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Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

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Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

#51

Nobody hates Facebook users more than Facebook, I guess. :-/ I've tried to type out several pithy comments, but the bottom line (to me) is that Facebook just doesn't respect its users or care about their needs. Can you imagine if brick-and-mortar businesses tried to do this? You go out for a Big Mac, but it's not on the menu anymore because Taco Bell had a few really good quarters, so McDonald's decided to pivot to t…

> the bottom line (to me) is that Facebook just doesn't respect its users or care about their needs. Wouldn't a consequence of this be that Facebook would be losing users in drovers? And yet the data seem to disagree. This is a type of take that feels very "inside baseball" and fueled more by the feelings of its proponents than any kind of empiricism.

Users who believe they can get something out of Facebook that speaks to their vanities or insecurities will ignore being disrespected or not cared about by the platform. Moreover, many of those users will accept the terms because their use of the platform is free. Some users might be consciously aware of the fact that the disrespect and lack of caring is mutual, and accept it that way.

"Facebook doesn't respect me or my needs, but I likewise don't respect Facebook or care about its needs. so it's kind of fair. It's free, and I think I'm getting more out of it than it's getting out of me. Plus almost everyone I know is on there, so ..."

Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook is a sinking ship. It's hard to turn that around. It seems like it would've been easier to go after TikTok with Instagram - which is basically the same product, growing, and still has some brand value.

Maybe other people's feeds are different (admittedly I don't do much on it), but almost all I see on instagram are screenshots of twitter, tumblr, reddit, and tiktok videos. Very little content original to the platform.

If you don't much on it that seems right. That seems like generic content. I used to get a lot of that, now mine is the stuff I follow. Mostly art and people I know in real life

Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

#53

Did Facebook ever really need to become such a behemoth? Could they not have been mildly profitable just hosting pictures and helping people stay connected? Would it have been impossible for them to simply keep operating without capitalism's Blob-like need for growth at all costs?

> Did Facebook ever really need to become such a behemoth?

How many non-behemoths survived and are still used by real people?

Even something like IRC is pretty much dead these days because it is too simple.

Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the bottom line (to me) is that Facebook just doesn't respect its users or care about their needs. Wouldn't a consequence of this be that Facebook would be losing users in drovers? And yet the data seem to disagree. This is a type of take that feels very "inside baseball" and fueled more by the feelings of its proponents than any kind of empiricism.

They just posted their first net user loss - so maybe not "in droves" but their username is certainly declining and will continue to do so without drastic change

Even if so, the point here needs more information: are they going to a different platform which respects them and cares about their needs? Or just some different-but-same thing?

Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

#55

Nobody hates Facebook users more than Facebook, I guess. :-/ I've tried to type out several pithy comments, but the bottom line (to me) is that Facebook just doesn't respect its users or care about their needs. Can you imagine if brick-and-mortar businesses tried to do this? You go out for a Big Mac, but it's not on the menu anymore because Taco Bell had a few really good quarters, so McDonald's decided to pivot to t…

Yep, rather than focusing on how they are are different in providing value (connecting people) they are chasing attention and ad revenue. It’s sad because that type of person to person social connection is being relegated back to instant messengers which still function more or less like the ones from the 2000s.

> It’s sad because that type of person to person social connection is being relegated back to instant messengers which still function more or less like the ones from the 2000s.

What about mixing forum-like experience with open messaging? That's what we're doing over at https://sqwok.im

Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

#58
post #28

All the platforms have their own TikTok style mechanism now. YouTube has Shorts, Facebook has its Reels feature which is tightly integrated with Instagram and you need an Instagram account to engage with Reels on Facebook, which is a bit of a growth hacker dark pattern. For now, Reels is not interspersed with ADs which is refreshing, but that could all change. The whole vertical video craze is a weird one, and one I’…

I want the slow web back

Here you go: https://jakeseliger.com/. Scroll through and note the most interesting or useful venues. Then, there are an array of RSS readers available; I've been using NetNewsWire but think that Feedly seems to be the most common.

The "slow web" never left.

Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

#59

Went to facebook for the first time in months to check this out. Clicked the little TV icon and waited for 20 seconds on a blank page before some worthless smut loaded. I don’t see this going well for facebook.

I sometimes try to use Facebook to find events and such. Finding an old invite to my friends event was quite impossible since it was drowned out by spam. It feels like it could have a lot of utility but the incentives are very misaligned.

Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era

#60

Did Facebook ever really need to become such a behemoth? Could they not have been mildly profitable just hosting pictures and helping people stay connected? Would it have been impossible for them to simply keep operating without capitalism's Blob-like need for growth at all costs?

I pray that someday an original-Facebook social media site returns. I'd really like to keep in touch with friends and family over large distances. I'm even willing to put up with ads in the sidebar, or at this point in my life donate to a site that provides such a valuable service. But I won't use or even condone a product that actively manipulates its users via dark patterns. Such a blatant disrespect for personal c…

The incentives need to align with the users for it to work on the long term.
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