DISQUS

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

Post by Adam Singer: http://www.friendfeed.com/adamsinger

Vijayendra Mohanty · 11 months ago

More like a simplification. Putting its many features within the user's reach.

Thomas Power · 11 months ago

hear hear

slayerboy · 11 months ago

I HATED the new design they implemented, and still do. I liked the old design MUCH better. Much easier to navigate.

Brandon J. Mendelson · 11 months ago

"I have used Facebook since I was in college and it was a student-only network, and have watched it slowly degrade into a place equally as spam-filled as MySpace. Just because the layout is cleaner doesn't mean it isn't spam."

Thank you! I was on Facebook in '04, back when there were student movements to get Facebook. The second the doors opened up the service lost most of its value to me. That's not to say they can't win me back, the people there are very smart and very capable, but the walled off nature needs to change as you suggest.

mathewballard · 11 months ago

For me Facebook serves its purpose. I'm able to stay connected with Friends and people that I know don't use the other networks that I'm on. Sure it is limited in it's openness, but I don't think of Facebook as something where I'm going to connect with people I don't know. I use it to stay connected with people that I already know on a more personal level. Sites, like Friendfeed and Twitter don't allow me to do that.

sarah · 11 months ago

At least you don't get served diet, weight loss, Oprah's diet, Rachael Ray's diet, and colon cleanse treatment ads all day.

Being female apparently means diet ads are right on target.

Cesare · 11 months ago

Right. I am in a serious (= work) relationship with many people, both on facebook and other networks. But when I need to talk to them about serious stuff I contact them via linkedin, news groups, email, but not facebook (though I have them in my fb contacts).
At the beginning I hoped the was some serendipity in facebook. But new job opportunities
(or relationships with like-minded people) came and developed through other networks.

Martha · 11 months ago

Spot-on critique. Where marketing and discourse are key, FB is far behind the available options. I find it best suited to finding and reconnecting with old acquaintences (not friends, since I have stayed connected with that group outside of FB). I still see a point to maintaining a presence there, from the view that all options should be exercised. But it is not my first-choice locale.

mrshl · 11 months ago

I think you're griping more about how people use Facebook than Facebook itself. Its large user group are mostly of the non-Web dork variety, who use it to casually interact with their friends. They're not there to build a business. Or to become successful Web marketeers. They're there to have fun.

So what's the problem with that? As you point out, there are plenty of other (demonstrably smaller) Web businesses that fit your requirements. Not sure why you're suggesting Facebook should meet needs you're already meeting elsewhere instead of satisfying its 150 million other users who have very different expectations of the site.

You criticize Facebook for being a "walled garden," but you encourage people to use Facebook to "draw people to a place you control." Wow. How do you do that inside of a walled garden? I guess you'd have build an app or import your blog or something. Wait? Facebook lets you do that? I don't suppose LinkedIn allows you to import your blog, do they? Oh wait, they don't.

Indeed, I can't think of a single place you mentioned that offers the combination of features and large user base that Facebook has. They seem to be doing pretty well. Or maybe that's the problem. All those great features. All that great code, and Facebook's millions of users are just letting it go to waste. If only they new how to leverage it the way that Friendfeed's thousands of users do.

I agree that invite fatigue and poorly targeted advertising are issues for Facebook. But that's true for all the other social networks as well. It's the nature of the beast, and it's in Facebook's interest to refine these features until they work for its users. But its users have diverse expectations. That will rarely match those of a social media pro.

marshal sandler · 11 months ago

I find comments on Facebooks on this post Interesting ! It seems a lot of money has been pumped into FaceBook but they have no one who seems to grasp the principles of semantics general semantics and mathematics ! Facebook is a ship without a rudder ! The site is like a comic book on drugs it has no design quality and no index to what might interest people ! I can't understand why they can't buy content from people who have created content platforms and publish it! I have Facebook page just for kicks . I hate to see anyone fail but when you create an Edsel you might drive it to Custer ! I am 72 years old and have been involved sales promotion and belly to belly selling Facebook sadly does not adhere to any known and principals of marketing ! They need to add the semantic professional's of the net like Mr Gray, Steve Rubel,Seth Godin,Dave Winer,Shel Israel, and Fred Wilson to their board of directors cause right now they seem to have A Bored Of Directors ! Oh yes and hire Swiss Miss to Design their site ! I approve of this Post from Mr Gray as a man of " Good Taste !"

