Dear lord! What is this? Is this thing meant for the visually impaired?
- Mayukh De, on the New Facebook Profiles.
Well if you ask me, I kind of like the profile summary that sits at the top. Languages I speak is also a welcome addition. But the design is a #FAIL! Apart from the fact that the new profile goes somewhat in the Linkedin direction, there are minor changes like the poke button has gone bigger. No wonder people will go all poke-happy now! With the design change comes the obvious issue, like it has every time FB changed their UI, of FB imposing their overnight profile changes on us with little regard to user opinion. This also leads us to the more generalized and intriguing issue – is it really worth staying on FB or better to leave it?
Let me confess that in recent times the idea of renouncing Facebook has surfaced in my mind more than once. I had blogged before elsewhere why I am kind of fed up with Facebook. Well, FB is a lot less fun when a lot of unwanted friends start filling up your friend list. You can’t ignore their request and somehow accept them into your Facebook fold only to repent later. It is also no secret that I considered leaving Facebook temporarily to save time but backed off when I found I would not automatically get back group admin rights once I’m back. And it’s not just me there. More friends I know have indicated their wish to leave FB. Guess what, someone I know is almost on the verge of leaving FB because his in-laws adding him onto their FB has left him red-faced! His wife went to the extent of deleting her Facebook due to an altogether different reason: privacy. Apparently, some photos she marked private, meant only for friends, ceased to be private for some unknown reason! o_O Ace blogger PC had expressed his desire to leave Facebook in the past, when he found Facebook to be a major time suck and a hindrance to studying. Turns out we all have our own reasons to love/hate fb. Different strokes for different folks!
On the question of Facebook taking us for granted, I’d say that rolling out newer features on a routine basis goes to prove that Facebook surely cares about providing a rich user experience. Facebook Mail for example! As friend counts go on increasing, FB rolled out the new groups to promote closed user groups. I created a group of our friend circle and believe me, it is good fun and everyone is loving it. Especially, the group chat part! Users long complained that all their data were locked into FB and could not be exported. FB listened to that and let us download all our data :) They are not taking us for granted, I daresay. Although privacy is an issue, FB does allow us to tweak the privacy settings to our comfort level.
Over the past few months, I have started liking Twitter a lot. My newfound revelation is – “People tell lies to friends on Facebook, they are honest to strangers on Twitter” but I do realize the fact that Twitter and Facebook serve different purposes and both are indispensable in today’s realm of social networking. As a final remark, I must again quote Mayukh De, my one time neighbour and now Facebook friend,
FB is almost a social recognition of one’s existence. And I shall never totally delete my account.
do it already. stop whining :P
love it or hate it, but you must have your face on facebook!
having said that, i really believe that FB is not the end of the world; but somehow everytime you meet someone you tend to log into FB and quickly search for your new acquaintance. you find him/her and you are a happy person, if not, a series of questions pop up…perhaps that is a very personal opinion/experience but i am certain i’m not alone in the world who feels the same way.
social networking, especially being on FB (and LinkedIn, for the pros) is almost like a necessity, and make no mistake even enterprise businesses can’t get over it. let’s face it, 20 years back having your web presence was unheard of; today no matter what you do, the internet brings you closer to what you wish to accomplish.
i see FB as the definitive way to ‘feel belonged to/with rest of the world’; whether you choose to be there or not is your own call. no wonder an application that solely relies on RSS (or whatever else that is being fed into it) that FB is built on and around has been valuated at whatever outrageous dollar value it was recently. (while quickly googling to sound like an authentic blogger, i came across this; perhaps a little outdated, nonetheless, very very interesting indeed: http://www.allfacebook.com/facebooks-valuation-2010-09 )
FB for sure is not going to die out like others such as MySpace or Orkut did. it has something for everyone…whether you are a marketeer or a game-addict…or like me, a combination of all of that and actually nothing! :)
I could not have said it better! One must have his face on facebook! :D
An apt observation indeed: For every new acquaintance made in real world, we immediately seek to add him/her on Facebook. It is almost a must these days, as if a part of social etiquette! And when you can’t find the person on Facebook it is really an awkward moment. Similarly, you are intrigued to no end when someone says he/she could not find you on Facebook!
Weel, these dayz people are using fb and other social networks to flaunt what they have & not to get in touch with their friends & family…. for me facebook is not nothing but a marketing medium which allows free marketing of YOURSELF over the net…..
[...] mostly ranted against the social networking platform. Well, it is no secret that I have considered leaving Facebook more than once. Time and again, in many addas with close friends, we have had stimulating arguments [...]