4 ms·

So they went from zero Internet presence to "almost everyone". All without paying a dime and from an interface that grandma could use. They do not understand wh

So they went from zero Internet presence to "almost everyone". All without paying a dime and from an interface that grandma could use. They do not understand what a static page is. They might not even know the difference between a Facebook page and an actual web page, to them it's still "you can find us on the google". If Facebook shuts down tomorrow or everyone suddenly starts thinking that it's evil enough to stop using, Joey's Pizza is more likely than not to go to yet another centralized service just like Facebook. You just can't beat free and easy with the open web.

qwerty456127 5y ago
> They might not even know the difference between a Facebook page and an actual web page Yes, this is a problem. I have never met such people though, but I believe they exist. > You just can't beat free and easy with the open web. You can make free, easy and open without Facebook. It's far from impossible to make a nice app which would let you choose a template, some customizations (way more flexible and probably even easier than Facebook at the same time) and put a website on any dirt-cheap shared PHP hosting which supports FTP, SFTP or Git. I could make it myself if I had some time to spare, people would just have to sign-up at GitHub, click and get a page there, and even a QR code to put on their door/cards :-). But even if I made it I doubt many people are going to use it - Facebook is too popular already and it also provides them with an easy way to advertise. Any (or almost any, perhaps really poor governments exist, I dunno) government can also easily afford to contract a shared hosting provider to give every citizen and every small business a simple web site. This would be a win for the government as they would hugely improve their nation digital independence this way.
selfhoster11 5y ago
They should have "paid a dime" to establish a web presence. Fiverr and similar sites are widely available. I'd be surprised if one couldn't get a "business card" minimal web presence for $25+several $/year thereafter. After a certain point, a business must switch from a "graphics design is my passion" style logo to something inexpensive designed by a (semi-)professional to be taken seriously. Why is web presence any different?

qwerty456127 5y ago

> They might not even know the difference between a Facebook page and an actual web page Yes, this is a problem. I have never met such people though, but I believe they exist. > You just can't beat free and easy with the open web. You can make free, easy and open without Facebook. It's far from impossible to make a nice app which would let you choose a template, some customizations (way more flexible and probably even easier than Facebook at the same time) and put a website on any dirt-cheap shared PHP hosting which supports FTP, SFTP or Git. I could make it myself if I had some time to spare, people would just have to sign-up at GitHub, click and get a page there, and even a QR code to put on their door/cards :-). But even if I made it I doubt many people are going to use it - Facebook is too popular already and it also provides them with an easy way to advertise. Any (or almost any, perhaps really poor governments exist, I dunno) government can also easily afford to contract a shared hosting provider to give every citizen and every small business a simple web site. This would be a win for the government as they would hugely improve their nation digital independence this way.

selfhoster11 5y ago

They should have "paid a dime" to establish a web presence. Fiverr and similar sites are widely available. I'd be surprised if one couldn't get a "business card" minimal web presence for $25+several $/year thereafter. After a certain point, a business must switch from a "graphics design is my passion" style logo to something inexpensive designed by a (semi-)professional to be taken seriously. Why is web presence any different?