Instagram Is Facebook Now • Hacker News Board

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#251

Post by tempodox » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:13 AM UTC

nichos wrote: post #229

locusofself wrote: post #223

I've posted thousands of photos to my instagram over the last decade and generally loved being a user of it (although it did give me FOMO and jealousy). A month or so ago instagram deleted my account permanently because their system falsely flagged it as "suspicious activity". My account was never compromised or spammy. It was simply because I used the web interface from a few locations as well as the mobile app. Rea…

I don't know anyone who quit social media that says they miss it. Granted, that's only a handful of people.

There's probably a good deal of selection bias in there. People who seriously think they'd miss it wouldn't quit in the first place.

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#252

Post by OtomotO » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:20 AM UTC

kbenson wrote: post #46

andrew_eit wrote: post #35

Facebook aside you really see this across the board on almost any platform, that once the product reaches it's 1.0 stage, (where it is good, does what the users want it to do, and has realised its vision) it begins a process of gradual decay, as the focus of the product managers (now panicking to find some statistics to improve to show their bosses) shifts from "building functionality" to "increasing engagement/reten…

> We, as in the IT industry, need to come up with a culture or methodology of 'declaring a product complete' whereby all product managers are gracefully allowed to move on and a product is put into a state of stasis We live in a time when large companies will divest themselves of profitable but not growing businesses because it gets in the way of the core mission, which for large public companies is only one thing. G…

The only thing that doesn't stop growing, is cancer.

The focus on growth is disgusting and cancer for the real world, the environment as well as society

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#253

Post by r0b05 » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:23 AM UTC

mclightning wrote: post #248

This will be the end of Instagram and Facebook to an extent. People have already left FB, and some deleted it entirely. Next will be Instagram, if they do the same thing there. Probably good for society. Let Facebook do their mistakes.

They probably know this acutely which explains Meta.

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#254

Post by marcus_holmes » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:30 AM UTC

kbenson wrote: post #46

andrew_eit wrote: post #35

Facebook aside you really see this across the board on almost any platform, that once the product reaches it's 1.0 stage, (where it is good, does what the users want it to do, and has realised its vision) it begins a process of gradual decay, as the focus of the product managers (now panicking to find some statistics to improve to show their bosses) shifts from "building functionality" to "increasing engagement/reten…

> We, as in the IT industry, need to come up with a culture or methodology of 'declaring a product complete' whereby all product managers are gracefully allowed to move on and a product is put into a state of stasis We live in a time when large companies will divest themselves of profitable but not growing businesses because it gets in the way of the core mission, which for large public companies is only one thing. G…

I mean, technically you can write the goals of the company into its charter as whatever you want. It doesn't need to be money/growth/etc. And you could, technically, find investors who will back that goal with their money. And you could, provided you jump through the relevant hoops, take that company public. I'm not sure what restrictions exist on the markets, but I don't think there's anything technically stopping someone from creating a non-profit-oriented public company.

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#255

Post by stefandesu » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:31 AM UTC

kccqzy wrote: post #73

marcodiego wrote: post #32

I don't understand Instagram language. My GF uses it. It is full of digital influencers, people who make money because they are digital influencers. Young people with sometimes funny but generally pointless and most often ridiculous dancing moves to an equally ridiculous repetitive song. People buying expensive things, doing idiot things talking about uninteresting details of the uninteresting lives of equally uninte…

My way of using Instagram was that I only follow people I have talked to in real life. No influencers, no news outlets, no brands, no businesses, no "young people making popular dance moves" unless that's made by young people I know and have talked to in real life. The app has been making this way of using Instagram more and more difficult. It's not surprising because my way likely doesn't generate any revenue.

That's how I (try to) use Instagram as well. It's still working more or less fine for me, but what bothers me is that it has also become an essential messaging app for me. I don't use Facebook or WhatsApp, so Instagram is the only way to stay in contact with some of the people in my life. I guess if I wanted to leave, I could ask them for phone numbers or email addresses. I should probably do that even before I actually leave.

(By the way, my main messaging apps are Signal and Telegram, but I also have LINE, for my contacts related to Japan, and iMessage, mostly for family. So many apps...)

