Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#1

Post by henning » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 9:54 PM UTC

All the social networks look like boring walled gardens/roach motels to me. Great if you can get in on the ground floor for the next big one, lousy for all the users.

I'm not willing to buy into an application platform that isn't open and vendor-neutral. For networking, I think there are better ways, like plain old face to face talking: the "hallway track" in conferences is often better than any of the talks.

I don't get it. And Zuckerberg stole the idea anyway.

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#2

Post by AF » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:14 PM UTC

I hold the same disdain for walled networks you do, but ultimately I use Facebook and others do as well simply because it is convenient and easy to use.

I also wouldn't base my main application on it, but as a developer I don't mind it for smaller apps.

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#3

Post by jdavid » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:15 PM UTC

I think facebook is like the corporate office space, its white, contains a cube farm, and is well devoid of personality. I more that do not care about FB, i just do not like it.

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#4

Post by nickb » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:24 PM UTC

Nope. I don't give a damn either. Having hundreds of "friends" is pointless (how many of them actually know you well? less than 10?) and it's a lot easier to maintain relationship with those you care about through personal correspondence through email or over the phone or in person.

Facebook is just a giant game designed for you to waste a lot of your time on it. I'd rater work on something productive... but hey, do whatever rocks your boat.

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#5

Post by kingnothing » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:33 PM UTC

AF wrote: post #2

I hold the same disdain for walled networks you do, but ultimately I use Facebook and others do as well simply because it is convenient and easy to use. I also wouldn't base my main application on it, but as a developer I don't mind it for smaller apps.

Convenient for what?

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#6

Post by raindoll » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:33 PM UTC

never used, never will and I am a college student and 99% of my friends have profiles

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#7

Post by german » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:44 PM UTC

Social networks should evolve into a more specific community. For example, a business network where you can collaborate with co-workers around the world to improve your marketing strategy among other things. It just don't make sense to me looking at people I don't care about.

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#8

Post by rokhayakebe » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:45 PM UTC

The bottom line is that social networks are mostly a waste of time. Geek and Social do not really go together. You usually have a small and close group of friends and you sure do not need FB or MSp to connect with them. I have a FB profile and that is because I have a Facebook application and my only friends are a few users and my co-foundrs. But remember that just because you are not using Facebook does not mean you should not look for opportunities in the environment. If you can build an app that will generate a nice return within a few months, then do it.

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#9

Post by webwright » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:46 PM UTC

..."And Zuckerberg stole the idea anyway."

Google stole the idea for Adwords, too.

Besides, how can you steal the idea "a community for college kids"? We had one of these when I was in college (the earliest days of the internet)... It sucked, but a lot of us used it.

On the caring about FB front, however-- I agree. Great article here calling Facebook "AOL 2.0":

http://www.kottke.org/07/07/facebook-vs-aol-redux

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

#10

Post by paulgb » Sun, Aug 12, 2007, 10:53 PM UTC

kingnothing wrote: post #5

AF wrote: post #2

I hold the same disdain for walled networks you do, but ultimately I use Facebook and others do as well simply because it is convenient and easy to use. I also wouldn't base my main application on it, but as a developer I don't mind it for smaller apps.

Convenient for what?

Convenient for organizing events, sharing photos, communicating with groups... Sure, tools for all this stuff existed before (upcoming.org, flickr...), but the fact that it is all wrapped in the same interface means more people will (and do) use it.