Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41716

by henning • 19 years ago

36 42 19 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

All the social networks look like boring walled gardens/roach motels to me. Great if you can get in on the ground floor for the next big one, lousy for all the users.

I'm not willing to buy into an application platform that isn't open and vendor-neutral. For networking, I think there are better ways, like plain old face to face talking: the "hallway track" in conferences is often better than any of the talks.

I don't get it. And Zuckerberg stole the idea anyway.

AF• 19 years ago

I hold the same disdain for walled networks you do, but ultimately I use Facebook and others do as well simply because it is convenient and easy to use.

I also wouldn't base my main application on it, but as a developer I don't mind it for smaller apps.

kingnothing• 19 years ago

Convenient for what?

paulgb• 19 years ago

Convenient for organizing events, sharing photos, communicating with groups... Sure, tools for all this stuff existed before (upcoming.org, flickr...), but the fact that it is all wrapped in the same interface means more people will (and do) use it.

marketer• 19 years ago

That question surprised me, because the purpose of billion-dollar businesses can usually be summed up in a few words.

Everybody has different uses for facebook, which is one of the reasons that it is so popular. To me, being able to see how ALL of your friends are doing is invaluable. I can log on and see the the state of my friends' lives, and not just my college friends, but people from any given stage of my life. I can find out where friend A is working, or whether friend B is single, etc.. It's ultimately about keeping connected.

jdavid• 19 years ago

I think facebook is like the corporate office space, its white, contains a cube farm, and is well devoid of personality. I more that do not care about FB, i just do not like it.

nickb• 19 years ago

Nope. I don't give a damn either. Having hundreds of "friends" is pointless (how many of them actually know you well? less than 10?) and it's a lot easier to maintain relationship with those you care about through personal correspondence through email or over the phone or in person.

Facebook is just a giant game designed for you to waste a lot of your time on it. I'd rater work on something productive... but hey, do whatever rocks your boat.

blored• 19 years ago

floats your boat

drusenko2• 19 years ago

it would be significantly different if you went to college in the facebook era

samson2• 19 years ago

I sincerely doubt it. Everyone has his or her own purpose for using facebook, and on that acccount I won't question anyones reason for using facebook.

The real question which most people fail to ask themselves is are those purposes for connecting enduring. Initially it will always seem so to most people, but what about next month or next year when you've graduated or left your job. Those purpose that existed before will no longer be there. Will people be constantly finding new purposes to stay connected when you no longer desire to go to party's or have a project to complete. From that point of view its no different in the college era as much as in the...well how should i put this...real life era.

But thats the long term view of the utility of facebook which most people cannot see.

raindoll• 19 years ago

never used, never will and I am a college student and 99% of my friends have profiles

rms2• 19 years ago

Congratulations.

SwellJoe• 19 years ago

"I am a college student and 99% of my friends have profiles"

And this is the relevant bit of you're post. ;-)

german• 19 years ago

Social networks should evolve into a more specific community. For example, a business network where you can collaborate with co-workers around the world to improve your marketing strategy among other things. It just don't make sense to me looking at people I don't care about.

palish• 19 years ago

Bingo. So far, social networks haven't organized themselves into specific internal communities which have a goal.

rokhayakebe• 19 years ago

The bottom line is that social networks are mostly a waste of time. Geek and Social do not really go together. You usually have a small and close group of friends and you sure do not need FB or MSp to connect with them. I have a FB profile and that is because I have a Facebook application and my only friends are a few users and my co-foundrs. But remember that just because you are not using Facebook does not mean you should not look for opportunities in the environment. If you can build an app that will generate a nice return within a few months, then do it.

webwright• 19 years ago

..."And Zuckerberg stole the idea anyway."

Google stole the idea for Adwords, too.

Besides, how can you steal the idea "a community for college kids"? We had one of these when I was in college (the earliest days of the internet)... It sucked, but a lot of us used it.

On the caring about FB front, however-- I agree. Great article here calling Facebook "AOL 2.0":

http://www.kottke.org/07/07/facebook-vs-aol-redux

rms2• 19 years ago

What was the community for college kids? Usenet?

irrelative• 19 years ago

I was with the author on that until that line. This group, better than any other I've found on the internet, surely understands how little the actual idea of facebook is worth.

Why didn't Zuckerberg's friends make the site themselves? Maybe because it was easier to not make it, and then demand money from him later especially after facebook became really successful.

ashu• 19 years ago

isn't getting dates supposed to be _the_ reason for facebook's existence? :P

epi0Bauqu• 19 years ago

I've signed up and have tried to get something useful out of facebook and the other major ones, but nothing productive has really come of any of it. I suppose if I were in college and it was the central repository for events or if I was looking for dates, maybe I would find something useful there. But college was a long time ago at this point and I'm married.

I hope they prove me wrong though. It would be nice if out of the blue I met someone interesting through one of these sites.

sabat• 19 years ago

You've got company. I have no idea what the fuss is about -- and why it's so sudden.

mxh• 19 years ago

I don't care about FB either. I probably should, because it's a huge phenomenon, but, no matter how hard I try, I just can't.

