8 ms·

Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

95 points by evolution 15y ago

borism 15y ago
Zuckerberg is running around killing animals, just as usual http://theseattlesalmon.com/business-vs-cultural-news/business-news/mark-zuckerberg-killing-what-he-eats%E2%80%A6the-facebook-way http://theseattlesalmon.com/business-vs-cultural-news/busine...
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- blhack 15y ago
  I never understood the outrage over this. He's advocating ethical farming practice, not going on a killing rampage. The "only eat things I kill" is his way of highlighting the ways that the meat industry is doing the world wrong.
  - 27182818284 15y ago
    I wasn't even aware there was outrage. I mentioned it to my vegan friends and they thought it was great.
theblueadept111 15y ago
My opinions are my own and I can't speak for Facebook as a whole (or in any capacity, really, which is why this will forever remain an anonymous post). I think Google will gain some traction initially, but what we're working on in my group is light years ahead of the Facebook you see and use today, and probably not the same direction that Google is (or can be) heading. Yes, we've had our stumbles with privacy, but will Google be any better? Any legitimate complaints that I've heard are either something we're resolving or is an inherent problem that any social networking site will face. Am I worried about attrition of users as Google ramps up? Not really. It's too much work to maintain multiple social networking accounts and at the end of the day, all your profile are belong to us.
- reso 15y ago
  You may want to rephrase that last sentence. I doubt it was your intention, but it sounds a little arrogant.
  - kelnos 15y ago
    It may, but I think it's a refreshingly honest view. Facebook -- perhaps rightly so -- feels like they have people locked in to their service.
- clarkbox 15y ago
  " and at the end of the day, all your profile are belong to us." i think this is the exact sentiment that makes FB vulnerable in many ways. as i user, i dont want a company controlling my personal bits that just shits on the user base with an arrogant attitude "we have your personal info already". What drives internal innovation if everyone goes around thinking "fuck these fish in this barrel"
  - gigawatt 15y ago
    Assuming you meant "vulnerable." If so, agree completely. If the company that Facebook overthrew, with hundreds of millions of users, can lose over 90% of its value in a few years, there's no reason Facebook is immune. Facebook's new motto: It's like fucking fish in a barrel.
    - VladRussian 15y ago
      "Facebook's new motto: It's like fucking fish in a barrel. " sounds like directly from Zuck's mouth
      - reso 15y ago
        Have you ever heard Zuck speak? He doesn't talk like that.
        15y ago
blhack 15y ago
I'm going to venture a guess that you're only going to get politically correct answers on a public forum like HN. Something along the lines of: "We're happy to have some competition! By the way, did you know that facebook has had something like circles since 2009? Go to preferences and blah blah blah to enable it!" or "G+ and facebook fall into different categories and, in some ways, compliment one another! We're happy for google in this, but don't think it will effect facebook." maybe if they get bold "We'll be happy to see what google comes up with! Of course facebook employees are encouraged to sign up for the service, if they can get invites! We've heard it's quite the contest to get them right now! The couple of people that have tried it around my office said it was a bit buggy, but it is a good start!" etc.
- ralfd 15y ago
  On a public forum like HN or Reddit many people are anonymous. I find the provided answers so far honest and insightful. Did you expect an "official" replay by PR?
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
reso 15y ago
Facebook's response to Google+ actually took place last summer and last fall. I was an intern there at the time, so I got to see it. Google Me, as it was known at the time, was clearly Google's first serious attempt at moving into social, and everyone was a little bit nervous. So, Zuck declared "Lockdown" for sixty days. "Lockdown" was a term from Facebook's early days, which meant when they had a serious competitor emerge at a particular school, they would stop everything and redouble their efforts until the new threat was gone. This time, Lockdown meant removing all the obvious shortcomings from Facebook that Google could possibly beat us on. Since most of these were already in the pipeline, this meant shipping everything, now. For sixty days there was a constant fervor in the office, with fewer meetings, late(r) nights, and many people coming in on weekends. They even extended cafeteria hours. The results of Lockdown were visible last fall, with the almost-monthly new product launches. New Messages (Titan), High-res photos, the new photo viewer, New Groups, Profile, and several other non-obvious additions were accelerated by Lockdown. I think it is very indicative of the company's culture that their "response" was so pro-active. As to what they will do now that G+ is out there, I have no idea. Zuck did say to expect an "awesome" announcement next week, so I wouldn't expect them to be quiet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/faster-forward/post/facebook-promises-awesome-announcement/2011/06/30/AGstHasH_blog.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/faster-forward/post/face...
