5 ms·

Can't wait for this social fad to be over.

cageface 16y ago
I hear you, but don't hold your breath. Best case scenario is it becomes boring and people stop obsessing about it, I think.
techdmn 16y ago
Me either, but I don't think it's a fad. I think it's the way a lot of people relate to the internet and computers in general. Queue stories about grandma who's on facebook but doesn't know how to use the address bar in her browser, etc, etc. I wouldn't expect that to go away. Social will get a lot more attention than other computing topics for a long time to come, because the user base is so much larger.
- dhimes 16y ago
  I'll go you one further: I think this will become more and more of everybody's life- like the automobile did. I think solving the problems with the social web (privacy, etc.) will also solve a lot of the problems faced, for instance, telecommuters. One of the problems telecommuters face is dealing with a sense of isolation from the team. If (when) we solve that problem (and similar ones), and social media experimentation is going to be required to do so, probably, then we have an opportunity for a real virtual office, virtual college, etc. I definitely see this happening.
robryan 16y ago
I wouldn't call it a fad, I think it's the natural progression of communication which will essentially be with us forever in some way. I think we are still in the period of experimentation, it's still new so there is a crazy amount of heat and investment in the area trying to work out what works and what doesn't where we end up with crazy and quirky ideas all tied to the idea of social. I think eventually it will all setting down and there will be new pushes based on yet new tech.
revorad 16y ago
Don't hold your breath. People are not going to turn into loners any time soon. What's wrong with technology helping people become more social? I love it and apparently, millions of others do too.
- regomodo 16y ago
  "What's wrong with technology helping people become more social?" Banality?
  - revorad 16y ago
    You could say that about any form of communication. What's special this time?
    - daniel1980fl 16y ago
      nothing. you both right.
- qjz 16y ago
  That's like asking, "What's wrong with marriage?" I'd rather choose my own mate than be forced into an arranged marriage. The current state of social networking is more like the latter. The individual needs to be in the driver's seat, controlling the nature of the social interactions. Hopefully, Google can offer a new approach that provides the kind of fine-tuned controls that reluctant adopters and privacy advocates want, without spoiling anyone's party.
- daniel1980fl 16y ago
  pretty weak explanations: "millions of others do". millions are in prison rotting for murder -- would you consider that a "good thing to do" ? social in web is still inmature. most facebooker are on the war of whom got more friends on their list -- something in real society does not happen. most myspacers upload photos next to "cool" stuff, like friends porche claimed their own, owesome vacations that never took place, etc -- something in real society does not happen alot OR you are pushed outside the circle. what you see right now is very inmature social.
joezydeco 16y ago
The "social fad" is the internet finally maturing to the point where the unwashed masses can finally post things on a web page, share photos, and communicate to a subset of users without having to learn HTTP, IRC, Jabber, FTP, etc. It's just evolution.
- gaius 16y ago
  We had that a decade ago with blogs. Social is about linking it all up which - and this is what Google doesn't get - is not a technical problem. No-one yet has a seamless, intuitive way to have a work social network, a personal social network, a social social network (for want of a better term... People who aren't really friends but that you do stuff with) and manage them all via one service. You can have friends on Facebook and work colleages on LinkedIn and random people on Twitter, for example. But that's not the same thing. Google thinks everyone who knows me even slightly wants to know everything about me, the more the better. That quite rightly annoys people.
  - joezydeco 16y ago
    Maybe Google hasn't solved it yet, but they're at least aware of it. Take a closer look at this slideshow from one of their UX guys... http://www.slideshare.net/padday/the-real-life-social-network-v2 http://www.slideshare.net/padday/the-real-life-social-networ... It's all about the problem where social circles overlap.
- notahacker 16y ago
  The unwashed masses had bulletin boards, instant messengers, profile websites and Geocities ten years ago, although obviously fewer people spent less time on the internet then. The only real difference in is the increasing tendency for services to be dependent (for traffic, functionality and/or data) on an industry monopolist. It's easy to see why Google consider developing a Bing of social strategically important; less easy to see what they gain from making their litmus test for the success of that strategy public.