Charlie Anzman · 11 months ago

Everyone seems to miss the point (except Google and Twitter). Keep it simple and clean.

Robert Scoble · 11 months ago

slayerboy: the thing is, the numbers prove the new design is better for users. It gets more engagement, more time spent, more features used.

Michael Fidler · 11 months ago

But they just had one. I liked Facebook for the first time today! It has been growing on me a little lately! They did a nice job today!

Rob Sellen · 11 months ago

its better now than it was... but too many bugs and crap from APPS... they need to crack down on it.

Nation Hahn · 11 months ago

Facebook has been growing on me of late. I don't like the old design either.

Nicholas Martini · 11 months ago

Agree Facebook needs to improve

AdamSinger · 11 months ago

Thanks for the comments on this guys. Everyone has a different opinion/view of these networks for sure. Neat to hear everyone's perspective, of course we all view these things through a slightly different lens and that is alright. Glad to be getting discussion going. Maybe Facebook is listening and will take the external thoughts into consideration for future updates. That was my hope with posting this here.

Craig · 11 months ago

Where would you like to see FB go? I think people like the walled in garden aspect to Facebook, mainly because the majority of users in FB aren't Web 2.0 savvy. This is probably their only social identity on the web and they don't need the integrations like you discuss. I understand your concerns and agree there are areas of growth. I myself don't spend a lot of time on Facebook, basically check it once a day for a few minutes to see updates. Use it more for an outpost for my business and the group discussions never really get going like the do on LinkedIn. There is room for improvement, not sure if the average user see its the way you do.

Adam · 11 months ago

Should we bother to mention that facebook masks itself as a social utility for the sole purpose of collecting and selling demographic information to advertisers? What about the group squatters of numerous class of XX groups that dont even go to the schools?

http://squaredpeg.com/index.php/2008/12/18/face...

Guillaume · 11 months ago

Good post, thanks for showing the limits of Facebook.

iankennedy · 11 months ago

Has anyone posted this into Facebook to get reactions there? Pity you can't pull them out and share them here as well.

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

Ian, your idea on posting to Facebook is a good one. I'll do it and report back.

GrowMap · 11 months ago

While Social Networking services are not designed with people like us in mind so I don't expect them to be optimized for how we choose to use them, I am continually amazed that they haven't made effective ad targeting their highest priority. Few complain when ads appear for what they are interested in.

If you've taken the time to tell them directly that you're not interested in dating sites their system should be set up to block those ads instantly - at least until you start searching for dating sites.

What is difficult to reconcile is why these sites that are obviously collecting demographic data are so deficient at using it to correctly target ads. Perhaps they have other reasons for wanting that data besides marketing.

Eric Berlin · 11 months ago

Great post, Adam. There's a lot in here that explains why I don't spend very much time on Facebook. And I love the AOL/Prodigy analogy !

Mark Ivey · 11 months ago

Louis--great points. FB has some eerie similarities to AOL in the 90s, when it was exploding and growing its "walled garden" by leaps and bounds. Back then AOL had its own proprietary content and even version of its own html code (I even had to spend two days in DC learning it to have a site). Much of FB is geared toward non-techies who just want to connect with friends, family, old buddies. What happens when users do get tired of all this? Meanwhile FB is struggling for a business and advertising model, which as you say (the ads) is a joke. I've never clicked on an ad or "people you may know" link. I expect the FB bubble to pop in 09, but maybe they can pull another rabbit of the hat.

Forest · 11 months ago

Louis, thoughtful post. To highlight the problem of spam and irrelevance even further, your email and blog featured ads for "Meet Hot Girls" and "Meaningful Relationships". Nice for others if you're a target but not why most of us follow you. When we try to monetize content, we are still limited by poor technology, people gaming the system or simple greed. The successful firms and website services of the future will solve these problems and offer value eventually, but I wish we could just get the content we want without all the junk!

anshu · 11 months ago

I wrote about the same issue in 2007 - the internet is the platform for identity & communications - not a single company.