In the first place, all these pure social networking sites (i.e. those that don't do much useful if you're the only user) rub me slightly the wrong way. I feel I'm being asked to invest my effort into creating value for someone else, and that I'm being locked into a single-vendor implementation. It's not a good feeling.

In the second place, I just don't see what FB _does_ for me that I can't do more simply some other way.

Although I can't remember name of the fellow who said it, or the exact wording, I share the sentiment that "I already belong to a social network. It's called the Internet." I've got an e-mail address, and a (few!) websites. I don't see why I should have to play in somebody's walled garden to connect with other people who've got the same.

Jd2• 19 years ago

I think one should distinguish between 'care about' and 'like.'

Facebook has utility as a constantly updated online address book. It also has tremendous market share and the Facebook API could lead to much of social-networking for the next half-decade being trapped in the Facebook world. Consequently, I care about Facebook.

I do not like Facebook. I do not like Zuckerberg. I do not use any Facebook applications because they all seem to be ridiculous time wasters. Maybe at some point this will change and there will be social-networking with greater utility.

I certainly hope it is sooner rather than later.

aswanson• 19 years ago

No, I don't care about it either. But at 34, why would I?

aaroniba• 19 years ago

Facebook is a utility, not just a frivolous form of entertainment. Users depend on the service to manage contacts, share photos, and meet new people. A lot of important information flows through the facebook social graph.

The posts here remind me of the guy who loves to brag about how he doesn't have a TV in his house. To each his own, but television has had a huge impact on business and culture world-wide.

So even if you don't personally want to be a Facebook user, you might think about how it is transforming the way a whole generation of people interact socially, recognize the business and cultural impact, and conclude that you should care about it anyway.

tedb• 19 years ago

That's a good point. There is a big distinction lost on a lot of people between "importance because I like it" and "importance because others like it". The DJ who plays the Electric Slide at your wedding because he like it is the typical example of a guy who can't see outside his own opinions of the world.

I'm not sure how I feel about facebook either (from a technical standpoint, I feel the same way every developer I know feels: "[homer voice] doh! I could have done that in a weekend!"). But given the way its become the sharing medium for a whole generation of college students, it deserves a lot of respect and attention no matter how you feel.

lkozma• 19 years ago

I don't get it either. For people you already know, there are plenty of existing channels to communicate. As for meeting new people, come on, is there anyone who really made any meaningful relationship through facebook or something similar?

adamdoupe• 19 years ago

For me personally, it's less about meeting random people through Facebook and more about getting to know people I randomly meet in real life.

For instance, if I meet someone (hopefully a cute girl) at a party, then using Facebook I can strengthen that relationship via inviting her to parties, writing on her wall, and so on. So I use Facebook to enhance existing relationships, not to develop new ones.

Also, I will never friend someone I haven't meet in real life. That's what Myspace is for.

Goladus• 19 years ago

If you search through enough junkyards you might find enough parts to build a nice car, but it'll be unpleasant and you'll get really dirty and smelly. Stupid and probably irritated is how I feel after watching CNN, which is exactly what they were going for. They're trolls (http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/troller.htm) slowly cashing out a huge pile of respect that took them years to learn.

Most of my friends hardly watch any TV. They're too busy living life. I'm not sure that's the best analogy.

ambition• 19 years ago

OK, here is some of the "why" of facebook for those of us who aren't heavy users.

Facebook is casual and useful.

It's easy to set up an event or fundraiser, invite everyone you know, put up pictures about the event, and so on.

Many comments show that there are expectations for use cases that Facebook really isn't about. "Having hundreds of 'friends' is pointless." "...looking for dates...met someone interesting..." That's not what Facebook is about, nor intended to be.

Yep, you can stay in touch with your close friends on Facebook if you really want. Many people do. But, it's really about those hundreds of people you still care about, but you don't see on a regular basis. It is the best way to keep tabs on them. It's also great for setting plans with them. As a personal side note, Facebook has led to several happy reunions with old friends after I lost their contact information for years.

More about the idea of "Facebook is casual". Facebook messages have injected themselves between email and IM on the formality spectrum, and wall posts are now between Messages and IM. You can initiate conversation with people who would otherwise find it odd. Like, say, members of the attractive sex.

The common theme is that Facebook pleases our in-born psychological social instincts. It is a fine lesson in human factors.

Yet more. The cool kids are on facebook. You know, the ones that we're supposed to hate as self-respecting geeks, because we're smarter but they somehow have more fun? That means people who care about being cool get on Facebook. (Although rebellion is cool, so now it's cool to take a stand against Facebook and stay off. But that's a whole other story.)

It's a perfectly acceptable social norm to "Facebook-stalk" someone: To look up their interests when you're interested in them. That's a big one.

It's a handy, casual way of passing around contact information. Once you know someone's name and a little bit about them, you can find them on Facebook. You don't need to ask for their phone number or IM or email address, find somewhere to write it down, and take 30 awkward seconds to do it. You just say, "Let's find each other on Facebook." To be clear: Facebook makes it just a little bit easier to pick up. Also, friending is a no-cost way of sending goodwill.

