What is Digg?82 Comments
- Likeatree, on 10/12/2007, -3/+73Are they striving to become myspace? The somewhat limited membership is the only that keeps facebook a semi-decent social networking site.
- magness, on 10/12/2007, -1/+47Yes, this is one of the reasons I have a Facebook account and not a Myspace account.
Opening it up to everyone will just result in diluting their quality of users, which most advertisers that they have pay decent money to target.
Bad move IMO. - Popdmb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34If I even see a speck of glitter font...I'll devote my life to the destruction of Mark Zuckerberg.
- qwerty967, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23Yes, bad move. Anecdotally, almost everyone I know is on Facebook. Figuratively, eighty-five percent of college-students are on Facebook with 60 percent logging in everyday. If you are going to open it up to everyone, you're going to dilute the Facebook brand and lose the 18-24 crowd. I don't have to tell you how coveted that market is.
- miles01110, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13They should just call it MyFace.
- jhub908, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11oh man, they think they made a bad move last time? people are going to HAAATE this. i welcomed the news feed, but i don't want myspace filled with the scumbags and trash that fill myspace. I'm just imagining facebook with an STD now. gross
- blankman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11this is one story I truly hope will have "[Reported by Diggers as Possibly Inaccurate]" on it soon.
- theragu40, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I completely agree with you. God damn it, NOT having open membership is what made Facebook great. I know they want more money, but jesus, don't tell me they aren't making money already. And it isn't like they need to keep attracting new members with new features like Myspace might...they have each year's freshman class to look forward to. This is a terrible move by them.
- markormesher, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I can't imagine why you would actualy WANT the responsibility that came with an open membership site, look at myspace and xanga, each of them have gotten huge amounts of legal problems for the youth logging in and interacting with the perverts. What sane company would want this?
- chapium, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Some of us actually like that ticker
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Talk about shooting yourself in the foot...torso...and head...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Unless your spam is edible, don't post it.
- 4NDr01D, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6wake up and smell the corporation !
how else did you expect them to expand their user base.
are they supposed to play long term and just keep alumni logging in over the next 50 years.
some will leave, some will join, really facebook has already lost to myspace, and is probably getting ready to sell
the news feeder was a good idea, but needed more privacy controls
everything is RSS these days - RichPowers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Well, this past week has shown that Facebook is losing it. First that stupid ticker box and now open membership? Let's see how many protest groups form when the spambot accounts start asking to be your friend...
- apex32, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I don't think it would be so bad considering that facebook has separate "networks" that members can be a part of. So if someone wanted to, they can participate exclusively in their college's/employer's network and be completely unaffected by the addition of general public members.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Did anyone else see that they are the seventh-most trafficked site in the US?!
Also, as long as they don't open up formatting of peoples pages, like MySpace does, I am cool with it! - chitlin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Gain new customers by alienating existing customers? This is not a good marketing strategy from a customer-retention standpoint.
Two strikes in one week may be enough to end facebook as we know it. - becominglumberg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Facebook made me mad when they let high schoolers into it, since now I have every kid I teach facebooking me (LOTS of profile cleaning ensued). Now that they are devolving themselves to a glorified myspace, I have to deal with even more random people sending me crap? No way.
- cybersamurai, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6terrible idea, this is just going to become another cess pool like myspace, please join the group "People against open Facebook" to help stop this disaster!!
- AwesomeMonster, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Wow, its really sad if you rely on facebook that much that you feel the need to have some sort of stupid facebook revolution. You dont have to accept them as friends idiot.
- CaseyUCF, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6asl/pic ??
- matthewhemby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I completely agree with you. I had recently deleted my MySpace account because of exactly this kind of homogeneity, and I worry that the same thing will happen to FaceBook.
FB's policy isn't one of exclusivity -- its one of usability and evolving the idea of social networking to something more logical and manageable. I see this as a step backwards, but I'm willing to hold my judgment until I see how they manage their "regions" concept.
At least, thank god, they don't have bulletins. This is the single worst feature of MySpace ever, is equivalent to spam, and is the primary reason I left that network. - Popdmb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4They must be ready to sell, which is the only reason (other than advertising incentives by Microsoft) I see them making this move. With the backlash they ran into after the feed controversy last week, wouldn't Zuckerberg want to take a more conservative approach?
- evelian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3From what I've read, they're still keeping each network closed, so as long as you have your privacy settings set correctly, this shouldn't change a thing.
As long as they don't open it up to html customization and media, I'll keep using it. - serpentor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Well cry me a damn river you baby.
- markormesher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@miles
I agree, and if facebook does go this way, I will be commiting social suicide, living in the DC Metro area makes it easier for all those damn hicks to get me. (kidding folks)
Nice thing is, we have some forewarning to the change around. Though from what the sales woman says they're going to do it anyway. I hope that if people raise a big enough stink (like they did with newsfeed) before the change over, then there will be no reason to. - serpentor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Amen to by GopherGod, he should not have been dugged down. Facebook is a BUSINESS people, their revenues will explode as their userbase explodes. It's a no brainer.
