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November 27, 2007
Cory Doctorow on Facebook
I read an article this morning that was interesting. The title doesn't really do it justice as many of the things that struck me had nothing to do with avoiding old friends.
How Your Creepy Ex-Co-Workers Will Kill Facebook
"Facebook is no paragon of virtue. It bears the hallmarks of the kind of pump-and-dump service that sees us as sticky, monetizable eyeballs in need of pimping. The clue is in the steady stream of emails you get from Facebook: "So-and-so has sent you a message." Yeah, what is it? Facebook isn't telling -- you have to visit Facebook to find out, generate a banner impression, and read and write your messages using the halt-and-lame Facebook interface, which lags even end-of-lifed email clients like Eudora for composing, reading, filtering, archiving and searching. Emails from Facebook aren't helpful messages, they're eyeball bait, intended to send you off to the Facebook site, only to discover that Fred wrote "Hi again!" on your "wall.""
In some cases there might be a "wisdom of crowds," but the manner in which we consume "social" websites is more reminiscent of a herd of demon-infused pigs about to run off a cliff.
Taken completely out of context, this reminds me of a C.S. Lewis quote, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
But then again, until something better comes around Facebook is still my queen, and I think it's about time to change my status.
Posted by mark at November 27, 2007 9:08 AM Subscribe (FeedBurner)