Facebook: We are Going Backwards
August 26th, 2007
I heard good things about Facebook and its open API, supposedly a major step in the evolution of social networking and the internet, but to me it feels like we’re going backwards. As I decline my 4th invitation to install the latest “Brain-guzzling Shoggoths” app added by an enthusiastic new Facebook user, I’m reminded of the old days - periodically changing my email addresses in order to escape from the mailing list of some vague acquaintances and their chain letters/campaigns to put an end to the horrors of Bonsai Kitten. Some time in 2005, the internet heaved a collective sigh of relief when people finally got the message and stopped forwarding on those “>>> 30 reasons why Jesus was Irish” mass-emails, and yet here I am bombarding my contacts with an invitation to Warbook - a scaled-down clone of those old webgames that I stopped playing eight years ago. 1997 has come back to haunt us. All we’re missing is Longwave Radio Atlantic 252 grinding out Mmmbop on loop. Shudder…
“It’s all about communication and interaction - you can keep in touch like never before”, they say. In 1997, we used to idle on IRC channels, occasionally slapping someone with a trout. These days, nobody even takes the courtesy to use a trout anymore. The only reason IRC is dying out is because you can’t advertise on it. I could be immersed in World of Warcraft, or some expansive telnet-based MUD from the 90’s, but instead I’m playing Duck Hunt in the browser window beside my profile. We have so many options for organised discussions, from powerful forum software to IRC and the likes of Tangler, but here we are restricting ourselves to 400 pixels of HTML tucked nicely above a big flashing ad banner.
It makes me wonder, will the novelty wear off, or is this the future? Back in the “beforetime”, people would speculate about the newest superchair with built in microwave-slash-toilet that allowed a user to control his entire life from the comfort of the living room. Now, as long as he keeps his profile up to date, he doesn’t even need to be himself anymore. The internet is a big place with some great applications, and we are too content to sit on the sofa.
Perhaps I’m missing out on something big, but for me, Facebook has only one major attraction - the ability to find and get back in touch with your former next-door neighbour’s pet goldfish. But, aside from a few gimmicky applications, is this any different from BeBo and all the rest?
The web was a more interesting place in 1997, when we all tried our best to make those Geocities templates work. We collected brightly flashing animated gifs to decorate the page - yes, it was ugly, but at least we were putting some thought into it! Facebook says you no longer need to make that effort. You paint yourself blue and white and line up along the wall with your copy of Scrabulous like everyone else. All together now:
“This is my profile. There are many like it but this one is mine. My profile is my best friend. It is my life.”
The social networks help people find each other, but it is the internet that brings them together. In the future, as open standards are further developed and syndication improves, I hope that there can be some engine that will reunite you with all your buddies, without requiring you to sell your soul to an advertising machine. We should be branching out to use the best software that is available to us for each task, rather than settling for primitive technology simply because it’s where our friends are.
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August 26th, 2007 at 13:35 pm
I liked that post so much I put a link up on my Facebook profile
August 26th, 2007 at 15:05 pm
Facebook is shite, I can’t understand why people visit it, never mind twaddle on about it ad nauseum on their blogs. It’s boring and restrictive, and the operators has no idea about data protection issues and even less respect for users. Try deleting your account, for example.
The only social network I use is LinkedIn, and then only to aggregate contacts on, yes, LinkedIn. I don’t actually /use/ it at all, I just visit it when someone adds me or accepts an invitation I sent when they appeared in my network.
An unpopular opinion I know, but “modern” social networking is for gimps. It’s absolutely the way of the future and I look forward to the day when I can network for business and pleasure, but that’s a good while away. The networks need to trim the fucktard dross before I’ll use them properly.
aam
August 29th, 2007 at 5:07 am
Betamax vs. VHS all over again isnt it? This sort of thing happens about twice every week or something, in different forms. What i’ve noticed though is, the better marketed side (’VHS’ in my analogy) almost always wins, as long as its “good enough” for most people’s purposes.
A few weeks ago, I was fixing a PC for someone… as soon as the PC was fixed, I watched as his son (about 8 yrs old) immediately loaded up MSN and started chatting to his friends from school. Compare that to IRC - I doubt any of them would even know what IRC was, so why would they use it over MSN?
The same goes for Bebo, people who dont even have a computer often have bebo pages linked to all their school mates etc. It’s obviously doing something right, even though it might not be obvious what that something is.
Basically it seems like any time you have a situation where one group is offering some feature (eg. smiley icons) and another group is not offering that feature, the group offering that feature will appeal to slightly more people, which will lead to a snowball effect in time and eventually, everyone bar a tiny minority will be a part of the group offering the feature. The same thing seems to be happening with widescreen TVs and now widescreen computer displays - despite the fact that widescreen displays have a lower viewable area vs required floor space to ordinary “4:3″ screens. Oh, and boycotting things does not work - we need laws to prevent against this kind of stupidity.
I see no other workable option for this planet other than to hand over power to me and just leave all important decision making to me. After making sure that I’ve the most comfortable life ever, I promise to make excellent decisions and make all of your lives better.
October 10th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I disagree - facebook is the most engaging waste of time i’ve encountered on the net for some time. i’ve got three dates out of it, got in touch with countless friends I thought I’d lost touch with forever plus it makes managing my social life much easier.
its a well designed site which makes the other social networking sites look amatuer in comparision.
if you don’t like the packaged nature of the apps, or want to be more individual then write your own. the api is freely available. do what you’d do in the old geocitites days. you get out of it what you put in, no more, no less. if you don’t like the silly apps, don’t use them!
marc