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Facebook exec: We're the Net's cable company

news.com — As you might expect from a vice president of product marketing, Facebook's Chamath Palihapitiya can deliver a convincing sales pitch. His sell: Facebook is the next-generation platform of the Internet that can turn any ambitious entrepreneur (with the right application) into an overnight success. He rattled off the stats to back up the argument.

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  • reeder, on 05/18/2008, -2/+76Oh look! Another self-important tech executive making outlandish claims that will never, ever come true! How totally new and original!

    This isn't the 90's pal, we stopped drinking the Kool-Aid. Just focus on making a decent product that doesn't ***** the customer over.
    • VortexSpin, on 05/18/2008, -1/+9Well said. Further comments are unnecessary.
    • zapperdude60, on 05/18/2008, -0/+6the ps2 will bring you into the matrix
    • jemka, on 05/18/2008, -0/+4developers developers developers developers developers developers developers developers
  • TheDiggAbides, on 05/18/2008, -1/+20Reminds me of a certain fellow in Futurama
    There are two kinds of people: sheep and sharks. Sharks are winners and they don't look back, because they don't have necks. Necks are for sheep.
    • hlcno, on 05/18/2008, -0/+2My only regret is that I have...BONITIS! *crack*
  • CDoug03, on 05/18/2008, -1/+56Calling yourself the Net's Cable Company is like calling yourself the big overbearing ***** that you went to high school who is still trying to make up for having a micropenis.
  • Chineseyes, on 05/18/2008, -0/+33I might take his claim a bit more serious if every application I saw wasn't some lame "horses vs ponies" or "ninjas vs cowboys" garbage. Facebook is just a platform for people to push garbage.
    • JMaj, on 05/18/2008, -0/+1don't forget super wall, fun wall, cute vs sexy and the other pointless applications
    • ZenMojo, on 05/18/2008, -0/+2Facebook is junk-food technology. It passes the time but no one really takes it seriously as a substantitve option.
  • dist0rtedwave, on 05/18/2008, -0/+7I would like to see some *serious* projects on facebook before I buy this. Right now the popular applications are pretty much just ways to send images to people's profiles and games. I am actually disappointed to hear that these annoying little gadgets are making so much money off of being annoying. Nothing popular out there seems to be anything more than a glorified chain mail.

    Anyone know of some more useful/successful apps on facebook?
    • Aharoni, on 05/18/2008, -0/+1Are YOU interested. Basically Facebook's pick-up bar. Got plenty of dates out of that application.
      Kaltura's "Friends' video card" and "Group Album" are a nice way of collaborating with pictures (either by creating "happy birthday" cards by all your friends or by sharing albums between people).
      Scrabulous is also known to be pretty entertaining... and Texas Hold'Em is pretty cool as well. These games really show the potential of a "unified identity" - you don't need to sign up or anything and you can immediately play and check your scores against those of your friends.

      Other than that, all garbage.
  • akatsuki, on 05/18/2008, -0/+30Facebook = AOL = dead end
  • Foot56, on 05/18/2008, -0/+7Why did facebook remove college networks?(The page inside your college network that had a message board and so forth) That was the best part of facebook imo.... =/
    • Aharoni, on 05/18/2008, -0/+2Because it became a global site and not just a college site. The regional network that I was in was nothing but a place for spam and arguing.
      • Foot56, on 05/18/2008, -1/+4Then get rid of regional networks and leave the college networks? I mean thats what made facebook was college students.
    • theara, on 05/18/2008, -2/+2Facebook should have just been a networking site for college students, faculty, and staff. I remember those days...

      I don't have too much problem with it because (1) I don't use any of the new apps out- they're crap, (2) I don't add random friends like idiots on myspace, and (3) I keep a lot of things private and off the news feed (I also like to add that I don't put anything important on my profile except favorites).

  • atbnet, on 05/18/2008, -5/+23Facebook sucks.
  • yabos, on 05/18/2008, -0/+5Bleh. Facebook apps are all stupid and I almost never even sign into it. Whenever I do there's like 3-5 requests to add some stupid thing to my profile.
  • zapperdude60, on 05/18/2008, -1/+8facebook = spam
  • CyberSally, on 05/18/2008, -3/+13People still use Facebook?
  • haysmoke, on 05/18/2008, -2/+7Facebook is crap
  • Krystof82, on 05/18/2008, -1/+7This sounds familiar, somebody should give Tom a call and ask how it worked out for myspace. Last I checked, social networks are a flavor of the month type of deal, something new will take the crown in a few years, and something after that, etc.
    • LightSpeed4, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2i completely disagree. People always say this but there is no proof whatsoever that social networks are like that. heres you only viable examples:
      myspace to facebook, two sites as examples since the WWW existed. Yea sounds like theres a new social site every month.
  • Swarmie, on 05/18/2008, -1/+8He made me cancel my account.
  • arjung, on 05/18/2008, -1/+7the article says "And about 33 percent of Facebook application makers reported profits of up to $500,000 a month. "

