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It's really depressing to see the "Don't be Evil" company get down in the mud because they're afraid of some fly-by-night swindlers who nobody will remember in

It's really depressing to see the "Don't be Evil" company get down in the mud because they're afraid of some fly-by-night swindlers who nobody will remember in five years. I'm not giving you my name and face, Google, no matter how much I used to love you.

saraid216 14y ago
> because they're afraid of some fly-by-night swindlers who nobody will remember in five years. Fun fact: I said Facebook would be dead by 2006. I feel a little obligated, at this point, to admit I was wrong.
- TillE 14y ago
  Early Facebook did die, though. Facebook today is utterly different from the quasi-private social space for college kids that it used to be. They pivoted from an exciting fad to a boring but pervasive network that wants to handle all your communication.
onedev 14y ago
>"some fly-by-night swindlers who nobody will remember in five years" People have been saying this for the last 5 years. I think it's time to reiterate a point that was made here a couple days ago that I think really outlines the reason that Facebook WILL be around for a while. The comment that I'm referring to suggested that there's a "point-of-no-return" for a service where people are too deeply invested in it for any competing service to have a REAL fighting chance. That point of no return is when you have grandmas and grandpas, as well as little kids, and non-tech-savvy folks in general using the service (in this case FB) consistently and constantly. To give you a personal example, my parents are the LAST people who I would expect to create a Facebook account. They are very technically unsavvy, but on top of that they're pretty skeptical people too. However, they finally got a Facebook account, and I think that highlights why Facebook WILL be around for many more years. If you're going to use Myspace as an example, then don't, because Myspace NEVER reached the tipping point of Grandmas and Grandpas trying to use it. I think this goes for any service, not just a social network like Facebook. Take the iPhone and iPad for example. Same thing with that. You have grandmas, grandpas, and little children using iOS, so you know it's ingrained across multiple generations. Now I'm not saying I'm 100% sure they're a rock-solid company, but I don't think people give them enough credit. It's far more popular to say "oh they'll be gone in a few years" than to actually understand and analyze the situation.
- edwardunknown 14y ago
  Phooey, Facebook is at this point just a big Lebron James charging down the court and intimidating everybody in it's way. People will leave as soon as it's convenient because they viscerally hate it. The Onion told me so: http://www.theonion.com/articles/number-of-users-who-actually-enjoy-facebook-down-t,29503/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/number-of-users-who-actuall...
  - onedev 14y ago
    HAHA! I love the Onion and that article was actually pretty well written, loved the twist at the end. Those 4 people represent the reasons that I actually like FB. I really just like seeing what other people are up to in their lives as well as staying in touch with the people who are closest to me day-to-day. It's really that simple. NOT to suggest that FB doesn't have it's issues or that we should take any pressure off the company, but at the end of the day, most of the little issues are easy to ignore, and it just becomes a useful tool that I like using.

saraid216 14y ago

> because they're afraid of some fly-by-night swindlers who nobody will remember in five years. Fun fact: I said Facebook would be dead by 2006. I feel a little obligated, at this point, to admit I was wrong.

TillE 14y ago
Early Facebook did die, though. Facebook today is utterly different from the quasi-private social space for college kids that it used to be. They pivoted from an exciting fad to a boring but pervasive network that wants to handle all your communication.

onedev 14y ago

>"some fly-by-night swindlers who nobody will remember in five years" People have been saying this for the last 5 years. I think it's time to reiterate a point that was made here a couple days ago that I think really outlines the reason that Facebook WILL be around for a while. The comment that I'm referring to suggested that there's a "point-of-no-return" for a service where people are too deeply invested in it for any competing service to have a REAL fighting chance. That point of no return is when you have grandmas and grandpas, as well as little kids, and non-tech-savvy folks in general using the service (in this case FB) consistently and constantly. To give you a personal example, my parents are the LAST people who I would expect to create a Facebook account. They are very technically unsavvy, but on top of that they're pretty skeptical people too. However, they finally got a Facebook account, and I think that highlights why Facebook WILL be around for many more years. If you're going to use Myspace as an example, then don't, because Myspace NEVER reached the tipping point of Grandmas and Grandpas trying to use it. I think this goes for any service, not just a social network like Facebook. Take the iPhone and iPad for example. Same thing with that. You have grandmas, grandpas, and little children using iOS, so you know it's ingrained across multiple generations. Now I'm not saying I'm 100% sure they're a rock-solid company, but I don't think people give them enough credit. It's far more popular to say "oh they'll be gone in a few years" than to actually understand and analyze the situation.

edwardunknown 14y ago
Phooey, Facebook is at this point just a big Lebron James charging down the court and intimidating everybody in it's way. People will leave as soon as it's convenient because they viscerally hate it. The Onion told me so: http://www.theonion.com/articles/number-of-users-who-actually-enjoy-facebook-down-t,29503/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/number-of-users-who-actuall...
- onedev 14y ago
  HAHA! I love the Onion and that article was actually pretty well written, loved the twist at the end. Those 4 people represent the reasons that I actually like FB. I really just like seeing what other people are up to in their lives as well as staying in touch with the people who are closest to me day-to-day. It's really that simple. NOT to suggest that FB doesn't have it's issues or that we should take any pressure off the company, but at the end of the day, most of the little issues are easy to ignore, and it just becomes a useful tool that I like using.