So that's why people use Facebook.

People on this discussion board love news about Facebook because Facebook is every tech entrepreneur's wet dream. Zuckerberg is young, modest, smart and very, very rich. Startup founders love to dream about Facebook-like success because that's what they all want. It's intellectual masturbation. When someone posts insights about Facebook's success, instant nerdgasm. Also, Facebook is an important enough influence on mainstream digital life that few Web entrepreneurs can ignore it. Facebook app clones can kill fledgling independent applications fast. And if Facebook manages to get people used to spending money while on Facebook, they could rival Google, Amazon, and Ebay in importance.

Finally, a note about the 'stolen idea'. Let's ignore that where the idea came from is irrelevant to Facebook's current utility and success. You ought to realize that ideas are near-worthless and execution is everything. FB is a case study in excellent execution. They hire brilliant developers just like Joel says, and they built a very clean UI as a competitive advantage over Myspace. Nearly all successful businesses are based on incremental improvements on existing ideas with great execution.

Put it this way: "Online store" is not terribly creative, but pg is rich and famous today because his gang of hackers had the best execution in building one. Search engines were not a new idea when Google took over the world. Nor were operating systems or word processors when Microsoft did before that. Online social networks were not new. They just sucked enough that there was room for Facebook to step in a build a better one.

Jd2• 19 years ago

Yes, I admit to being a Facebook stalker because of my lack of RL friends and a Zuckerberg hater because of my own insecurity as an technical entrepreneur.

What else do you want from me!?!

snorkel• 19 years ago

As much as I enjoy scoffing at Facebook I have to admit I've personally seen not-so-net-savvy people get pulled into Facebook for its ability to reunite and keep up with far flung friends. That it's good for.

Facebook is not however a lucrative environment for 3rd party applications. All this hype about Facebook applications must stop. Please everyone, stop it. It's wasting precious development time. Have you not seen the most popular Facebook applications? Sopranos quotes, horoscopes, lucky numbers. It's like shareware hell rising up from bowels of long dead usenet groups and has manifested its unholy presence as a Facebook page. It pains me to know that some clueless VCs see a future in that.

Major spoiler alert!!! Do not read further if you are heavily vested into Facebook development!!!

Here's the final truth: Facebook users are not willing to pay for Facebook applications.

eusman• 19 years ago

vikram• 19 years ago

I don't get it either. Probably a sign that I am older than I think. A few years back it was pokemon and WWF which my younger brothers were crazy about. Now it's Facebook. Getting old was never supposed to be easy, I guess I need to face up to it now.

I get linkedin. Don't use it much, but I get it. Don't get myspace, it's like my daughter's messy room.

What depresses me is that there is a whole range of ideas that I will always overlook. These are to do with people unlike me. I just don't seem to have a appreciation for what they need.

I find it hard to start solving problems that don't impact me personally.

portLAN• 19 years ago

I care about it in the sense that it's a privacy nightmare. That's why I don't use it.

They are getting people to voluntarily do what they couldn't compel them to do through legislative means: build dossiers on themselves and submit them to a corporation; and thanks to recent anti-terror acts of dubious constitutionality, government will be able to look at that information when they want to. Combine with Twitter for play-by-play of your whereabouts and actions, and Loopt to geolocate you everywhere you go.

It's a surveillance society that the innocent invited upon themselves uncynically.

edw519• 19 years ago

Please don't confuse "friend" with "acquaintance". Ask anyone who has ever had a serious illness. That's one way to find out who's who.

My real problem with any form of digital communication (social networking, email, voicemail, text, etc.) is that NONE OF THEM ARE SUITABLE REPLACEMENTS FOR GENUINE HUMAN INTERACTION. Is it any coincidence that the Facebook generation is also the Xanax generation?

awt• 19 years ago

Yes. You should definitely ignore facebook. Continue along as if it does not exist. Please.

tomek• 19 years ago

Don't care about it either now. I liked it when it was simple. And before I got to know how full of himself Zuckerberg is. I could barely stand listening to him giving a talk. He talks about social graph as if it was his invention and equal in impact at least to the invention of a wheel. An old good connections representation in the context of a social network. Doesn't look like a revolution to me.

jmpeters• 19 years ago

Facebook is like AOL and MySpace. It will remain popular. It will make a lot of money. It will make its founders rich. It won't live up to its hype. Given its closed, proprietary nature, it won't be where true innovation happens on the web.

I don't blame the Facebook crew for the overhyping of their product. That blame rests with the investment community, tech journalists, and a reasonable-sized chunk of the blogosphere, who collectively are about as discerning as a clique of 15-year-old girls. They think that what's "hot" is whatever they think everyone else thinks is "hot," which creates an echo-chamber effect surrounding every half-way successful web business that comes down the pike.

michaelneale• 19 years ago

I got sucked in by my non geek friends (all my geek friends I was already connected to). If nothing else it has been good for keeping in touch with past friends. Kind of overhyped for that purposes, but it works for me, but its nothing profound.

Am I the only one who doesn't care about Facebook?

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