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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

#501

Post by rchaud »

deniscepko2 wrote: post #447
AOsborn wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a fair point. I think another perspective is that this is a case of businesses chasing (or being forced to chase) endless 'growth'. Facebook is likely optimising to increase engagement and revenue. But in my humble opinion the Facebook of the early 2000s was close to perfect in terms of use. Obviously leaving the product the same wasn't going to drive that revenue and make the careers of all the employees. I w…

I have exactly the same feeling. I wonder if there is something like "Facebook 2008" ? It seems like LinkedIn is slowly taking that spot

Probably Snapchat, as it was the last of the social networks to focus on person-to-person communications and group chats. 2008 Facebook was more about "stalking" someone's profile and looking at who was commenting on their "wall".

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

#502

Post by harry8 »

SrslyJosh wrote: post #6

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…

> Nobody hates Facebook users more than Facebook, I guess. :-/

Beg to differ there. Facebook should be broken up and senior execs facing charges. [1] Loads of people think so and has been motivating for many to delete their account. Don't overlook that group of people. (There are dozens of us, DOZENS!)

[1] In weaker moments this can be expressed with rather more venom.

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

#503

Post by jahnu »

petesergeant wrote: post #272
dreamcompiler wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 t…

> Facebook cares a great deal about its users--advertisers Anyone who's tried to use their advertiser tools is unlikely to agree with this. Hard to remember any software I've used with a worse user interface in recent memory.

Experimented with it recently to see if we could advertise to people with an interest in our audio plugins. Ended up with a bunch of likes from mostly single mothers in Mexico who didn't seem at all interested in spectral audio processing :'(

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

#504

Post by rmbyrro »

SrslyJosh wrote: post #6

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…

I'm failing to understand:

Why is any of this news!?

Facebook (and Instagram) has been using an algorithmic discovery engine for years, hasn't it?

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

#505

Post by rchaud »

tayo42 wrote: post #369
nrdvana wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to see posts from 50-100 friends/family each week. Now I see posts from about 5 of them. I barely use facebook because it crashes my iPad browser (I refuse to install the app) and because the feed is so packed full of autoplay videos I can't stand it. Facebook is "dying" for myself and my entire sphere of friends/family but of course that's just an anecdote.

Ive wondered about the drop in activity. Like is it less busy because people are using it less and it's boring or w/e or are the 20year olds who were posting party pictures everyday and having friend group drama just aren't doing much anymore and grinding through life without shareable stuff

> the 20year olds who were posting party pictures everyday and having friend group drama

You're describing Instagram. Facebook has been the "parents' generation water cooler" for several years now. They don't even post "original content" like party pics unless it's an obituary. It's all "shares" of news and political content.

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

#506

Post by nonrandomstring »

hgazx wrote: post #494
nonrandomstring wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm really curious to know what you think that "cat" is ? Are you thinking that digital technology is irrevocably corrupted and hereafter can only be employed toward abusive and manipulative ends? Or are you supposing that because we have allowed some companies to damage society through abuses of technology, that the situation can never be remedied. No laws can ever be brought to bear? Or are you alluding to somethin…

It’s not that profound. Humans have become addicted to sharing every moment of their lives through social media, and then watching what other people have shared. Most people no longer have time to themselves since they feel like if they don’t share what they are doing they aren’t doing anything. And if they aren’t doing anything they have to keep up with others (FOMO). Meta will only disappear when someone else creat…

> People have become addicted to sharing every moment of their lives through social media

So, pretty much "option 3". A social shift.

> Meta will only disappear when someone else creates an even more engaging and therefore malignant platform.

I agree that there has been a profound change in "western" culture, and about a third of all the world are in this space (a staggering three billion people!). But I disagree that is an irreversible state of affairs and therefore a downward spiral towards worse and worse technology.

Let's not suppose the worst of people. Can they not change. Do all sick people and addicts remain sick and addicted forever? Or do they recover?

I wrote a chapter in Digital Vegan that presses a striking metaphor.

The chapter is "Hatland" [1]

It's based on a funny discussion I have with students in lectures about a photo from the 1940s. Every single person in a crowd of hundreds of people is wearing a hat! Trilbys, bowlers, caps... men the women too. In the 40's you just didn't go out without a hat in polite society. (It's also parodied in Python's "The Meaning of Life")

What people didn't realise is how parochial and fleeting that moment was. At the time people would have said "The hat is out of the bag!" A photo from 20 years later has nobody waring hats, but everyone with long hair and tie-dyes.

By your reasoning we would all be wearing 10ft high top-hats by now, because "someone else will create an even more engaging and therefore malignant head wear" :)

It's only when you look at culture as a historian/anthropologist that you break out of parochialism see the bigger truths.

[1] https://digitalvegan.net

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

#507

Post by intrasight »

I am very surprised that there are nearly 500 comments on this item and none mentioned VR. VR is the uncharted territory of social media. Facebook has a head-start but TikTok is also investing billions and will catch up. Just as desktops are legacy, soon smartphones will be too.

I also saw no comments about this "Facebook will continue to provide old-school friends-and-family networking via a subsidiary tab. Those posts will be chronologically ordered, as some users have long wished for."

One final point is political ads being big business at FB. So it'll be interesting how are their numbers in the 4th quarter.

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

#508

Post by froidpink »

nonrandomstring wrote: post #477
dreamcompiler wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 t…

> one day they will simply slink away in the middle of the night leaving several thousand mine workers unemployed and holding the bag. When that day comes, the moment Facebook and Meta are declared dead I will go out, order the most expensive bottle of champagne, and celebrate all night. Future generations of an advanced technological society will look back in horror and disbelief that a small cadre of privateers wer…

Social Media is not going away anytime soon. It'll just take a different form. Just look at TikTok

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

#509

Post by rtpg »

zdkl wrote: post #336
atq2119 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Facebook cares a great deal about its users--advertisers. You're confusing users with customers. The customers are advertisers. The users overwhelmingly aren't.

Well, the only active users I see anymore are engaged in advertising even if not necessarily for profit. (Self) Promotion always was one of the draws of fb.

Speak for yourself, i know loads of people who use it to keep in touch with family and friends and posting updates every once in a while.

There’s a lot of stuff wrong with FB but it’s fundamentally a useful thing where there’s no great alternative (being vaguely aware of what not-so-close acquaintances are doing)

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

#510

Post by anhner »

intrasight wrote: post #507

I am very surprised that there are nearly 500 comments on this item and none mentioned VR. VR is the uncharted territory of social media. Facebook has a head-start but TikTok is also investing billions and will catch up. Just as desktops are legacy, soon smartphones will be too. I also saw no comments about this "Facebook will continue to provide old-school friends-and-family networking via a subsidiary tab. Those po…

> Just as desktops are legacy, soon smartphones will be too.

This is the same as saying "in 10 years we'll have flying cars". No, we won't.

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