Previously: "The end of Facebook" (2011), https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2660680
Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
261–270 of 687 posts
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#262I stopped using this years ago, except I still have an account and minorly check once a week or month depending on my mood. I'll give the same refrain I expect from most: how do I keep up with goings-on of long-lost friends, family members with whom I don't want to directly interact but want to know what they're "up to" and to know about major life events? Maybe the answer is that I should delete facebook and go back…
Remarkably, given the variety of social platforms and amount of money invested in them, this appears to be an unsolved problem. It was solved previously, but they've managed to unsolve it again!
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#263Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've enjoyed the analogy so adding onto it: Google would open up 5 competing, different burger places next to each other and then close them all down a year later, confused that none of them did well enough. All to open a new Taco stand on the other side of town and claim it's got the same great food you liked before (it doesn't).
Apple would sell exactly one kind of burger, which is great but costs $20. The wrapper is rose gold or space grey. Only Apple-certified condiments can be applied to the burgers, and a packet of ketchup is $5. Each year the faithful queue outside for the privilege of obtaining the latest burger.
and drinks would come in cans that require a special adapter but the adapters are so expensive you need to carry one around with you so you can drink when you’re thirsty.
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#264Nobody 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…
> Facebook just doesn't respect its users or care about their needs.
Facebook cares a great deal about its users--advertisers. You and I aren't Facebook's users; we are the ore Facebook has been mining at a cost approaching zero for over a decade and selling at a huge markup to its actual customers. But now the mine is playing out. We no longer cost Facebook zero to mine and the advertisers are beginning to realize the gold (us) is no longer 24-carat because nobody under 30 uses FB any more.
Like any mining entrepreneur when the mine begins to play out, FB is panicking. They're throwing whatever they can think of at the wall to see if anything sticks.
None of it will work. FB will keep publicly saying "everything is fine" until one day they will simply slink away in the middle of the night leaving several thousand mine workers unemployed and holding the bag.
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#265Earlier quoted context omitted.
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
Where are you getting this information? AFAIK, 2Q22 earnings (and metrics) are released tomorrow. The whispers I've heard are that any loss of M/DAU is contained to Europe and is caused by Russia going offline.
Ah yes, the familiar "everything is Putin's fault" refrain.
He's a bad guy and invading Ukraine is horrible, all the usual caveats. But Putin under every rock and behind every bush being responsible for every toothache and hangnail is getting old.
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#266Earlier quoted context omitted.
Facebook is dying, but not because of TikTok. Facebook is dying because they stopped being Facebook. If they gave what's left of their userbase what they actually wanted (chronological feed, seeing friends posts, not seeing spam, more ways to interact (bring back pets, gifts, superpokes etc)) they'd do ok. It doesn't help that their core code is a steaming pile of bloated dung that doesn't seem to be tested by anyone…
> Facebook is dying because they stopped being Facebook a) No evidence they are dying. All we have is a single quarter's result i.e. statistically meaningless. b) No evidence that staying true to the original Facebook is the best strategy. Unquestionably, Stories has been a popular feature in both Instagram and Facebook ecosystems and perhaps certain features from TikTok will be the same. But there is plenty of evide…
> No evidence they are dying. All we have is a single quarter's result i.e. statistically meaningless.
But their first down quarter (for users) does say something. No one would be talking about this if it hadn't happened.
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#267It’s crazy to think the social media era may finally be ending. There’s really no viable platform anymore where you can just go passively keep up with what friends and acquaintances are doing. Everything is about feeding you content you didn’t ask for but may be targeted enough to catch your attention. And for what? To show you some ads here and there? To collect data that can be used to… sell more ads and products?…
> There’s really no viable platform anymore where you can just go passively keep up with what friends and acquaintances are doing. The Facebook general experience is to slowly (or immediately) dislike your family. Instagram's general experience is to like posts from strangers and occasionally your friends. Tiktok's experience is to really disconnect from your social circle and get sucked into shockingly personalized…
> and Tiktok is growing so fast the government is worried that it's a national security threat.
Nah. The government calls it a national security threat because Facebook has been lobbying pretty hard for it. They did ban tiktok in india for this very reason. Though for the same so called national security threat. But interestingly, facebook allows ruling fascist party's pages to call for genocide quite openly on its platform, and has recently invested a ton of money into businessmen close to the ruling party.
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#268Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because frankly all of that stuff isn't really a big deal (and I knew I'd get a rise when I brought this up, couldn't help myself). I've seen a coup staged firsthand, directly experienced it happening in a country I lived in, watched the tanks rolling down the road to the government district which they proceeded to occupy, and everything that came before and after. In the US there are a lot of people with loony opini…
I'd recommend you take a long hard look around if you think fascism isn't possible in the US. The modern GOP is now predicated on a belief that the last election was stolen, and that they need to steal the next one to compensate. Fascism doesn't require a coup, and it's plausible that US fascism won't use one. Here, have a podcast about the subject: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-it-could-happen-here-307...
Of course fascism is coming to the US.
The US has always been fascist when it comes to international politics. First its reach was mostly limited to the Americas, but after World War 2 and the start of the Cold War, its fascist control spread across the globe.
It would be more of a surprise if the fascism they display internationally would never make it back to the US. After all, it is the same people making the decisions internationally and domestically, and the disappearance of the call logs from January 6th show that there are parts of the military open to negotiations.
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#269No sunset, just two different kind of products that coesists. Social networking still strong but shifted to direct messaging app like whatsapp or telegram. The difficult for meta is structure Instagram to keep this two kind of products together.
Re: Facebook's TikTok-like redesign marks sunset of social networking era
#270Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've enjoyed the analogy so adding onto it: Google would open up 5 competing, different burger places next to each other and then close them all down a year later, confused that none of them did well enough. All to open a new Taco stand on the other side of town and claim it's got the same great food you liked before (it doesn't).
Apple would sell exactly one kind of burger, which is great but costs $20. The wrapper is rose gold or space grey. Only Apple-certified condiments can be applied to the burgers, and a packet of ketchup is $5. Each year the faithful queue outside for the privilege of obtaining the latest burger.
I would pay $20+ for a fantastic burger, especially if all other burgers made people sick.