Too much DRAMA.
I was once a Facebook fool
41–50 of 177 posts
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the other hand that doesn't mean you can avoid them altogether. In the ideal case, you have the option to choose among competing platforms. The problem with facebook is that since the end of myspace, it's still the largest web app platform.
For how long? I casually mentioned deactivating my facebook account over dinner in Mexico last weekend. Two strangers from elsewhere in the world perked right up as they had just done the same thing. None of us had any specific reasons; we just 'felt' like turning it off. So, it doesn't matter if Facebook is evil or not - I simply don't like it, and it seems that others share that sentiment. I had seen notable figure…
I can empathize with you and your new acquaintances. I just deactivated my account as well and have several friends who have done the same.
Where is this data you mentioned that shows an uptick in deactivations? I'd be interested in taking a look at it.
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#43Why is Facebook special? Twitter supported bit.ly and Google supports Google Reader. They all act the same.
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#44I’m not saying the author is wrong here but I think he’s unfair in attacking just Facebook. The one thing I learned from my time in the valley is that EVERYONE is looking out for themselves. That isn’t meant as negatively as it sounds. People go there to prove themselves. Either by making money or making their mark on the world (which is why people like Sean Parker stick around even after they’ve made money). But wha…
All the more reason not to be a sharecropper and build your application on an open platform. If you know you're working in an environment in which everyone is looking out solely for their own interests, you might as well start out on even footing rather than with a Facebook or Microsoft holding the keys to your project's success.
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
I believe that "bad-mouthing" does not imply "lying". There are no laws against vilifying, criticizing severely, speaking unfavorably of big, powerful businesses as long as you have some backup in facts. Edit: Supreme courts (or equivalents) in most countries make it very clear in their verdicts that protecting the right to expose scoundrels is very high on their priority list. Especially if the scoundrels are big an…
Big powerful businesses maybe, but apparently you can tell the truth and still have to pay damages to individuals: http://www.startribune.com/local/117805398.html
That trial court verdict is extremely anomalous (I say as a lawyer from the same state) and is being appealed.
http://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2011/03/14/26584/johnny_nor...
http://minnlawyer.com/jdr/2011/03/21/is-the-special-verdict-...
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2011/06/06/johnny-northsid...
http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=12002
http://www.citmedialaw.org/blog/2011/60000-ruling-against-tr...
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Spoken like someone whose business was never impacted by a search engine update, or whose email was never filtered by a major email provider. While some platforms are more free and open than others, our livelihoods are all somewhat dependent on third parties. Hope for the best and plan for the worse.
Totally agreed about search engine updates. I also agree that we all have some dependence on others as part of living in society, but that's at a different level-- I don't need to worry about Safeway returning "access denied" next time I try to buy a box of cereal. I disagree about email filtering. A friend sending another friend an email that says, "Check out this cool thing I saw" does not get filtered by anyone. E…
Have you ever tried to send bulk e-mail? Even if you're doing everything right with double-opt-in, watching your sender scores, managing your bounce-backs, etc, etc, etc, you will get banned by some major e-mail provider (say Yahoo or Comcast) and spend days to weeks (sometimes months) working to get it sorted out. So, no, I don't disagree with the e-mail thing at all.
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#47Not the first interesting tell-all by Numair: http://public.numair.com/2006_parker.html
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#48"I was sitting in Jimmy Iovine's office; Jimmy personally called the GC of Universal"
That's worth the price of admission alone. Sounds like fun!
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#49Sharecropper woes: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/12/WebsThePla... http://raganwald.posterous.com/the-freedom-to-eat-pizza http://weblog.raganwald.com/2004/11/sharecropping-in-orchard...
Great links, Reg!
That said, here is good opportunity to prosper on other peoples' platforms, but diversify.
Re: I was once a Facebook fool
#50Sharecropper woes: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/12/WebsThePla... http://raganwald.posterous.com/the-freedom-to-eat-pizza http://weblog.raganwald.com/2004/11/sharecropping-in-orchard...
Sharecropping is kind of a weird analogy to use here.
In farming, sharecropping is the low risk way to grow your business. It is the landlord that takes on much of the burden if the crop fails. But with small risk comes small reward.
In technology, "sharecropping" is the high risk venture. The landlord here assumes no risk at all if your application fails. The burden falls squarely on you. However, with the high risk, if you hit it big, the payoff potential is huge.
So while there are some parallels, from a business point of view, working with someone else's platform is nothing at all like sharecropping.