A columnist for the Chicago Tribune, Eric Zorn, doesn’t understand Facebook. People’s expectations are too high. They think it’s some sort of savior or fix-it-all website. It’s not. But it does enable you to keep in touch with your larger network.
People think it’s dumb to keep in touch by updating your status. Or by doing some sort of profile or whatever. But it’s a connection. Keep those connections alive, and it will help you in the long run.
From page 54 of “The Tipping Point:”
Granovetter argues that is is because when it comes to find out about new jobs ‚Äî or, for that matter, new information, — or new ideas — “weak ties” are always more important than strong ties. Your friends, after all, occupy the same world that you do. They might work with you, or live near you, and go to the same churches, schools, or parties. How much, then, would they know that you wouldn’t know? Your acquaintances, on the other hand, by definition occupy a very different world than you. They are much more likely to know something that you don‚’t. To capture this apparent paradox, Granovetter coined a marvelous phrase: the strength of weak ties. Acquaintances, in short, represent a source of social power, and the more acquaintances you have the more powerful you are.
Please join facebook now and add me as a friend. My profile is at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=669595533
Facebook most certainly isn’t dumb. Granted, it takes forever for applications to load, and there are some inherent problems with the way some of them work, but it’s all in fun. I like catching glimpses of my friends’ personalities by seeing what they spend their time doing and what applications they download. The best is getting a comment though, just like it’s the best part of having a blog or being on MySpace. Comments rule.
i like facebook. i hate myspace. never has there been a more poorly designed website than myspace.
I dunno, this one is pretty bad: http://havenworks.com
What was that social site that had the 3 million percent increase in visitors year over year? You sent an email out about it, spud. THAT site defines the word disaster area.
I don’t recall the name of 3 million increase website. But the report came from compete.com and they just did a fascinating report on the users of facebook, myspace, and twitter. I think they are dead on with their summary: * MySpace addicts are somewhat vain focusing heavily on establishing and fine tuning their online personas by customization of their personal profiles * Facebook addicts focus more on engagement interacting with applications, music and people both on and off the platform * Twitter addicts are most interested in fostering communication and exploration sites that allow a user to understand what their contacts are doing, provide a platform for content discovery and encourage users to actively participate are the most likely places to find hardcore twitterers. Read the full report, complete with bar graphs. BAR GRAPHS! at http://blog.compete.com/2008/03/19/social-addicts-facebook-vs-myspace-twitter/
Thanks for that article link above, Matt .. I’m actually speaking at the O’Reilly Web 2.0 conference next month, as a “real user” of photosharing and social networking sites. I’m trying to research as much as possible, so I have full confidence whilst complaining about these sites in front of their creators. Hooray! http://en.oreilly.com/webexsf2008/public/schedule/detail/735
Seriously, it’s Zorn and the Trib… are we surprised? The newspaper that is using Web 1.0 as its model!
A philosophical look at Facebook
I like Facebook. Especially since I can use it to obtain traffic the art sites I belong to. I just put a new app on tonight, see below. http://www.myartspace.com/facebook/