- blhack 15y ago
  Was the new photo viewer really looked at as a "feature" by facebook staff? It seemed to me like it was facebook's way of saying "we're sick of being a free image host".
  - nametoremember 15y ago
    It certainly is a feature. I often browse Facebook on a netbook which has a smaller screen. Before, photos didn't fit on my screen. Now they do. You'll notice that Google+ has the same type of viewer.
- city41 15y ago
  G+'s Circles are a killer feature and they alone make me hope G+ takes off. Circles solve some very entrenched problems in social networking. So I really hope Facebook is working on a quality response to that.
kmavm 15y ago
Well, here's one thing that happened the other night: http://circlehack.com http://circlehack.com Edit: This is the circles UI implemented for Facebook friend lists. Three FB engineers put it together the night Google+ launched.
- num1 15y ago
  Since I'm wary of clicking random FB buttons, would you mind explaining what this is?
  - carbonica 15y ago
    It looks to be a quickly-hacked together interface for making Facebook user lists with the Circle interface.
  - kmavm 15y ago
    Sorry, I forgot I'd already authorized it. It's the circles UI for Facebook friend lists. Three FB engineers put it together the night Google+ launched.
    - num1 15y ago
      Thanks, it looks cool.
pessimist 15y ago
https://plus.google.com/104560124403688998123/buzz?tab=mX https://plus.google.com/104560124403688998123/buzz?tab=mX looks legit based on the people he's following. Mark doesnt look very happy :-).
- dorian-graph 15y ago
  I know 1 or 2 of the people in his circle's who work at Facebook which adds to the legitimacy.
- nametoremember 15y ago
  Check Scobles updates. The account is legit and not surprising. Do you think nobody at Twitter has a Facebook account and nobody in Google has Twitter or Facebook?
winsbe01 15y ago
I don't know, I think this is a good thing for everyone. With all the hiring wars going on between Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc., we're bound to see some really cool advancements from these companies in the near future. Plus, to have something pose as a direct competition to Facebook's core mission is exciting; Zuck won't back down, and neither will Page, and hopefully out of that comes innovation.
Caballera 15y ago
So far Google+ is rather boring. Probably cause I only have 9 people on there and no one is posting anything other then their new profile picture and a test post. Other then that it's been quiet. Meanwhile on Facebook where I have many more "Friends" it's business as usually, same number of post etc. I'm sure it'll take a long time for Google to catch up, I just don't see most people moving to Google+.
- mekoka 15y ago
  I don't know about that. I've been extremely reluctant to connect with my parents or anyone in my family on facebook, just because of all the possible social clashes that may occur once they have access to my profile. I don't think I'm alone in this situation and I feel that many people, like me, would really welcome an environment where they can truly and safely connect with the different people that color their lives. Facebook has taught us a lot of lessons about having an online social life, but it appears to me that it hasn't learned much from us in return, other than what it wanted to learn. G+ feels to me like a second chance to get it right with better tools. To be honest, I would have no problem letting my facebook profile go stale, while I rebuild a better profile with G+. Something that prevented me from leaving facebook behind in the past was that there was no alternative. Now, I can gladly tell people "I'm outta here, if you wanna find me, I'm at G+", exactly like I did when I abandoned my hotmail account for gmail.
- nametoremember 15y ago
  There's nothing wrong with your comment and yet it is downvoted. What's going on? Anyway, I think Google+ will stay around and replace/fulfill communication needs for a lot of people but it won't beat Facebook. People LIKE seeing everything their friends post - even if they complain about it.

