4 ms·

Another anecdotal data point: I loved Facebook around 2010-2015. I was in university, had lots of "friends" that I had met in person, was a user of the groups,

Another anecdotal data point: I loved Facebook around 2010-2015. I was in university, had lots of "friends" that I had met in person, was a user of the groups, events, everything. It was great to stay in touch with old and new people I knew. As people finished university, they had less time for FB, posted less and so FB probably decided to fill up the blanks they had left with "XY liked this", ads, and "you could like this" posts. As all our lives moved on, FB became worse and worse because we didn't feed it with our own content anymore. At some point I just deleted it and didn't really look back. Now I see the same thing happening with Instagram, where I see less and less content of old friends and more and more reels and "engaging" content. Maybe I'm getting old, but I'd just love to see how my former classmates are doing with their children and families and jobs etc.

foobarbecue 4y ago
I have a similar experience, but when it comes to: people posting less --> "XY liked this", ads, and "you could like this" posts I'm pretty sure the cause and effect is reversed. Facebook decided to prioritize BS over friend content on the feed, and suddenly it became lame because nobody was interacting. A bit chicken-and-egg / feedback cycle I suppose, but I really think FB started it by adding "sponsored content" and even likes (remember when you had to actually type out a response if you wanted to reply?).
warner25 4y ago
This is an interesting explanation of things. So it's not just that Facebook was better in 20XX-20YY, it's the stage of life a person was in. I started college in the fall of 2004 (in Boston back when "TheFacebook" was limited to college students there and at a handful other prestigious schools across the country). It was indeed great fun in those days. By 2010, just a couple years out of college, I already thought that Facebook had turned to garbage, so it's interesting to hear that you had a good experience starting in 2010. Your theory makes sense. Now that I'm a parent in my mid-30s, Facebook is just a utility for getting information from local officials (who've all but abandoned their legitimate public-facing websites) and buying / selling through Marketplace. It has nothing to do with fun.
- daveslash 4y ago
  I started using TheFacebook in 2005 (A Mark Zuckerberg Production. Too Close for Missiles, Switching to Guns). It had expanded beyond the prestigious colleges, but each college still had to be "on boarded" individually. I was on the first day TheFacebook was available at my mountain-west university, although all my friends were still on MySpace at the time. As much as I can't stand Facebook (or Meta) these days (the products, the company, the impact on society), I do look back on 2005-206 Facebook with great fondness. It waned on me as we entered the 2010's... But back then, tt was novel, new, fun, quirky but polished (unlike MySpace). It was a great way to easily share photos and tag people - and I was at that stage in life where that sort of thing was also really fun. It was a magical time.

foobarbecue 4y ago

I have a similar experience, but when it comes to: people posting less --> "XY liked this", ads, and "you could like this" posts I'm pretty sure the cause and effect is reversed. Facebook decided to prioritize BS over friend content on the feed, and suddenly it became lame because nobody was interacting. A bit chicken-and-egg / feedback cycle I suppose, but I really think FB started it by adding "sponsored content" and even likes (remember when you had to actually type out a response if you wanted to reply?).

warner25 4y ago

This is an interesting explanation of things. So it's not just that Facebook was better in 20XX-20YY, it's the stage of life a person was in. I started college in the fall of 2004 (in Boston back when "TheFacebook" was limited to college students there and at a handful other prestigious schools across the country). It was indeed great fun in those days. By 2010, just a couple years out of college, I already thought that Facebook had turned to garbage, so it's interesting to hear that you had a good experience starting in 2010. Your theory makes sense. Now that I'm a parent in my mid-30s, Facebook is just a utility for getting information from local officials (who've all but abandoned their legitimate public-facing websites) and buying / selling through Marketplace. It has nothing to do with fun.

daveslash 4y ago
I started using TheFacebook in 2005 (A Mark Zuckerberg Production. Too Close for Missiles, Switching to Guns). It had expanded beyond the prestigious colleges, but each college still had to be "on boarded" individually. I was on the first day TheFacebook was available at my mountain-west university, although all my friends were still on MySpace at the time. As much as I can't stand Facebook (or Meta) these days (the products, the company, the impact on society), I do look back on 2005-206 Facebook with great fondness. It waned on me as we entered the 2010's... But back then, tt was novel, new, fun, quirky but polished (unlike MySpace). It was a great way to easily share photos and tag people - and I was at that stage in life where that sort of thing was also really fun. It was a magical time.