    i call *****. if i was making an app spitting out quotes from Sex and the City, I would say I made a ***** in a survey too. doesn't make it true.
  • Ellipsys, on 05/18/2008, -0/+5Aside from the fact that I think most "real identity" social networks are superfluous as a whole, they are also subject to the whims of the populace. Much like night clubs in the 70's, the value of a social network in the public's eyes seems to be more or less predicated on its exclusiveness and therefore "coolness". There was a time when people at approved schools could be on Facebook, and there was a time when Myspace was new and exciting to many. Then came the "plebs", the dregs of society, and the "normals", and the "cool people" found somewhere else to hang out and maintain their exclusivity. Eventually, the same thing will happen to this new crop of social networking sites. Thus, no social network can really be seen as a major impetus for change. They're all about haves and have nots. It only takes a small percentage of any given group of people to say "Bah, myspace is lame. Don't you know that? I have a XXXX account" to cause individuals to switch to another network. The size of networks like Myspace and Facebook provides them a little momentum from the "I have 10,000 friends I don't want to lose!" group, but I sure as hell wouldn't invest in either of them as long term properties.
  • freezeout, on 05/18/2008, -1/+1so instead of going to a certain site directly people will prefer accessing it thru a facebook app!
    and if you believe that they also have an amazing deal on a bridge in Brooklyn!
  • dafragsta, on 05/18/2008, -0/+4Wow. Isn't he in for a shock. I'd say this guy "Take your pinhead and turn it to the left and look at your STD infested cousin, MySpace. That's you, once everyone is in your network."

    I'm sorry, but I don't want all my media intake to be tied to my social networking. It's quite the opposite. I don't think it's even possible to satisfy all niches of entertainment with one ***** social networking site. Facebook has done better than Myspace, but that's all it is; a better Myspace.
  • duerra, on 05/18/2008, -1/+3They're the net's cable company? Well, I guess I've been looking for a reason to hate on facebook, and now I have my justification.... =S
  • lordtyros, on 05/18/2008, -0/+11"And about 33 percent of Facebook application makers reported profits of up to $500,000 a month." Ah, good 'ol marketing speak. In English, that means 66% of facebook apps reported profits less than or equal to zero. Or didn't report.
  • Anteros, on 05/18/2008, -0/+4I don't like the whole concept of facebook apps, it's like they are trying to create their own mini internet within facebook, reminds me of the old AOL in fact. It's fine for people who make a dedicated facebook application but developers of existing web applications now have to think about creating a version for facebook (which is a very restrictive environment) and a version for opensocial (also has restrictions).
  • h0ser, on 05/18/2008, -1/+5I refuse to use any of those sites. Facebook, myspace, all those sites are crap. They are used by people to express who they are, but really they just express who they wannabe. Add 300 people to your friends list you don't know and claim that you are "popular". The site is for preteens.
  • phatfiend, on 05/18/2008, -0/+1Facebook made the fatal mistake that mySpace did earlier. They let the user have too much control over the product. Myspace is so ugly I cannot stand it so I have not been on in years, and facebook apps are effectively giving the whole page a "flashy pay per thousand view free emoticon advertisement"(ey) feel.

    I also think (though userbase continues to grow) that many people have become pretty bored with it.
  • monkeyrun, on 05/18/2008, -0/+5I am sorry, but Facebook's just the Net's latest fad. It will be over soon.
  • ChinezePanda, on 05/18/2008, -1/+4Facebook = MySpace V2.0

    They are all the same.

    People from Myspace simply have migrated like cockroaches to the new septic system that is Facebook.

    I liked Facebook a year and a half ago. Back when noone heard of it.


    And why is it that every site i go to... has a built in facebook feature!?

    If I wanted to use facebook.. I WOULD GO TO FACEBOOK.
  • wombatrobot, on 05/18/2008, -1/+3actually good comments. realize this is vapid PR speak from facebook, but in a larger sense if web 2.0 or whatever moniker you want to apply, along with associated investments in hardware, bandwidth and infrastructure boils down to a business model of just pushing ads, what is the freaking point?

    It's analogous to Argentina thinking it could become a first world power through agrarianism in the early 1900's - not happening.
    /knew that research paper would pay off one day
  • smek2, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1Yeah, dream on pal.
  • karolisonline, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1facebook is the past already. deal with it or loose.
  • rohitnarayan, on 05/20/2008, -0/+0YOU GUYS WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    The raw power of passion & the spirit of cinema come together. Check this out to see what I really mean. http://www.film-crew.blogspot.com/
  • Setter, on 05/20/2008, -0/+0Facebook? Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded.

    (Thanks, Yogi.)
  •  

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