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The Facebook experiment has failed

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Re: The Facebook experiment has failed

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) I really don't say this to attack you personally, but frankly using the word "privileged" like that is whiny typical out if touch grad-student speak, it's divorced from reality. People are not that helpless 2) Anyone who actually finds themselves under a gang injunction or might be hurt by bigoted family members ought to be smart and not post & overshare. 3) Self-censorship & under sharing is a wonderful strategy…

I don't mean this personally either, but I think anyone who believes using the word "privileged" is "out-of-touch" probably needs to get more in touch with levels of society outside their own.

For sure- I hear that

it's difficult to write what I wrote without sounding like a snobby d-bag- I just hate that phrase, the language & syntax of it (usually because it is abused so often by well-intentioned grad students)

To be clear, I don't dispute the idea for one second that there are some ppl in US that no matter what they do or how hard they try it will be exceedingly difficult for them to get ahead. I also have no disagreement that aloof & sheltered (but perhaps well-meaning) say that all marginalized/overlooked people need to do is pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

I'm not sure even where you & I agree "disagree" that much, but I figure that since there are a ton of options online that are super-easy for even zero-tech savvy people to find & use to express themselves & conceal their identity this isn't that big of a crisis

Re: The Facebook experiment has failed

#62

Lately I've noticed something odd. When I find a story I find interesting, I email it to some of my closest friends and we talk about it in email. It feels very 2003, but it works and feels more private and intimate. Similarly, when I take a picture I want to share with my family, I sms it to them. Facebook is still great, but it's different than what it used to be. It's (for me) evolved into my less-close friends' v…

I tend to have a hard time discerning whether commenting on a shared item will make my comment appear on the original thread or the "sharer"'s thread, and I usually end up not commenting even when I have something I could say.

Re: The Facebook experiment has failed

#64
An ideal Facebook would have been a directory of people and their connections. People can message each other, post text updates and pictures.

This is pretty close to how I use facebook.

The problem is Sharing. It is the most fundamental feature of Facebook, and it’s completely broken

For me, the directory itself is most fundamental. If all of my friends switched to another social network, I would immediately switch.

I'm not sure what's failed? Maybe if he fleshed out a viable alternative?

It's important not to trivialize what they've accomplished just because its core feature now seems mundane.

Re: The Facebook experiment has failed

#65
post #35

People really just don't seem to understand that experiences with social media are specific to the individual. I guess it's understandable. I see the same Google Maps as everyone else does. I see the same Hacker News as everyone else who visits HN. But Facebook isn't like that. Your Facebook timeline is based entirely on your friends and how you interact with Facebook. And so, every few weeks it seems, we get these p…

[deleted]

Re: The Facebook experiment has failed

#66
post #14
post #9

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. medium.com again. medium.com does not scroll in Chrome on the Nexus 7 This means I can't actually read anything on there. I can't even figure out who to email, because the About page also doesn't scroll. Living in the future sucks :(

Why don't you install the beta version? I was able to read it in my nexus seven

If you have to update your browser to read a site, on a site that's main function is to provide someones thoughts in text form, then I'd consider the website at fault.

Re: The Facebook experiment has failed

#68

An ideal Facebook would have been a directory of people and their connections. People can message each other, post text updates and pictures. This is pretty close to how I use facebook. The problem is Sharing. It is the most fundamental feature of Facebook, and it’s completely broken For me, the directory itself is most fundamental. If all of my friends switched to another social network, I would immediately switch.…

> It's important not to trivialize what they've accomplished just because its core feature now seems mundane.

The core feature is trivial; it has been implemented by hundreds of sites. Facebook's strength was its organic growth, which is slowing down the MySpaceification tremendously.

Re: The Facebook experiment has failed

#69
post #35

People really just don't seem to understand that experiences with social media are specific to the individual. I guess it's understandable. I see the same Google Maps as everyone else does. I see the same Hacker News as everyone else who visits HN. But Facebook isn't like that. Your Facebook timeline is based entirely on your friends and how you interact with Facebook. And so, every few weeks it seems, we get these p…

I feel that you are missing his point.

There is a trend towards emotional populist content on social networks. It's interesting to you because it's your friends and it feels personal.

However in a broader context its creating a society that is inward looking (walled garden of your friends) and concerned with re-enforcing social norms (the like button).

How does this activity improve us as a society? Where is the creativity and freedom?

Re: The Facebook experiment has failed

#70
post #35

People really just don't seem to understand that experiences with social media are specific to the individual. I guess it's understandable. I see the same Google Maps as everyone else does. I see the same Hacker News as everyone else who visits HN. But Facebook isn't like that. Your Facebook timeline is based entirely on your friends and how you interact with Facebook. And so, every few weeks it seems, we get these p…

> And so, every few weeks it seems, we get these posts from some techie who believes that his (it's always a man) experiences with social media are universal.

On the other hand, technical people are like rats. They're the first to pile on to fresh meat (there was even a prominent website by this name...), and they're the first to flee when the place is burning down.

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