7 ms·

I don't know anything about this overall, but I have some interesting anecdotes that show the power of Facebook around the world. I've done some pretty substan

I don't know anything about this overall, but I have some interesting anecdotes that show the power of Facebook around the world. I've done some pretty substantial traveling throughout Asia, and just about everyone with a smartphone that I've met also has a Facebook account (excluding China). In Myanmar (aka Burma) the strict military government restricted internet usage until they turned over control of the government last year. Most people are (within the last 12-24 months) using the internet for the first time! Most have never used a computer, and they only know the internet from an (Android) smartphone. However, every single person who I talked to there who had a smartphone had a Facebook. The one local I talked to most in depth about this had never used Google! He said he didn't know how to use Google, and he didn't think he needed it. I explained what Google can help with: searching for information, reading news, etc. He showed me that he read news and did searches for things all from within the Facebook app. I saw similar usage of Facebook in other developing Asian countries (Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia), where people used Facebook as a kind of substitute for a web browser / search engine. You and I would never think to use Facebook as our internet portal, but it seems to be a very sticky and powerful tool for many of those just coming online.

cbhl 9y ago
Facebook saw the "we're saturating the number of people on the Internet" wall years ago. That's why they zero-rate the app, and integrated SMS notifications and had J2ME and SIM apps.
- tuna-piano 9y ago
  They also have a "free basics" program which partners with networks (I think primarily developing countries) and gives people access to Facebook with no network/bandwidth costs. Seems like a win-win? https://developers.facebook.com/docs/internet-org https://developers.facebook.com/docs/internet-org
  - nojvek 9y ago
    I envision that Facebook really wants to become the wechat of the world. From the lessons of Trump, if mark becomes the president I see him really pushing FB politically.
  - amoorthy 9y ago
    Um no. https://qz.com/612159/why-trai-backed-net-neutrality-and-killed-facebooks-free-basics-in-india/ https://qz.com/612159/why-trai-backed-net-neutrality-and-kil...
    - tuna-piano 9y ago
      That's just in India where Free Basics doesn't exist. Facebook Free Basics is absolutely live and in use in 62 other countries: https://info.internet.org/en/story/where-weve-launched/ https://info.internet.org/en/story/where-weve-launched/
      - amoorthy 9y ago
        I wasn't suggesting it's failing. The point I was replying to was if Free Basics is a "win-win" and I'm saying there's at least one large democratic nation that thought otherwise.
    - tuna-piano 9y ago
      Gotcha. I'm not sure it's a win-win, but it feels crazy to say that giving 0 free sites is better than giving Facebook free. It's a level playing field, sure, but consumers are worse off than if they had free access to Facebook. In my opinion, opportunity is better than equality.
      - amoorthy 9y ago
        A lot of people think this way, Zuck included, and that's what makes the decision in India so interesting and, at least for me, correct. FB does not categorically improve the quality of life for its users. FB provides connectivity to others... this is good. But if the cost is making you think the world is askew from what it really is because all you see is what FB's feed shows you... well that's a steep price that nobody, even the poor, should be asked to pay.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
trevyn 9y ago
>I explained what Google can help with: searching for information, reading news, etc. He showed me that he read news and did searches for things all from within the Facebook app. This is the most frightening thing I've read in a while.
- self-diversity 9y ago
  I can only imagine being frightened by this if I held a large stake in Google. Do you have a different reason?
  - krakensden 9y ago
    Death of the open web. It isn't google per se, it's that there is no knowledge/interest of the things outside of the Facebook garden.
  - narrowrail 9y ago
    This is such a crappy suggestion: That we are all just acting in our own self-interest. I'm privileged enough that this is not the case, and I despise the implication. It's like voting for Trump just because of the huge tax cut I will get. Not everyone thinks this way.
    - despise-my-mom 9y ago
      So you despise finding it odd that a person would be frightened by a user preferring Facebook to Google, and you wish this to be seen as your virtuous nature? How fascinating. You must be an amazing person.
  - mrep 9y ago
    Google sends you to other websites, Facebook tends to keep you within their walled garden/echo chamber. Now, I am not saying google is the perfect answer, but I consider it a hell of a lot better than facebook.
    - trevyn 9y ago
mcphilip 9y ago
Buzzfeed has some surprisingly good long form pieces. A recent one discusses in detail what's going on in Myanmar[1]. I found it interesting, but depressing. The cesspool of fake news, Trump gossip, etc, turning into hot topics amongst Myanmar's budding online culture is sad, like a virus spreading. Another worrisome side effect is the quick adoption of the medium by hate groups inciting violence towards religious minorities with outright lies compounded by the fact that most Myanmar users don't yet know fact checking is possible thanks to the walled garden. Some users have landed in jail for not realizing posts containing jests about government officials were viewable by said authorities. The country's speech laws are still evolving and users struggle to understand brand new ceoncepts like scoping of comments. Interesting times... [1]. https://www.buzzfeed.com/sheerafrenkel/fake-news-spreads-trump-around-the-world?utm_term=.sdLZ1qaJ1#.xrb093Jv9 https://www.buzzfeed.com/sheerafrenkel/fake-news-spreads-tru...
- tuna-piano 9y ago
  Wow, thanks for the article... extremely interesting. Very nice writeup. So many great tidbits there, and all ring true with what I saw firsthand.