I couldn't help but laugh at some of the protest websites that were launched last week, they mentioned how outrageous it was when Facebook allowed high school students to sign up, saying that Facebook was a "rite of passage" for college freshmen. Give me a f--kin break, it's a *business*!! They can do whatever they want, and in the end, this move will rapidly benefit their bottom line. Yes, no more "rite of passage" for college freshmen, boo freakin hoo. - magical1492, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is the absolute worst thing Mark Zuckerburg could have ever done. The whole point of Facebook is to get away from all the seventh graders and have intelligent conversation. If they make it public, I know exactly what is going to happen. The 4-9Th graders will come with their glitter font, their obnoxiously large fonts, YouTube videos, background music...
The only way this can possibly go through is if they completely privatize the colleges from the public. If I start getting friend requests from people with names like "****I Am sO AesUme & CuTe****", I'm leaving Facebook. - nicepants, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It wouldn't matter if anyone with an e-mail account could just register with whatever network they wanted..
- TheHessian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2My 2 cents...
Facebook started out as a social networking site for those who are in school...
My personal opinion is that it should stay that way.
Trust me, I would love to be a part of it and get my band's name out there to all of those people, but I am not in school, or alumni and am therefore excluded from joining.
Simple as that.
I have no problems with that because those are the rules and why should they bend them for me?
The problem lies in the homey, kind of organic feel that facebook provides its users with, and the threat that it might go from Main St. Kansas, to Sunset Strip L.A., and bring along all of the unwanted spam, sexual predators and script-kiddies with it.
Yes it is a business, but there are more ways to increase revenues and that almighty bottom line than selling out and opening the floodgates to the "Unclean Masses".
Students NEED their own place to congregate and interact with one another, without having to wade through spam mail after spam mail just to do so.
Myspace has been a godsend for my band.
But even now, we are getting bombarded by fake friend requests from chili's, sprite and even movies!
How can we benefit from being friends with a motion picture?
The amount of spam on myspace is appalling and really needs to be cleaned up.
Business must grow or it will cease to live, but doing so at the cost of your loyal base is not only dangerous, it's just proof that you had no soul to begin with.
Just my 2 cents.
Hessian - nmaster64, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Completely opening up is going to overrun it with spammers and stalkers and all the crap MySpace deals with. It definitly needed a way you could get your non-college friends in somehow though, so what it really needs is an invite system, not an open admission system.
I've contacted the Facebook team with that suggestion. Other people should do the same. - ModernTenshi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It will probably be like when Facebook decided to merge the high school and college networks. Everyone was pissed about that too, threatening to delete their account if the networks weren't separated. Here we are now, and no one cares. Anyone who says they didn't see this as an eventual step for Facebook is blind. If you're that concerned, then switch your profile's information to only be viewed by users on your friends list, and leave it at that. Facebook has implemented security features to protect you and your data, so if you don't use them properly and to their full extent, then it's your own damn fault.
- CaseyThr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2NOOOOOOOOO!!!
Don't let Facebook become MySpace! or even xanga for that matter...
It NEEDS to be limited, otherwise it just becomes another piece of crap website with glitter fonts, videos, annoying background music, stupid names, the list goes on and on...
The Mini-Feed was O.K., I kinda liked it, I'm selective about who I add as my friend so I don't have a lot of crap all over it...
Like I said, the mini-feed was ok, but they should leave Facebook alone! - mwdqk3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The kind of sane company that could make not millions, but BILLIONS of dollars from a potential sale if they can be a viable competitor to myspace. That should cover any legal fees that come around.
- RichPowers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2So what? Some people liked New Coke, but it didn't stay around...
- hypoh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Great... now my parents can sign up and view my drinking habits.
- Brew, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah facebook is good because it is not open for everyone including spammers and everyone else to create an account. Well I guess we can all look forward to getting friend requests from web cam stars and pathetic ad agencies. O I hope it gets all slow like myspace too, fun, fun.
- jinushaun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Horrible. Limited admission is one of its best features
- goob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Great, one of the few walls between Myspace and Facebook is soon to fall. http://www.facebooktalk.com
- miles01110, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@mark
I'd rather commit social suicide than get raped by a 50-year old hick named Bruno. - dzynz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I hear a foghorn somewhere...
Wah-Wahhhhhhh - saturninus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Facebook is just making one blunder after the next.
- easy4lif, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2bad idea. I've always thought of facebook as a college thing allowing the rest of the internet is just plain bad.
- thirdplanet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The prestige of every nightclub, or college, or social network is based on the exclusivity. As soon as Facebook loses this, it will be the beginning of the end. It's much like a hip bar... as soon as the gawkers and bystanders who do not contribute are let in, it means the overall experience drops.
