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Am I alone in feeling that this headline is self-aggrandizing snobbery? Facebook succeeds by providing universal access: it must be a tool that anyone can use.
by joblessjunkie 16y ago
Am I alone in feeling that this headline is self-aggrandizing snobbery?
Facebook succeeds by providing universal access: it must be a tool that anyone can use.
Is a hammer geared to dullards? Is a coffee mug?
Just because it is simple enough for everyone to use doesn't equate to being "geared for dullards". I know it's cool to hate on Facebook, but attacking them for one of their key successes is absurd.
Now whether Facebook attracts dullards is another matter entirely....
Edit: It's clear that the article references research which is actually interesting and on-topic. However, I'm disappointed to see a headline like this on HN, which both misrepresents and colors the research.
- nkohari 16y agoI don't think the author meant that its simplicity (from a user experience perspective) was the reason -- it was what you can do with Facebook that may make it for people who require less of a cognitive challenge. The best software is so simple that anyone can use it, but the converse (simple software is only used by simple people) is definitely not true.
- brlewis 16y agoFacebook is designed to maximize engagement. With that goal in mind, what kind of user is more desirable? One who digs into deep issues, or one who spends all day chatting with friends? Sure, the research doesn't say what Facebook's intent is, but if they're seeking to maximize engagement, we can guess where it will go.
- hugh3 16y agoIs chatting with friends for dullards? One who digs into deep issues What does that even mean? In my observation there's a few hundred people in the world who actually "dig into deep issues". They are supplemented by about fifty million others who think they are being deep because have just taken a freshman philosophy class and/or drugs.
- erikpukinskis 16y agoOut of curiosity, which do you think you are?
- hugh3 16y agoNeither. (With occasional episodes of class 2 back when I used to go to first-year philosophy lectures, but that was twelve years ago...)
- brlewis 16y agoChatting with friends all day correlates with low NFC. I wouldn't use the word "dullards", which is one reason I could probably not get a job writing attention-grabbing headlines. By "dig into deep issues" I just meant activities associated with high NFC. I think such activities are correlated with intelligence, but I wouldn't hazard a guess as to how good a predictor of intelligence they are.
- CaptainZapp 16y agoIs chatting with friends for dullards? I dare say that Facebook has an extremely lose definition of a friend. I can count my real friends on one hand and don't think that's low.