95 points by evolution 15y ago

Zuckerberg is running around killing animals, just as usual http://theseattlesalmon.com/business-vs-cultural-news/business-news/mark-zuckerberg-killing-what-he-eats%E2%80%A6the-facebook-way http://theseattlesalmon.com/business-vs-cultural-news/busine...

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
blhack 15y ago
I never understood the outrage over this. He's advocating ethical farming practice, not going on a killing rampage. The "only eat things I kill" is his way of highlighting the ways that the meat industry is doing the world wrong.
- 27182818284 15y ago
  I wasn't even aware there was outrage. I mentioned it to my vegan friends and they thought it was great.

theblueadept111 15y ago

My opinions are my own and I can't speak for Facebook as a whole (or in any capacity, really, which is why this will forever remain an anonymous post). I think Google will gain some traction initially, but what we're working on in my group is light years ahead of the Facebook you see and use today, and probably not the same direction that Google is (or can be) heading. Yes, we've had our stumbles with privacy, but will Google be any better? Any legitimate complaints that I've heard are either something we're resolving or is an inherent problem that any social networking site will face. Am I worried about attrition of users as Google ramps up? Not really. It's too much work to maintain multiple social networking accounts and at the end of the day, all your profile are belong to us.

reso 15y ago
You may want to rephrase that last sentence. I doubt it was your intention, but it sounds a little arrogant.
- kelnos 15y ago
  It may, but I think it's a refreshingly honest view. Facebook -- perhaps rightly so -- feels like they have people locked in to their service.
clarkbox 15y ago
" and at the end of the day, all your profile are belong to us." i think this is the exact sentiment that makes FB vulnerable in many ways. as i user, i dont want a company controlling my personal bits that just shits on the user base with an arrogant attitude "we have your personal info already". What drives internal innovation if everyone goes around thinking "fuck these fish in this barrel"
- gigawatt 15y ago
  Assuming you meant "vulnerable." If so, agree completely. If the company that Facebook overthrew, with hundreds of millions of users, can lose over 90% of its value in a few years, there's no reason Facebook is immune. Facebook's new motto: It's like fucking fish in a barrel.
  - VladRussian 15y ago
    "Facebook's new motto: It's like fucking fish in a barrel. " sounds like directly from Zuck's mouth
    - reso 15y ago
      Have you ever heard Zuck speak? He doesn't talk like that.
      - 15y ago

blhack 15y ago

I'm going to venture a guess that you're only going to get politically correct answers on a public forum like HN. Something along the lines of: "We're happy to have some competition! By the way, did you know that facebook has had something like circles since 2009? Go to preferences and blah blah blah to enable it!" or "G+ and facebook fall into different categories and, in some ways, compliment one another! We're happy for google in this, but don't think it will effect facebook." maybe if they get bold "We'll be happy to see what google comes up with! Of course facebook employees are encouraged to sign up for the service, if they can get invites! We've heard it's quite the contest to get them right now! The couple of people that have tried it around my office said it was a bit buggy, but it is a good start!" etc.

ralfd 15y ago
On a public forum like HN or Reddit many people are anonymous. I find the provided answers so far honest and insightful. Did you expect an "official" replay by PR?
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

reso 15y ago

Facebook's response to Google+ actually took place last summer and last fall. I was an intern there at the time, so I got to see it. Google Me, as it was known at the time, was clearly Google's first serious attempt at moving into social, and everyone was a little bit nervous. So, Zuck declared "Lockdown" for sixty days. "Lockdown" was a term from Facebook's early days, which meant when they had a serious competitor emerge at a particular school, they would stop everything and redouble their efforts until the new threat was gone. This time, Lockdown meant removing all the obvious shortcomings from Facebook that Google could possibly beat us on. Since most of these were already in the pipeline, this meant shipping everything, now. For sixty days there was a constant fervor in the office, with fewer meetings, late(r) nights, and many people coming in on weekends. They even extended cafeteria hours. The results of Lockdown were visible last fall, with the almost-monthly new product launches. New Messages (Titan), High-res photos, the new photo viewer, New Groups, Profile, and several other non-obvious additions were accelerated by Lockdown. I think it is very indicative of the company's culture that their "response" was so pro-active. As to what they will do now that G+ is out there, I have no idea. Zuck did say to expect an "awesome" announcement next week, so I wouldn't expect them to be quiet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/faster-forward/post/facebook-promises-awesome-announcement/2011/06/30/AGstHasH_blog.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/faster-forward/post/face...

