Facebook is Not that Rad

I’d like to be the first young person to say it. Facebook is no longer rad.

Facebook held me captive for a few months, but if I get one more poke, quiz, or invite from old high school hookups long since forgotten, I think I’ll throw-up. And let’s face it – so far that has been the great product of Facebook (and unfortunately the first they are opening up to embede in other websties). Not only is Facebook going the way of MySpace, it’s invading my privacy at the same time. Kudos.

I expect Facebook to "jump the shark soon" by becoming more open – but if that is the case, my money is on Google, Yahoo (even if it’s owned by Yahoosoft), and a dozen other web companies over Facebook.

I should begin this post with a disclaimer: I try to stay on the cutting edge of technology – but I was a "Johnny Come Lately" to Facebook. As a result of being a late-adopter, I have never been a die-hard fan. But I think most people joined Facebook sometime in the last year (like me), so I’m not late THAT late to the game. In fact, I think I will just be an early adopter to claiming Facebook’s general lack of necessity. I do expect others will follow. I’m not predicting the downfall of Facebook, I’m just saying their estimated value of several billion dollars (not exactly 240 billion) is way off.

My History Con Facebook

Facebook launched the year after I graduated college – so for a long time, without a working .edu email address, I was banished into old people-ville. Meanwhile, I started THIS blog, through which I can add any widgets I want, have complete control over my identity, have made all kinds of e-friends…and I sell the ads (very few).

By time I was in graduate school, Facebook didn’t appeal to me. I thought of it as an undergrad-fad. It was being used by other students to network, but Columbia’s J-school isn’t that big – I could just walk up to people and say hi (I still believe the best networking is done face-to-face). A part of me was also a little bitter that I was "too old" to join the initial Facebook launch.

Then I joined: And I thought a whole new world had opened up to me.

My fist dive into Facebook was great. But I think this is because I
was comparing it to MySpace which was slow, fugly, and lacked
functionality. Facebook DESTROY’S MySpace on all these levels. On
Facebook I could install applications, such as my Twitter feed. I could
import my blog posts (I actually have a few friends who only read my
blog via Facebook) and I can tag my friends in photos (the best
application ever, truly brilliant).

But that functionality only wows me for so long?

So why is Facebook no longer rad?

First: There are the two recent PR scandals that, while most people
will or have forgotten, still hang in my mind. I’m talking about Beacon and Scoblegate.

More than that: I still can’t seem to separate my professional and
personal life on Facebook. I get friend requests from the following
types of people: Old high school, college or forgotten friends. Old
campers who I used to be in a position of authority to, work
colleagues, business contacts I want to stay in good steed with, etc.
etc. I love them all – but I want to keep them all separate.

I get pokes, zombies bites and other random acts of crap from all of
them. Do I really have to feel guilty because I don’t have time to do
movie friend comparisons with a former employer?

But social networking doesn’t need to happen on Facebook. I’m sick
of the idea that social networking sites have a monopoly on that. I
must have logins for dozens if not scores of dozens of communities
around the web. That’s all my data – and it should have one single RSS
feed. Facebook doesn’t own my digital identity and the majority of my
actions on the web aren’t caught on Facebook. If you really want to be
my "friend" online – you are following this blog.

And even this blog does a piss-poor job of capturing everything I do. I can’t wait until FriendFeed and other options like it launch. It will be one RSS feed for ALL my blogs, tweets, diggs, etc, etc.

And that’s because being open wins and Facebook is, so far, slow to open up to the exchange of information.

I expect an attempt to move in this direction – and it will either
be drastic and swift – and save Facebook from its current trap of
having a monopoly only on stupid viral applications – or it will have
meaning and I will humbly retract this post. Until then: Facebook is
not that rad.