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Thanks for the critique of Facebook as a technical implementation. I was curious as to what societal good the company and its products have done. It sounds lik

Thanks for the critique of Facebook as a technical implementation. I was curious as to what societal good the company and its products have done. It sounds like "saved people a bit of time by doing all the things separate services used to do".

basch 8y ago
Basically. That and "an archive of my history," a data repository of photos and contacts. Some of the "good" is people finally feeling like the found a terminal place to store things without it disappearing. Facebook is glorified AIM+Webshots+Digg. The only thing it did different than most of those other products is successfully make the transition to mobile. Most other companies got replaced by mobile clones. Instagram almost did it, became the mobile Webshots, but FB swallowed them.
manilamann 8y ago
What about the millions and millions of small businesses across the globe that were able to grow, reach their customers beyond the borders of their cities, states, or even countries, create jobs, create stability, and bring goods and services to the people that want or need them. What about the charitable giving products that Facebook builds that has collected billions of dollars for charities globally? What about the first of it's kind Crisis Response tools that allows people involved in natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or other horrible situations communicate with their family and friends across the globe and let them know they're safe - for free. What about the groups functionality that allows people come together to support one another through cancer diagnosis, or the loss of a loved one (grief counseling), or coach and help one another land jobs. I could go on for a little while longer, but the point is the facebook isn't the only company or service that can do the things I've listed above, but it's the only one that does all of them and doesn't charge the end user. Let's not kid ourselves, building those products and the infrastructure that it rests upon is not free nor easy and requires tremendous talent and resources. Facebook is a business like any other and it has to make money, and it does so through ads. So to judge it purely on your experience/use case that may not include any of the products/features I mentioned above, it may seem like it doesn't produce a net positive result. But for those users that have and continue to use facebook in these ways, the benefits are obvious.

basch 8y ago

Basically. That and "an archive of my history," a data repository of photos and contacts. Some of the "good" is people finally feeling like the found a terminal place to store things without it disappearing. Facebook is glorified AIM+Webshots+Digg. The only thing it did different than most of those other products is successfully make the transition to mobile. Most other companies got replaced by mobile clones. Instagram almost did it, became the mobile Webshots, but FB swallowed them.

manilamann 8y ago

What about the millions and millions of small businesses across the globe that were able to grow, reach their customers beyond the borders of their cities, states, or even countries, create jobs, create stability, and bring goods and services to the people that want or need them. What about the charitable giving products that Facebook builds that has collected billions of dollars for charities globally? What about the first of it's kind Crisis Response tools that allows people involved in natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or other horrible situations communicate with their family and friends across the globe and let them know they're safe - for free. What about the groups functionality that allows people come together to support one another through cancer diagnosis, or the loss of a loved one (grief counseling), or coach and help one another land jobs. I could go on for a little while longer, but the point is the facebook isn't the only company or service that can do the things I've listed above, but it's the only one that does all of them and doesn't charge the end user. Let's not kid ourselves, building those products and the infrastructure that it rests upon is not free nor easy and requires tremendous talent and resources. Facebook is a business like any other and it has to make money, and it does so through ads. So to judge it purely on your experience/use case that may not include any of the products/features I mentioned above, it may seem like it doesn't produce a net positive result. But for those users that have and continue to use facebook in these ways, the benefits are obvious.