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Scott Adams: FaceBook Killer

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Re: Scott Adams: FaceBook Killer

#11

Post by GavinB »

This is what Google does. What you search is becoming a better and better predictor of what you will do. Most searches are based on future plans, purchase, or interests. They even know your current and future locations if you use google maps for directions. If you use gmail, Google can tell that you just broke up with your girlfriend, or are graduating college.

Sidenote: we don't "give away" this information. We exchange it for the value of the information we are searching for. Microsoft has even experimented with paying people (with discounts) to use Bing's product search features.

Re: Scott Adams: FaceBook Killer

#13

Post by ryanhuff »

portman wrote: post #5

Is there a reason why he intentionally mis-capitalizes "Facebook" to "FaceBook"? Scott Adams strikes me as a careful and fastidious writer; I'm wondering if there is an inside joke that I'm not getting.

Perhaps something to do with FB's attempt to TM "book"? Very subtle, if so.

Re: Scott Adams: FaceBook Killer

#14

Post by jeromec »

jasongullickson wrote: post #10
jeromec wrote: post #7

I think the concept is good hypothetically, but wouldn't work in practice. People are not that organized. Knowing beforehand where you are going to go and what you are going to do at various points in the future is hard enough to imagine, let alone consistently input into a computer, even if there is a value proposition as he points out. That's my thinking anyway.

You could do something that requires less effort on the part of the user. For example, extract future intentions from the content of existing "status update" streams. "I just bought a used Ford" = "I need a mechanic in six months". "I'm going rock climbing for the first time this weekend!" = "I need a chiropractor next week". Etc... Jokes aside, seems like this would be a fairly approachable mid-way between the exist…

That's a good point. However, as you mention this data already exists on services like Twitter and Facebook, so I guess it just needs to be mined and analyzed.

Re: Scott Adams: FaceBook Killer

#15

Post by drblast »

jiganti wrote: post #6

Telling the world what you did and are doing assumes the world cares. This is a stretch, but people do it. Not only telling the world what you are planning on doing, but expecting guidance from peers even more optimistic. I don't see this often in facebook status updates, or at least not things that people can really expect help from like Adams envisions. Displaying your intentions puts all your cards on the table; i…

But people love to give advice. Look at the topics here. The ones that get huge responses ask a question that allows anyone with even limited experience to weigh in.

Want to see pages and pages of comments? Post to a forum where parents are members that you're having a baby and are thinking about different approaches to parenting. A firestorm will ensue; nobody has to care about you and your baby at all.

How about "I'm going to buy a laptop, should I get a Mac or not?" This sort of thing causes server owners to consider liquid cooling systems.

Re: Scott Adams: FaceBook Killer

#17

Post by markwweaver »

jiganti wrote: post #6

Telling the world what you did and are doing assumes the world cares. This is a stretch, but people do it. Not only telling the world what you are planning on doing, but expecting guidance from peers even more optimistic. I don't see this often in facebook status updates, or at least not things that people can really expect help from like Adams envisions. Displaying your intentions puts all your cards on the table; i…

The article even says that you aren't telling the world your plans, your telling a specific group of people. I could see this being useful by starting out general and making the plans more specific over time, just like the article says. For example, I could post to a group of close friends that I want to go out on Friday night. Someone else could suggest dancing, and advertisers could suggest a specific club. Because this plan was generated by a group of close friends we can all go. This isn't all that different from how I see my plans made today, but it's online and made with a little more notice.

Re: Scott Adams: FaceBook Killer

#19

Post by flogic »

steveklabnik wrote: post #3

PlanCast? I couldn't ever get into PlanCast, though. It just never got integrated into my daily habits. I still like the idea, though...

Haven't actually tried it but it looks like it doesn't allow for nebulous plans. Lots of plans start out only half formed at best. Say you want to go to the beach. Your only time constraint may be some weekend soon. However your friend might want to tag along and he's only available on a certain Sunday. Purchase plans can be even more nebulous. You could want to purchase a new laptop but you friend tells you that Apple has a big announcement coming up so you decide to wait until after that.

Re: Scott Adams: FaceBook Killer

#20

Post by AgentConundrum »

portman wrote: post #5

Is there a reason why he intentionally mis-capitalizes "Facebook" to "FaceBook"? Scott Adams strikes me as a careful and fastidious writer; I'm wondering if there is an inside joke that I'm not getting.

That really bugged me while reading the post, and doubly so when he didn't capitalize the M in FutureMe, which arguably deserves it.

Incidentally, there is already a site/service called FutureMe (http://www.futureme.org/). It's for sending yourself emails way off in the future. I used it once in 2006 and got the email a year later. The future wasn't at all what I had expected. Not even close.

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