blhack 15y ago
Was the new photo viewer really looked at as a "feature" by facebook staff? It seemed to me like it was facebook's way of saying "we're sick of being a free image host".
- nametoremember 15y ago
  It certainly is a feature. I often browse Facebook on a netbook which has a smaller screen. Before, photos didn't fit on my screen. Now they do. You'll notice that Google+ has the same type of viewer.
city41 15y ago
G+'s Circles are a killer feature and they alone make me hope G+ takes off. Circles solve some very entrenched problems in social networking. So I really hope Facebook is working on a quality response to that.

kmavm 15y ago

Well, here's one thing that happened the other night: http://circlehack.com http://circlehack.com Edit: This is the circles UI implemented for Facebook friend lists. Three FB engineers put it together the night Google+ launched.

num1 15y ago
Since I'm wary of clicking random FB buttons, would you mind explaining what this is?
- carbonica 15y ago
  It looks to be a quickly-hacked together interface for making Facebook user lists with the Circle interface.
- kmavm 15y ago
  Sorry, I forgot I'd already authorized it. It's the circles UI for Facebook friend lists. Three FB engineers put it together the night Google+ launched.
  - num1 15y ago
    Thanks, it looks cool.

pessimist 15y ago

https://plus.google.com/104560124403688998123/buzz?tab=mX https://plus.google.com/104560124403688998123/buzz?tab=mX looks legit based on the people he's following. Mark doesnt look very happy :-).

dorian-graph 15y ago
I know 1 or 2 of the people in his circle's who work at Facebook which adds to the legitimacy.
nametoremember 15y ago
Check Scobles updates. The account is legit and not surprising. Do you think nobody at Twitter has a Facebook account and nobody in Google has Twitter or Facebook?

winsbe01 15y ago

I don't know, I think this is a good thing for everyone. With all the hiring wars going on between Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc., we're bound to see some really cool advancements from these companies in the near future. Plus, to have something pose as a direct competition to Facebook's core mission is exciting; Zuck won't back down, and neither will Page, and hopefully out of that comes innovation.

Caballera 15y ago

So far Google+ is rather boring. Probably cause I only have 9 people on there and no one is posting anything other then their new profile picture and a test post. Other then that it's been quiet. Meanwhile on Facebook where I have many more "Friends" it's business as usually, same number of post etc. I'm sure it'll take a long time for Google to catch up, I just don't see most people moving to Google+.

mekoka 15y ago
I don't know about that. I've been extremely reluctant to connect with my parents or anyone in my family on facebook, just because of all the possible social clashes that may occur once they have access to my profile. I don't think I'm alone in this situation and I feel that many people, like me, would really welcome an environment where they can truly and safely connect with the different people that color their lives. Facebook has taught us a lot of lessons about having an online social life, but it appears to me that it hasn't learned much from us in return, other than what it wanted to learn. G+ feels to me like a second chance to get it right with better tools. To be honest, I would have no problem letting my facebook profile go stale, while I rebuild a better profile with G+. Something that prevented me from leaving facebook behind in the past was that there was no alternative. Now, I can gladly tell people "I'm outta here, if you wanna find me, I'm at G+", exactly like I did when I abandoned my hotmail account for gmail.
nametoremember 15y ago
There's nothing wrong with your comment and yet it is downvoted. What's going on? Anyway, I think Google+ will stay around and replace/fulfill communication needs for a lot of people but it won't beat Facebook. People LIKE seeing everything their friends post - even if they complain about it.