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#256

Post by fphilipe » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:43 AM UTC

andrew_eit wrote: post #35

Facebook aside you really see this across the board on almost any platform, that once the product reaches it's 1.0 stage, (where it is good, does what the users want it to do, and has realised its vision) it begins a process of gradual decay, as the focus of the product managers (now panicking to find some statistics to improve to show their bosses) shifts from "building functionality" to "increasing engagement/reten…

> Facebook aside you really see this across the board on almost any platform, that once the product reaches it's 1.0 stage, (where it is good, does what the users want it to do, and has realised its vision) it begins a process of gradual decay, as the focus of the product managers (now panicking to find some statistics to improve to show their bosses) shifts from "building functionality" to "increasing engagement/retention/active users per month".

Best example for me: Revolut. The app and product as a whole was so simple and good.

One year ago (or maybe 1.5 years ago) it started going downhill, fast. The app got so complicated that I often simply cannot find what I'm looking for (my card or the balance in a specific currency). Everyone I know using Revolut has the same complaint, especially older people like my parents or in-laws.

I don't get it and it makes me sad.

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#257

Post by stevofolife » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:47 AM UTC

OtomotO wrote: post #252

kbenson wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We, as in the IT industry, need to come up with a culture or methodology of 'declaring a product complete' whereby all product managers are gracefully allowed to move on and a product is put into a state of stasis We live in a time when large companies will divest themselves of profitable but not growing businesses because it gets in the way of the core mission, which for large public companies is only one thing. G…

The only thing that doesn't stop growing, is cancer. The focus on growth is disgusting and cancer for the real world, the environment as well as society

[flagged]

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#258

Post by grenoire » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:49 AM UTC

epolanski wrote: post #65

marcodiego wrote: post #32

I don't understand Instagram language. My GF uses it. It is full of digital influencers, people who make money because they are digital influencers. Young people with sometimes funny but generally pointless and most often ridiculous dancing moves to an equally ridiculous repetitive song. People buying expensive things, doing idiot things talking about uninteresting details of the uninteresting lives of equally uninte…

I met one of the most brilliant people in my life. Smart, passionate about art, culture, politics. Brilliant student, top of her class from elementary through college. Fluent (as in certified) C2 in English and German. Terrific career as a public servant in foreign politics already in her late 20s. She would never, ever, miss a single episode of a “reality” about dating in tv, a show famous in Italy as “trash tv”. It…

That's the drug loop, seriously. The way people engage with social media is basically the same as a pothead with weed.

Disclaimer: I do both, it's alright. I'm more worried about people who have 8 hours of phone screentime on Instagram/TikTok.

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#259

Post by tonyedgecombe » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:50 AM UTC

OtomotO wrote: post #252

kbenson wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We, as in the IT industry, need to come up with a culture or methodology of 'declaring a product complete' whereby all product managers are gracefully allowed to move on and a product is put into a state of stasis We live in a time when large companies will divest themselves of profitable but not growing businesses because it gets in the way of the core mission, which for large public companies is only one thing. G…

The only thing that doesn't stop growing, is cancer. The focus on growth is disgusting and cancer for the real world, the environment as well as society

It stops when it has killed its host.

Re: Instagram Is Facebook Now

#260

Post by Gene_Parmesan » Thu, Dec 02, 2021, 8:52 AM UTC

wilkommen wrote: post #227

saghm wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We live in a time when large companies will divest themselves of profitable but not growing businesses because it gets in the way of the core mission, which for large public companies is only one thing. Growth. > Private companies can sometimes get away with it, as long as the people backing them don't start to see them as investment vehicles like any other public company. I'm probably just naive or missing somethi…

It’s not a very satisfying answer but personally I believe that there is no material thing linking the price of a stock to the amount of money the company makes. The only thing that drives the price of a stock is whether people think that other people will want to buy the stock for more later. This kind of implies that the whole stock market is a bit of a sham. Which I think is also true. I think the stock market ess…

I'm not sure I agree with this 100%. If this were true, an investor like Warren Buffett, who has always invested by focusing on the fundamentals of the company he is investing in and focusing on real performance/value metrics, would not be able to be as consistently successful as he has been.

It's hard to say though, because the market in which he made his initial chunk of capital is not the same market today, and it's impossible for me to parse out the self-reinforcing effect of "price goes up because Buffett has taken a large stake" versus the sort of fundamentals I'm referring to.

edit : Having said that, I do believe there is a class of people who are able to make money off of the stock market in a way totally unrelated to the reality of the underlying instruments - profiting on churn, market-making, small percentages on massive positions, etc. But I don't think that means the underlying instruments are actually worthless/not tied to real value.