I agree it is a net negative, but it kind of needs to be clarified because if Facebook didn't exist, it would be someone else. Maybe MySpace would have evolved to fill the niche, or maybe another company, or maybe even an open solution.
I tend to think that it would be quite possible for a company to fill the Facebook niche in a much more positive way, while still making a profit. But they certainly won't be able to do it as long as Facebook is there.
Back in the early days of the web, I always wanted an easy way to have a personal "presence" online, to stay in touch with friends and have a sort of virtual "contact list". Friendster (in its original incantation) was probably the best realization of that. I'd say that sort of thing was more or less needed & inevitable, at least at the time. Facebook originally started as a "better" version Friendster (and its successor, MySpace).
Today, Facebook is nothing like those systems of the past. It's now a horribly gamified, ad-saturated UX anti-pattern nightmare. I'm pretty sure that was also more or less inevitable, but for different reasons.
>How do things like blogs and rss feeds not fill this gap?
Things like a standard WordPress/Geocities blog or RSS feed do not have an address book or shared group calendar.
Also, think about the "record locator" for a WordPress site or RSS: it's a _url_. In contrast, the "record locator" for Facebook friends is a [person's real name] or [phone number] or [email address].
It should be obvious that the ramifications of those differences are profound.
E.g. a new user signs up for Facebook, then uploads her contact listing, and then instantly sees suggested contacts including family members, coworkers, old high school & college buddies.
Yes, the sign up steps for Facebook is easier than WordPress but beyond that, the social dynamics of discovering other accounts and sharing are more optimized for the typical ~2 billion users.
Most users apparently aren’t tech-savvy enough to use an RSS reader that requires manually adding feeds. It has been noted how the demise of Google Reader played a major role in the demise of blogs overall, since so many of those following blogs could only use that one single portal.
Today, plenty of blogs still offer RSS feeds, but without Google Reader around to easily allow people to subscribe to them, they just aren’t being used as much. Also, because nowadays blog owners feel such pressure to monetize, RSS feeds tend to be hidden and discouraged because they could allow users to read content without viewing advertisements. I know one cranky and avaricious blog owner who will automatically ban you from his site if you point out that the site has an RSS feed.
I think so; not because it is so great but because it's more 'cheap tv' for people. Just stare at videos and how great your 'friends' are doing. Hype yourself up and feel your did something today as you wrote something or posted something and got more than your own like. My contacts are 90% people I know well and see regularly (a lot of them smart people) and yet my timeline feels fake and plastic; it is just easy watching and chewinggum for the eyes. All the cool pages and feeds catered to their audience, making headlines more sensational but providing nothing in terms of article behind it; who wants to actually read that stuff right? You can tell your mates that the apocalypse is coming this Saturday and noone will ask you what/why anyway and the headlines told you so.
It is some crazy ultimate circle jerk and echo chamber, made for incredibly easy consumption (the latter getting worse). For countries where deep thought about some subjects is forbidden, I guess it is worse.
I stopped using Facebook; only use messenger and occasionally upvote someone's birthday. But yes I believe it was and is inevitable because we are human and it is in us to consume mostly.
> only use messenger and occasionally upvote someone's birthday
If someone means little enough to you that this is how you wish them a happy birthday, maybe you shouldn't bother at all. If they mean something to you, pick up a phone and call them.
All you're accomplishing, is helping Facebook encourage that person to continue using it by giving them that little dopamine hit from your "upvote".
If people looked at Facebook "birthday wishes" for what they are, they'd be seen as a negative.
"This person put in as much effort wishing me happy birthday as random people on reddit do upvoting cat memes"
You have a good point and it was more to say I don't really use it anymore, so maybe bad example but;
> If they mean something to you, pick up a phone and call them
that is nonsense imho; calling is also nothing (I also don't see the difference between calling and chatting) (ah, I mean so much to you, you couldn't be bothered to get off your couch). If they mean something you meet them; people important to me I fly out to go to their birthdays, weddings, divorces and funerals.
But yes you have do have a good point in general which I agree with.
> > If they mean something to you, pick up a phone and call them
> that is nonsense imho; calling is also nothing (I also don't see the difference between calling and chatting) (ah, I mean so much to you, you couldn't be bothered to get off your couch). If they mean something you meet them; people important to me I fly out to go to their birthdays, weddings, divorces and funerals.
I agree with you, and probably chose the wrong example/wording to get my point across. My point was just that you'd put more effort in for people you care about.
Removing my birthday from facebook a few years back was a very enlightening experience. I went from ~100 people wishing me a happy birthday to probably 5.
Need is a strong term. But it doesn't have to be needed, it only has to be desired. And yes I think a way to make communication between acquaintances more efficient is desired.
Yup, for that reasons you still write letter with pen and paper, and print out photos when you want to show them to someone who doesn't live in the same city as you do.
There's clearly no value in sharing digital photographs, videos and links with other people with ability to get feedback from them.
I tend to think that it would be quite possible for a company to fill the Facebook niche in a much more positive way, while still making a profit. But they certainly won't be able to do it as long as Facebook is there.