11–20 of 28 posts
Whatever other reasons there are to think Facebook sucks I don't think this is one.
What about the API? It wouldn't be at all hard to make a "Facebook-exporter" application using that. The question is: why would I bother doing that? Facebook is crap as an address book, it's the other bits that are useful... Whatever other reasons there are to think Facebook sucks I don't think this is one.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The real point is that it doesn't give you control over your data while profiting off of it. Others have said this in different ways before but it bears repeating.
Maybe, but the thing is...Facebook is pretty awesome. I know that probably sounds a little juvenile, but that's the attitude that most of its users have. They could care less about having control of their data. The vast majority have no clue that Facebook could give them control of their data, and even if it happened they wouldn't know what to do with it. "Hey neat, I downloaded my Facebook. I wonder if I'm supposed…
What about the API? It wouldn't be at all hard to make a "Facebook-exporter" application using that. The question is: why would I bother doing that? Facebook is crap as an address book, it's the other bits that are useful... Whatever other reasons there are to think Facebook sucks I don't think this is one.
It's against the TOS to export data using the API.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe, but the thing is...Facebook is pretty awesome. I know that probably sounds a little juvenile, but that's the attitude that most of its users have. They could care less about having control of their data. The vast majority have no clue that Facebook could give them control of their data, and even if it happened they wouldn't know what to do with it. "Hey neat, I downloaded my Facebook. I wonder if I'm supposed…
If it was possible to export that data there would be apps to help people to process it further. No need to stumble around in XML piles. Your "makes no business sense" argument is not even Web 1.0 ;-) It's the ages old argument that was brought forward wrt Office file formats, pre TCP/IP network protocols and an endless list of other lock-in strategies. Even Microsoft has shed that retro attitude to some degree exact…
Most college folks would celebrate if all the Winers of the world abandoned facebook.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The real point is that it doesn't give you control over your data while profiting off of it. Others have said this in different ways before but it bears repeating.
Maybe, but the thing is...Facebook is pretty awesome. I know that probably sounds a little juvenile, but that's the attitude that most of its users have. They could care less about having control of their data. The vast majority have no clue that Facebook could give them control of their data, and even if it happened they wouldn't know what to do with it. "Hey neat, I downloaded my Facebook. I wonder if I'm supposed…
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000052.html
As it is, MySpace users who want to switch to Facebook do it anyway, leaving behind a GhostSpace where they log into to check messages maybe once every 2-3 months. People are going to get sick of that crap, and will switch to a service that promises they'll never have to worry about it again.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
He's not arguing that facebook isn't an effective means of communication or a good web-app. His (valid) point is that users put all their information into facebook without being able to take it back out when they want. There's an imbalance there and it does suck.
Well the article is entitled 'Why Facebook Sucks'. I personally don't agree that the point is valid. What you have in Facebook is a list of contacts for other Facebook users. It wouldn't be that useful outside of Facebook.
PS: When I write about it, I do it crudely, saying they suck or don't. When Doc Searls writes about it he calls it Vendor Relationship Management. Doc writes so elegantly because he is a research fellow at Harvard University.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it was possible to export that data there would be apps to help people to process it further. No need to stumble around in XML piles. Your "makes no business sense" argument is not even Web 1.0 ;-) It's the ages old argument that was brought forward wrt Office file formats, pre TCP/IP network protocols and an endless list of other lock-in strategies. Even Microsoft has shed that retro attitude to some degree exact…
But people only care when 3rd-party tools exist that they can't use . Right now, the ivory tower is okay, because the rest of the landscape is flat and barren.