I predict disaster for Facebook

[Brighteye]

If you need Facebook to stay in contact with faraway people then you aren't good at keeping in contact.

You don't need facebook to keep in touch with people, but it's incredibly convenient, especially if you have a very wide group of friends that you don't see very often.

If, for example, you know people all across the globe, then you could store e-mail addresses, or real ones, and send the same message to everyone in a weekly update, or something similar.
Using Facebook to see what those friends are doing, and let them know too, is wonderful. A photo here, or a re-affirmation of a person's interests in the form of an interesting link or update keeps people in touch.
Next time I go abroad I will almost certainly see a few friends with whom I would otherwise have lost touch: similarly, a number of friends have visited me here but would not have cared to contact me directly without the background 'knowing' that this indirect communication on Facebook gives.

A lot of things you know about your friends you get from gossip and other mutual friends. Facebook makes up those occasions when you don't have such sources because people are far away. It nicely imitates the way social relationships really work.

 

[Hygro]

or like, if you lose your phone and need everyone's number again, it's a lot easier getting them back through facebook.

 

[Civrules]

People either like social networking (for work contacts or chatting) or not.

The only reason I would use these features is for the work factor.

My friends are all existant in RL, so I don't require FB for that.

...

That's the most common thing I see. Haven't had FaceBook for two years, and only recently made a highly private one (I have no friends on it yet) for close friends so we can use it as a more exclusive way to communicate.

Another reason is that employers these days are up in everyone's personal space. I think there was a proposition in Germany to make it illegal for employers to check candidates' FaceBook pages. That rings with some common-sense.

I laughed out loud when I read someone here say that everyone's being their own paparazzi these days though. So true.

 

[Mise]

Hasn't Twitter been unable to turn a profit ever since it was started?

Neither has the entire airline industry.

And it's hardly uncommon for startups to not turn an operating profit during their expansion phase. It's true that twitter haven't figured out how to make money from it, but that's because they seem reluctant to charge corporate users or deliver more conventional adverts. Not sure why.


Anyway, Facebook will be around for a loooong time, because it has a HUGE user base all across the world (much bigger than MySpace or any other western social network ever has, and is #1 in more countries than any other social network).

The barriers to entry for a social network are pretty big now. To reach critical mass now requires a much larger user base than reaching critical 3 to 5 years ago when social networks first got going. And technically, to deliver the type of instant service that Facebook operates now requires a massive investment in the types of content delivery systems that only large companies can get access to economically. Small sites can use third party delivery and backbone systems, but they tend to be costly and slower than large company's networks.

My prediction for Facebook will be that it will fork, despite Zuckerberg's insistence that it won't fork. There'll be a Facebook for families, a Facebook for friends, a Facebook for colleagues, a Facebook for dating, etc etc -- and in a much more delineated way than the current system of "contact lists" that apparently nobody uses anyway and has such limited functionality that it makes effective contact management easier by simply having 3 or 4 separate accounts. They'll all share the same platform, and initially the same look-and-feel, but they'll offer different services, different focusses, etc.

 

[CurtSibling]

That's the most common thing I see. Haven't had FaceBook for two years, and only recently made a highly private one (I have no friends on it yet) for close friends so we can use it as a more exclusive way to communicate.

Another reason is that employers these days are up in everyone's personal space. I think there was a proposition in Germany to make it illegal for employers to check candidates' FaceBook pages. That rings with some common-sense.

I laughed out loud when I read someone here say that everyone's being their own paparazzi these days though. So true.

I agree with that last line!

I find FB is best when working with people you already know, and wish to make
fast communication with, at a more cloistered level. I know many freelance art
people and comics pros who use it to talk to editors and co-workers.

That's the main use it serves for my type of work.

 

[Camikaze]

Another reason is that employers these days are up in everyone's personal space. I think there was a proposition in Germany to make it illegal for employers to check candidates' FaceBook pages. That rings with some common-sense.

If people don't bother to adjust their privacy settings, then maybe they get what they deserve. Companies should not be prohibited from screening job candidates by accessing freely available information.

 

[Theige]

If people don't bother to adjust their privacy settings, then maybe they get what they deserve. Companies should not be prohibited from screening job candidates by accessing freely available information.

The problem is when companies create fake facebook accounts and attempt to friend the prospective job candidate to learn more about them.

During my job hunt I've gotten dozens of friend requests from random incredibly attractive females, almost all brand new accounts. I report these accounts as fake

 

[Camikaze]

Well, underhanded tricks are a different kettle of fish, I guess. Although still, in that case I'd say it serves someone right if they accept every friend request they get. The whole point of setting privacy settings to 'friends only' is that only people you know can see your info. If you are at all interested in the privacy of your page, then the least you could do is set it so that only those friends that you actually know can see your info.

There is the possibility of trouble in photos being uploaded of you by someone else, which you don't want there. You can untag the photo, which removes it from your photos, and if someone was looking for stuff about you, they'd only stumble on it by chance. But it is still there.

 

[Mise]

You can create lists for people as well, so that a newly added user can only see certain things, not everything. Only after you add him to your custom list can he see more things.

Of course, as I said earlier, this functionality is pretty well hidden and rather difficult to use. It's obviously not Facebook's intention (i.e. business model) to limit new friends to only seeing a small subset of your information.

 

[Cashie]

Facebook is annoying, though. With all those little buttons all over the internet saying "Like on facebook" or whatnot.

And here I was thinking that nobody likes you when you're desperate.

It's as if the whole world has reverted to primary school: "c'mon I'll be your friend!"

 

[dannyshenanigan]

Facebook like many other things is great in moderation. I found it was great for checking up on long lost friends and family. It's important to use common sense when costumizing your privacy settings, being careful when accepting friend requests, and using common sense for what you put on there.

I totally understand why some people think the site is rubbish.
So many people abuse it by putting up too many inane personal things. It's quite perplexing what private things some will post for everybody to see. I'm getting a bit annoyed with a couple friends that feel compelled to be a "fan" of just about every page in existence. I have a friend who likes over 600 pages; nobody cares that your'e a "fan" of movies or hummus. It also seems that every other person has their own "professional" photography page these days.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

In the weekend flyer today they mentioned they're making (or made? I couldnt tell cos I only glanced at it while putting them into bags) a movie about Facebook. oh dear god. Is this all they can think up?

 

[Darth Caesar]

Does anyone think that CFC will ever die?

 

[Disgustipated]

on semi-related note, is there any way to browse facebook without others knowing you are on it? Like in stealth mode?

I don't like to be bothered by people wanting to chat, when all I want to do is write a message to a girl. I'm not good a multi-tasking.

 

[Darth Caesar]

Go down to the chat tab at the bottom right of your screen, click on it, click on options, then click off-line mode.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Does anyone think that CFC will ever die?

Eventually.

 

[Darth Caesar]

I don't think so! This site will last forever!

 

[dannyshenanigan]

In the weekend flyer today they mentioned they're making (or made? I couldnt tell cos I only glanced at it while putting them into bags) a movie about Facebook. oh dear god. Is this all they can think up?

The Social Network came out months ago. In fact it will probably get nominated for an Oscar for best picture in a couple weeks. I thought it was entertaining but hardly a great movie. From what I understand it took great liberties with the truth.

 

[Dachs]

Hopefully it loses.

To Inception. Or possibly Despicable Me.

 

[Darth Caesar]

Ha! If any animated movie would win it would obviously be Toy Story 3, that was awesome!