We're *****, it's true. We judge worth based on who is kept out.
The fact that it was confined to college kids (high schoolers/office networks) kept it exclusive. This is a huge mistake. - nmaster64, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I've switched sides. I support this. Once I read more into it, I see this isn't as "open" as people are being led to believe. And then I got a response to my concens from Ezra Callahan of the FaceBook team (hope you don't mind ez me making our little chat public)...
"Thanks for your thoughts. We'll still have the invite system for high school, but to be honest, it's never worked particularly well.
We definitely have mulled that option over, however. But one thing we keep coming back to is the thought that Facebook sorta has an ingrained invite system even after you sign up. Since only people not on your networks who can see your profiles are your friends, permissioning still works in an inherently invite-like fashion.
There are two concerns outside of this though: 1. the regional networks will be a lot more open, so people may need to be a bit more restrictive with their privacy there, and 2. people may legitimately worry about spam from outsiders. 1 may just be a reality of this change, but I think it's one that is a worthy tradeoff for getting the people who should be on Facebook here - like the people you mentioned in your message. 2 is something we'll be attacking vigorously because we seriosuly hate that ***** and it's already something we're dealing with."
Facebook essentially lets you have two profiles: one for the world to see and one for just your friends. It just means people need to actually look into their privacy settings (heaven-forbid!) and make sure they don't show people what they want them to see.
As I told Ezra, FaceBook's place on the 'net is to give people closer, personal connections between them and their fellow students, co-workers, and real friends, while MySpace's job is to be your online "hey world look at me!" persona. Essentially, FaceBook is your real self and MySpace is your avatar... - Vagari, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1But Facebook isn't just college kids, you can get on with a valid email address. Creepy professors can get on there too.
I didn't realize how many college kids there were around here. I've always hated it when I meet someone who has Facebook and I can't keep in touch because they'd rather gouge out their eyes than join another social network. - ccourt23, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They think last week was a revolt..... most people have 2 accounts... one in facebook one in myspace.... And college kids use facebook b/c it is only college kids. If they open it up to the world... I am going to delete 90% of my account and stick to myspace where I have no information available about myself.
- Slooper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1So, I wanted to add in my two cents. I'm sure you guys have seen a million opinions, so feel free to ignore mine, I just wanted my opinion out there for anyone who wanted to see.
So the three major facebook controversies that I've heard of are joining the high school and college networks, news-feed and mini-feed, and this new possibility.
As for joining HS and college, I actually asked for that, because until about 3 months ago, my younger brother was in high school, and I wanted to be able to be facebook friends with him. However, when I suggested the idea to facebook, I asked for more privacy options-- my suggestion was to only let HS people befriend college people (or vice versa) if they knew the person's email address. That way my brother and I could be friends, but people who were freshmen when I was a senior in HS wouldn't be able to ask to be my friend just because we went to the same school for a year. I was happy when they combined the networks, and I didn't really care about the privacy issue (and still don't, for the most part), but I do understand why people are upset.
When they came out with news-feed and mini-feed, I was outraged. I wrote to facebook many times, including a long letter detailing the my exact issues with the new features, and I joined a few anti-news-feed groups. I understand that facebook implemented this idea because they thought people would like it, and I know that some people like it, but I'm still very bothered by it. I think facebook's "solution" was putting a band-aid on a bullet hole, and they need to rethink this issue. I think they should make it possible to completely remove yourself from news-feed and mini-feed (meaning, it doesn't appear on your homepage or profile and you don't appear on anyone else's feeds), but that's just one person's opinion.
And there's also the fact that seeing the news-feed when I first log in annoys me-- its way too overwhelming, I want the old layout back.
Now there are rumors of allowing people to join based on geographic networks. I think that's too far. The whole idea of geographic networks was interesting, because it allows users to find each other based on location, but I think its better as a feature for already registered users than as a way for new users to sign up. I'm sorry, but I think the fact that facebook is exclusively for students is what makes it special. I don't want some random person from my community going on to facebook and being able to see that I'm on facebook, see my picture, and see who my friends are (I'm sure that someone is going to suggest taking myself out of the searches as a solution, but I like being in the searches because that's a way for old friends who I lost track of to find me so that we can get back it touch-- which happens to be one of my favorite things about facebook). That's a lot of information for someone to know, and I feel somewhat more comfortable knowing that the amount of people who can find that information about me is limited. I know that it can still get into the wrong hands, and I worry about that sometimes, but, honestly, I don't need more of a reason to worry.
Anyways, that was my opinion, thanks for giving me the time of day. Feel free to agree or disagree. - ChiKoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2hooray another myspace!
facebook's getting the next lawsuit. - dasunst3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1As if the mini-feed is not enough temptation for me to port all my information over to my own website and use Facebook for info lookup only! But at least you don't have to deal with shoddy coding and infrastructure. -.-
-
Show 51 - 82 of 82 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is