality is abysmal. People simply do not care to share on Facebook in ways that they have in the past. Their awful algorithm ruined the user value.

I think if they returned to a default chronological sorted news feed, with still sprinkling in ads as they do, they could increase the amount of time people spend on the service, show more ads, and increase revenue all while providing a superior experience. Why they don't return to this level of simplicity that the platform once had is beyond me. Too many engineers and too many PM's pushing for their pet projects, I assume, and you really just end up with an overdeveloped product.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#113
post #10

They also ensure there's ALWAYS at least one notification when you sign in. Even if nothing of importance happened, they find _something_ to notify you about just so you can see the red notification count every time. I deactivated my account yesterday and look forward to a FB-free life.

Yes. The fake orange notification is always annoying. Likewise, the new "feature" where infinite scrolling keeps listing the same posts over and over again.

I'm not quite "done with facebook" but I'm getting there.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#115
post #96
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I installed the Lite version of Messenger, and it's way better. (Not available in the US App Store; there are verified APKs floating around the internet.) It's just a bare-bones chat app that launches when I want it, without all the nagging about chat bubbles, their Snapchat knockoff, and whatever else.

You can also go to Facebook on Chrome and request the desktop version of the site- Messages will work in that. That way you don't have to install a Messages app.

[deleted]

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#116
Years ago I wrote a Chrome extension to block the news feed [1] so I could keep using it without losing my sanity.

Recently though, I've noticed that Facebook seems to be moving what was once in the news feed to notifications. Now that they've spoiled the feed with useless information - the notifications box is the next exploit.

The cognitive overload from using Facebook is now so high for me that I almost never visit the site. Once a daily user of Facebook, now deleting my account would hardly affect me. If I have a choice, I always prefer to communicate with friends over anything but Facebook.

I believe Facebook's constant neediness will eventually be the demise of the platform. The mindless profit driven motives for constant engagement are harmful not only to its users, but society, and the company itself. I wrote more about this here: https://blog.west.io/2016/11/30/the-birth-and-death-of-faceb....

[1] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicat...

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#117
post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. I initially only uninstalled messenger (which intolerably presented me with a popup asking me to enable notifications EVERY TIME I OPENED THE APP ), then got rid of the FB app. Now even on my laptop facebook.com is pointing at localhost in /etc/hosts, which makes me edit a root file to look at it. I'm much, much happier. If it works for you, cool, but if you're dissatisfied and considering abandoning it anyway,…

Actual question: what's the point of Messenger if you don't have notifications enabled?

To communicate with other people on my terms, when I want to communicate.

It's the same reason there are only a few phone numbers that can actually make my phone ring (my wife, the school my children attend, and pager duty (:P))

My device exists for my convenience.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#118
Unfortunately for $FB, they may have bigger fish to fry than user revolt over cloying UX dark patterns.

The "Facebook reaches coveted non-existant people (NEP) demo" story would be amusing, if it weren't symbolic of greater industry-wide risks concerning click-fraud scrutiny.

But of greater concern as investigations into Russian meddling of the election heat up, is that $FB profited enormously from microtargeted ads specifically engineered as part of a program of mass psyops. With everyone looking for a scapegoat, this could result in actual indictments.

Why Nobody Can Trust Facebook

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-09-11/why-nobody-can-trus...

Facebook Wins, Democracy Loses

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/opinion/facebook-wins-dem...

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#119
post #117
post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actual question: what's the point of Messenger if you don't have notifications enabled?

To communicate with other people on my terms, when I want to communicate. It's the same reason there are only a few phone numbers that can actually make my phone ring (my wife, the school my children attend, and pager duty (:P)) My device exists for my convenience.

>there are only a few phone numbers that can actually make my phone ring

Could you describe briefly how to configure that state of affairs? What OS do you use?

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#120
OK, I get it, Facebook marketing is dialing it to the 11 to get you to use it more. But really, how hard is it to ignore it? The article says:

There’s no respite from these messages, so it constantly feels like a gun to your head to get you to boost, promote, and pay.

Really? Like a gun to your head? So you are in fear for your life and you think if you don't click on this link, you literally are going to die this second? Or maybe it is a tiny annoyance which you completely can ignore and go on with your life, and you are over-dramatizing it a teensy bit?

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