I hear you, but don't hold your breath. Best case scenario is it becomes boring and people stop obsessing about it, I think.

techdmn 16y ago

Me either, but I don't think it's a fad. I think it's the way a lot of people relate to the internet and computers in general. Queue stories about grandma who's on facebook but doesn't know how to use the address bar in her browser, etc, etc. I wouldn't expect that to go away. Social will get a lot more attention than other computing topics for a long time to come, because the user base is so much larger.

dhimes 16y ago
I'll go you one further: I think this will become more and more of everybody's life- like the automobile did. I think solving the problems with the social web (privacy, etc.) will also solve a lot of the problems faced, for instance, telecommuters. One of the problems telecommuters face is dealing with a sense of isolation from the team. If (when) we solve that problem (and similar ones), and social media experimentation is going to be required to do so, probably, then we have an opportunity for a real virtual office, virtual college, etc. I definitely see this happening.

robryan 16y ago

I wouldn't call it a fad, I think it's the natural progression of communication which will essentially be with us forever in some way. I think we are still in the period of experimentation, it's still new so there is a crazy amount of heat and investment in the area trying to work out what works and what doesn't where we end up with crazy and quirky ideas all tied to the idea of social. I think eventually it will all setting down and there will be new pushes based on yet new tech.

revorad 16y ago

Don't hold your breath. People are not going to turn into loners any time soon. What's wrong with technology helping people become more social? I love it and apparently, millions of others do too.

regomodo 16y ago
"What's wrong with technology helping people become more social?" Banality?
- revorad 16y ago
  You could say that about any form of communication. What's special this time?
  - daniel1980fl 16y ago
    nothing. you both right.
qjz 16y ago
That's like asking, "What's wrong with marriage?" I'd rather choose my own mate than be forced into an arranged marriage. The current state of social networking is more like the latter. The individual needs to be in the driver's seat, controlling the nature of the social interactions. Hopefully, Google can offer a new approach that provides the kind of fine-tuned controls that reluctant adopters and privacy advocates want, without spoiling anyone's party.
daniel1980fl 16y ago
pretty weak explanations: "millions of others do". millions are in prison rotting for murder -- would you consider that a "good thing to do" ? social in web is still inmature. most facebooker are on the war of whom got more friends on their list -- something in real society does not happen. most myspacers upload photos next to "cool" stuff, like friends porche claimed their own, owesome vacations that never took place, etc -- something in real society does not happen alot OR you are pushed outside the circle. what you see right now is very inmature social.

joezydeco 16y ago

The "social fad" is the internet finally maturing to the point where the unwashed masses can finally post things on a web page, share photos, and communicate to a subset of users without having to learn HTTP, IRC, Jabber, FTP, etc. It's just evolution.

gaius 16y ago
We had that a decade ago with blogs. Social is about linking it all up which - and this is what Google doesn't get - is not a technical problem. No-one yet has a seamless, intuitive way to have a work social network, a personal social network, a social social network (for want of a better term... People who aren't really friends but that you do stuff with) and manage them all via one service. You can have friends on Facebook and work colleages on LinkedIn and random people on Twitter, for example. But that's not the same thing. Google thinks everyone who knows me even slightly wants to know everything about me, the more the better. That quite rightly annoys people.
- joezydeco 16y ago
  Maybe Google hasn't solved it yet, but they're at least aware of it. Take a closer look at this slideshow from one of their UX guys... http://www.slideshare.net/padday/the-real-life-social-network-v2 http://www.slideshare.net/padday/the-real-life-social-networ... It's all about the problem where social circles overlap.
notahacker 16y ago
The unwashed masses had bulletin boards, instant messengers, profile websites and Geocities ten years ago, although obviously fewer people spent less time on the internet then. The only real difference in is the increasing tendency for services to be dependent (for traffic, functionality and/or data) on an industry monopolist. It's easy to see why Google consider developing a Bing of social strategically important; less easy to see what they gain from making their litmus test for the success of that strategy public.