FaceBooks is Tiring Fast and Here’s Why
So I don’t get accused of jumping on the bandwagon in months to come, I have today drawn some new conclusions about platforms and “next.0″ Internet apps. As we all watch on to see if FaceBook topples back into the blue ocean or becomes a Google, my current conclusion is that I am simply bored of it. Here is why.
- Content is and Always Will be King - That’s why in the age of HD TV, the success of YouTubes and other pixelated amateur generated material is not revolutionary at all. Most FaceBook content I see is of low personal value.
- I Don’t Want Everyone I Know To Be My Classed as My Friend. It’s uncomfortable and often not appropriate.
- I Especially Don’t Want to “Poke” Work Colleagues or get SuperPoked by them.
- I have had enough sodding fish for my fish tank already thanks!
- Yes I know John Viega bought me for $571 and I know he didn’t really buy me in real life
- What Two Dudes are Virtual Sword fighting Again?
- …………………….
- ……………
- ……
FaceBook is what I would call an “aggregation type platform”, currently aggregating chatter of little business value. I do think lessons learned from FaceBook may shape a platform to come. I will start to post lots of stuff I think I have figured out about platforms in the coming weeks as some big things happen in the ACE Team
February 23, 2008 at 5:41 am
I have to agree completely; I joined because it was supposed to be the next big thing and all that…
But I don’t know the last time I logged in; Why? I think you enumerated the reasons exactly - and to think that some of those “poking” services wanted me to pay for an upgrade? Seriously, this whole platform is completely juvenile. If “poking things” was all the stimulation I required I would live in front of my TV and be fascinated by all the buttons to poke on my remote!
And seriously, the whole Facebook platform is very dubious in their security and privacy; the founder has been shown repeatedly to be resistant to doing the right things. As a security professional I really don’t want to support somebody like that even if there were something of redeeming value to be found.
Put me down for “Topples back into the blue ocean”.
Seriously, I can’t really believe people would be so stupid — never mind —
I just recalled that 53 million voted for Bush in my country second term.
Facebook is likely brilliant to those people, it will likely be a smashing success.
February 23, 2008 at 7:43 am
Well, I dont have a facebook account, and never have or will. I have a slightly different view from you Mark, in that content wants to be free - as in I want to view content as I find it, in whatever form is appropriate for me.
It seems to me that Facebook is the good old “walled garden” of compuserve (remember them?) and AOL, and in it’s time will die like they did. Eventually people will tire of them (and I’ve been hearing more and more people say they are getting bored with it, so it’s certainly not just you), and there’s only so many time you can get invited to get bitten by zombies/join a pirate/parking clamped/etc until that becomes old.
You are completly right in “content is king” and will, as I’ve said above, be the death of these sites. The web, email, rss, newsgroups, mailing lists, etc, etc have been around for so long is because people arent tied to one place to be part of them. It only takes some critical mass of people to move to the “next” thing or just not log in any more, and then unless all that data/connections is movable with them, then it will all be worthless.
I’ll be interested in looking at the LinkedIn IPO if/when it ever happens. There’s a slightly better value prop there, but I have different reasons why I dont like that site very much either.