7 ms·

Is Facebook still planning to gate the internet in India behind Facebook, though? I recall they had plans to give folks in third world countries access to Faceb

by eliben 11y ago

Is Facebook still planning to gate the internet in India behind Facebook, though? I recall they had plans to give folks in third world countries access to Facebook only, which is extremely sad.

sliverstorm 11y ago
Except they were going to offer that service for free, which IMO changes the picture.
- rebolek 11y ago
  Except people don't like it at all http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/technology/facebook-meets-skepticism-in-bid-to-expand-internet-in-india.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/technology/facebook-meets-...
  - sliverstorm 11y ago
    Well sure, people wanted more. Facebook offered something for free, and people said "that's not enough, I want more for free!". Not a new story. You might not want to use the service. Fine, then don't! Is your life any worse because it exists? I try to avoid complaining about things which are free as in beer.
    - pyvpx 11y ago
      how do you compete with free?
      - wnevets 11y ago
        how does HBO compete with free tv? They make a great product.
    - kamaal 11y ago
      >>people said "that's not enough, I want more for free!" That's not what people said. People wanted all things on the internet to be treated as equal, also known popularly around the world as 'net neutrality'. There is a very little difference between, offering something for free. And offering different services for different prices. For eg: Indian Telcos have been longing to bill VoIP calls as regular calls. I'd rather pay to access everything with a uniform quality of service, than get into differential pricing. Pushing your hidden agendas through this way should not be welcome.
      - carb 11y ago
        Who is going to pay for the uniform access to everything you want?
        kamaal 11y ago
        We are not asking anything for free. We will pay for a internet connection, for the bandwidth and for the speed. Once done, we wish to use that bandwidth and speed they way we like. But we are not going to pay extra money just to use a chat application over the internet, or make a VoIP call.
        bhups 11y ago
        This isn't about you, though. It's about the millions of people who can't afford to pay.
        mangamadaiyan 11y ago
        Well, yes. Except, internet access isn't going to be the first problem they'd want to solve (or be solved).
        bhups 11y ago
        That's fine, but providing internet access doesn't preclude others from solving other important (or perceivably more important) problems.
- eliben 11y ago
  I agree that criticizing what's essentially a gift isn't "nice". But, on the other hand, this move reeks of evil-ness. Instead of bringing 3rd world people knowledge and freedom, we bring them Facebook. This is embarrassing.
  - rebolek 11y ago
    First free heroin dose is also a gift.
  - ggreer 11y ago
    People like to disparage Facebook, but it can be an incredibly useful tool. I'll give an example from my own life: Soon after I moved to Oakland, a neighbor recommended I join the neighborhood's Facebook group. It's become invaluable. Group members coordinate to help find missing pets, catch vandals, report stolen vehicles, and warn others about crime. City council members are also members of the group, so we work with them to fix problems. It's much more efficient and convenient than the standard ways of petitioning the local government. This may seem like a trivial improvement, but it has caused the neighborhood to completely turn around. Everyone is amazed by how much better and safer the area has gotten. So I don't mind if Facebook's motives are ultimately profit-driven. People in developing countries could greatly benefit. It's win-win.
- pdkl95 11y ago
  "free" is just a convenient excuse Facebook is using so they can pretend they have some sort of moral high ground when in reality they are just another big western-style business with dreams of imperialism. If they actually cared enough to want to help people, they would be trying to help with something that is actually needed. An AOL-style walled garden is a joke compared to vaccinations, food, and energy. Instead, we are seeing a modern variant of the East India Company trying to insert itself into foreign affairs. This is rent-seeking of the worst kind.

by eliben 11y ago

Is Facebook still planning to gate the internet in India behind Facebook, though? I recall they had plans to give folks in third world countries access to Facebook only, which is extremely sad.

sliverstorm 11y ago

Except they were going to offer that service for free, which IMO changes the picture.

rebolek 11y ago
Except people don't like it at all http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/technology/facebook-meets-skepticism-in-bid-to-expand-internet-in-india.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/technology/facebook-meets-...
- sliverstorm 11y ago
  Well sure, people wanted more. Facebook offered something for free, and people said "that's not enough, I want more for free!". Not a new story. You might not want to use the service. Fine, then don't! Is your life any worse because it exists? I try to avoid complaining about things which are free as in beer.
  - pyvpx 11y ago
    how do you compete with free?
    - wnevets 11y ago
      how does HBO compete with free tv? They make a great product.
  - kamaal 11y ago
    >>people said "that's not enough, I want more for free!" That's not what people said. People wanted all things on the internet to be treated as equal, also known popularly around the world as 'net neutrality'. There is a very little difference between, offering something for free. And offering different services for different prices. For eg: Indian Telcos have been longing to bill VoIP calls as regular calls. I'd rather pay to access everything with a uniform quality of service, than get into differential pricing. Pushing your hidden agendas through this way should not be welcome.
    - carb 11y ago
      Who is going to pay for the uniform access to everything you want?
      - kamaal 11y ago
        We are not asking anything for free. We will pay for a internet connection, for the bandwidth and for the speed. Once done, we wish to use that bandwidth and speed they way we like. But we are not going to pay extra money just to use a chat application over the internet, or make a VoIP call.
        bhups 11y ago
        This isn't about you, though. It's about the millions of people who can't afford to pay.
        mangamadaiyan 11y ago
        Well, yes. Except, internet access isn't going to be the first problem they'd want to solve (or be solved).
        bhups 11y ago
        That's fine, but providing internet access doesn't preclude others from solving other important (or perceivably more important) problems.
eliben 11y ago
I agree that criticizing what's essentially a gift isn't "nice". But, on the other hand, this move reeks of evil-ness. Instead of bringing 3rd world people knowledge and freedom, we bring them Facebook. This is embarrassing.
- rebolek 11y ago
  First free heroin dose is also a gift.
- ggreer 11y ago
  People like to disparage Facebook, but it can be an incredibly useful tool. I'll give an example from my own life: Soon after I moved to Oakland, a neighbor recommended I join the neighborhood's Facebook group. It's become invaluable. Group members coordinate to help find missing pets, catch vandals, report stolen vehicles, and warn others about crime. City council members are also members of the group, so we work with them to fix problems. It's much more efficient and convenient than the standard ways of petitioning the local government. This may seem like a trivial improvement, but it has caused the neighborhood to completely turn around. Everyone is amazed by how much better and safer the area has gotten. So I don't mind if Facebook's motives are ultimately profit-driven. People in developing countries could greatly benefit. It's win-win.
pdkl95 11y ago
"free" is just a convenient excuse Facebook is using so they can pretend they have some sort of moral high ground when in reality they are just another big western-style business with dreams of imperialism. If they actually cared enough to want to help people, they would be trying to help with something that is actually needed. An AOL-style walled garden is a joke compared to vaccinations, food, and energy. Instead, we are seeing a modern variant of the East India Company trying to insert itself into foreign affairs. This is rent-seeking of the worst kind.