cbhl 9y ago

Facebook saw the "we're saturating the number of people on the Internet" wall years ago. That's why they zero-rate the app, and integrated SMS notifications and had J2ME and SIM apps.

tuna-piano 9y ago
They also have a "free basics" program which partners with networks (I think primarily developing countries) and gives people access to Facebook with no network/bandwidth costs. Seems like a win-win? https://developers.facebook.com/docs/internet-org https://developers.facebook.com/docs/internet-org
- nojvek 9y ago
  I envision that Facebook really wants to become the wechat of the world. From the lessons of Trump, if mark becomes the president I see him really pushing FB politically.
- amoorthy 9y ago
  Um no. https://qz.com/612159/why-trai-backed-net-neutrality-and-killed-facebooks-free-basics-in-india/ https://qz.com/612159/why-trai-backed-net-neutrality-and-kil...
  - tuna-piano 9y ago
    That's just in India where Free Basics doesn't exist. Facebook Free Basics is absolutely live and in use in 62 other countries: https://info.internet.org/en/story/where-weve-launched/ https://info.internet.org/en/story/where-weve-launched/
    - amoorthy 9y ago
      I wasn't suggesting it's failing. The point I was replying to was if Free Basics is a "win-win" and I'm saying there's at least one large democratic nation that thought otherwise.
  - tuna-piano 9y ago
    Gotcha. I'm not sure it's a win-win, but it feels crazy to say that giving 0 free sites is better than giving Facebook free. It's a level playing field, sure, but consumers are worse off than if they had free access to Facebook. In my opinion, opportunity is better than equality.
    - amoorthy 9y ago
      A lot of people think this way, Zuck included, and that's what makes the decision in India so interesting and, at least for me, correct. FB does not categorically improve the quality of life for its users. FB provides connectivity to others... this is good. But if the cost is making you think the world is askew from what it really is because all you see is what FB's feed shows you... well that's a steep price that nobody, even the poor, should be asked to pay.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

trevyn 9y ago

>I explained what Google can help with: searching for information, reading news, etc. He showed me that he read news and did searches for things all from within the Facebook app. This is the most frightening thing I've read in a while.

self-diversity 9y ago
I can only imagine being frightened by this if I held a large stake in Google. Do you have a different reason?
- krakensden 9y ago
  Death of the open web. It isn't google per se, it's that there is no knowledge/interest of the things outside of the Facebook garden.
- narrowrail 9y ago
  This is such a crappy suggestion: That we are all just acting in our own self-interest. I'm privileged enough that this is not the case, and I despise the implication. It's like voting for Trump just because of the huge tax cut I will get. Not everyone thinks this way.
  - despise-my-mom 9y ago
    So you despise finding it odd that a person would be frightened by a user preferring Facebook to Google, and you wish this to be seen as your virtuous nature? How fascinating. You must be an amazing person.
- mrep 9y ago
  Google sends you to other websites, Facebook tends to keep you within their walled garden/echo chamber. Now, I am not saying google is the perfect answer, but I consider it a hell of a lot better than facebook.
  - trevyn 9y ago

mcphilip 9y ago

Buzzfeed has some surprisingly good long form pieces. A recent one discusses in detail what's going on in Myanmar[1]. I found it interesting, but depressing. The cesspool of fake news, Trump gossip, etc, turning into hot topics amongst Myanmar's budding online culture is sad, like a virus spreading. Another worrisome side effect is the quick adoption of the medium by hate groups inciting violence towards religious minorities with outright lies compounded by the fact that most Myanmar users don't yet know fact checking is possible thanks to the walled garden. Some users have landed in jail for not realizing posts containing jests about government officials were viewable by said authorities. The country's speech laws are still evolving and users struggle to understand brand new ceoncepts like scoping of comments. Interesting times... [1]. https://www.buzzfeed.com/sheerafrenkel/fake-news-spreads-trump-around-the-world?utm_term=.sdLZ1qaJ1#.xrb093Jv9 https://www.buzzfeed.com/sheerafrenkel/fake-news-spreads-tru...

tuna-piano 9y ago
Wow, thanks for the article... extremely interesting. Very nice writeup. So many great tidbits there, and all ring true with what I saw firsthand.