What’s the point of facebook?
Friday, July 27th, 2007I tend to avoid using most “2.0″ web applications because I fail to see an advantage in doing so. Don’t get me wrong, some applications have been used particularly well by some people but that doesn’t mean that I can do much with them myself.
I knew very little about Facebook and was equally apathetic but I decided to set up an account anyway; just to see what all the fuss was about. To date I am extremely underwhelmed.
All it seems to do is 1) list my friends, details, hobbies and interests; 2) allow me to chat to friends (because I couldn’t do that through “traditional” methods like email and IM); and 3) list my contact details to friends (the same contact details that are available here).
From my experience so far I feel that Facebook is really just a convergence of Bebo’s chatty, friendly, social aspect and LinkedIn’s more professional, online CV-type approach.
I purposely avoid Bebo because I see it as a blog for people who don’t blog - I also feel that using it to its fullest involves collating a lot of personal information in one place, which I’m not too keen on. I do use LinkedIn but it doesn’t seem like enough other people in Ireland do to make it worthwhile (to that degree there has been some worth in signing up to Facebook as I can connect with more Irish journalists etc.).
I have a distinct fear that, as a result of my decision to only use “2.0″ websites that actually offer me something new, I’ll soon be a kind of dinosaur of the internet age. Sure look at me, sitting here with my wordpress blog, MSN client and email account. I’m such a has-been.
That doesn’t bother me too much - I just can’t bring myself to sign up to and regularly use websites that have absolutely nothing to offer me. It seems to me that for the most part Facebook fits into that category.
Blogs elsewhere
July 27th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
I’ve only started to use Facebook and Linkin recently, the two I suppose are filled with mostly “blog friends” and work contacts. I avoided signing up until somebody sent me an invite one evening when I happened to be twiddling my fingers.
I’m signed up to bebo a good while longer, since going back to collage last September. I resisted signing up to it too first, but it has already been good for keeping up with collage friends.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:02 am
Cian might benefit by concentrating on his/her education rather than investigating pointless but recreational facilities on the web. The “collage” he/she attends is, I assume, an educational establishment, usually called a “college”.
A collage is a an abstract and artistic way of displaying photographs or other objects juxtaposed in such a way as to form a picture.
July 29th, 2007 at 3:37 am
@ barcas:
Cian might benefit by concentrating on his/her education rather than investigating pointless but recreational facilities on the web. The “collage” he/she attends is, I assume, an educational establishment, usually called a “college”.
A collage is a an abstract and artistic way of displaying photographs or other objects juxtaposed in such a way as to form a picture.
You’re not really covering yourself in glory there by pedantically picking on a simple spelling error, which, though used twice, is exceptional in an otherwise perfectly-written post. I think that in doing this you are demonstrating that you are not really well positioned to cast aspersions on other people’s online slacking, as well as showing what a derisory spirit you possess. Your pedantry might similarly be more credible if you had taken the trouble to find out that Cian is a male name; if you’re not from Ireland (as I assume you’re not) a quick Google search might have yielded some fruit. But I suppose you don’t have time to waste ‘investigating such pointless but recreational facilities’ on the web…
July 29th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
barcas, while there wasn’t much need for the tone of your post, thank you for the correction.
As you appear concerned with my education, you’ll be happy to know that the amount of my personal time spent on websites such as Bebo is highly unlikely to impact adversely on my results, or indeed my over all education.
Unlike many others, I at least try to use proper spelling and grammar on sites I use - including Bebo - so one could argue that extra typing could possibly be a positive.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Adam,
Apologies if my initial comments on slugger seemed rude - tongue was firmly in cheek with the “grumpy old man” jab. After exploring your site I’m even more surprised that you feel FB has nothing to offer you, although your post does seem to suggest that you’ve found limited utility in connecting with other irish journos. I’ll be the first to admit that Social networking sites can be yet another addictive way of wasting time, however, they have significant potential that does go beyond existing methods of communication such as e-mail or IM. For me it’s all about networks and the social capital therein. I think FB represents a great way of exploring new opportunities for social capital. It’s more than a list of friends. One rather silly example is a friend who has started a group to celebrate a long forgotten celebrity - this group has grown to over 100 people and recently held an inaugural social event. Perhaps possible to do this with existing methods, but much harder and network would be much narrower. I think the key with FB is time, imagination and increasing the number of people you are connected to. As an experiment you could give FB a chance and revisit this topic in 2/3 mths and give us an updated post.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:15 pm
It’s nice of you to reply on this blog, rather than try and convince me of the value of facebook through someone else’s.
I can see the value of facebook for people who want to make friends or who have trouble keeping up with old friends through the many other means of communication already available; I was asking what use it is to me.
Sure; networking is valuable in my trade but it’s not like I’m likely to find contacts or potential employers on there - there are other journalists on there but I keep in touch with many of them in other ways as it stands.
I was tempted to set up an Irish Journalists group but I thought hard about it and saw no point.
You’ve still not convinced me, I’m afraid, and your tone on slugger didn’t help at all.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Facebook? More like….. Farsebook! Ha Ha Ha Ha…. oh dear.
September 12th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I created an account on Facebook a week ago after being encouraged to do so by an old friend. After a week of checking and adding friends and updating my profile I was moved to google, “what is the point of facebook”. I had over a dozen 100% hits, of which this site is one. My question is answered. I am extremely underwhelmed.