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It's interesting to see this trend of breathless articles where people who don't grasp the intended design of Facebook assume some malign purpose behind anythin
by TrevorBramble 16y ago
It's interesting to see this trend of breathless articles where people who don't grasp the intended design of Facebook assume some malign purpose behind anything that confuses them on the site. Not so much because of the dim view of Facebook's intent, but because of how it underscores the pre-existing problematic aspects of Facebook's design.
What's a "page"? How is it different from a "profile"? Why can people see my posts on some parts of Facebook even though I said only my "friends" should see my posts?
These are questions that were already valid, but because Facebook had enough goodwill in the bank they were previously able to skate by without addressing them.
- techiferous 16y agoI used to think usability was about making your product easy for your users. Now I see that poor usability can accidentally lead to bad branding!
- mrvir 16y agoThese blogs will continue beating facebook as long as that gets them a flood of page views from confused/concerned users. FB has a PR problem. If it fails to communicate the intent and vision people will run around seeking the story from elsewhere.
- julio_the_squid 16y agoI'm quite familiar with all sorts of websites, but haven't ever used Facebook. Last night, I was trying to use the site to configure a profile, test an app and share the profile with my partner - I have to say the site confuses the hell out of me. I can't believe so many people are using something with such an awful design.