4 ms·

Uhhh...maybe I'm missing something, but who cares about Facebook being an address book? "Reddit sucks -- you can't use it to reserve seats at your local movie

by reidman 19y ago

Uhhh...maybe I'm missing something, but who cares about Facebook being an address book? "Reddit sucks -- you can't use it to reserve seats at your local movie theater! You know what else you can't do? Thwart velociraptors. When is someone going to release a social news site which allows me, the user, to outwit a raptor? Google is, as usual, our only hope." I dunno, maybe I wouldn't be so flippant if I had invented RSS and was, apparently, in constant contact with Robert Scoble ;)

henning 19y ago
The real point is that it doesn't give you control over your data while profiting off of it. Others have said this in different ways before but it bears repeating.
- reidman 19y ago
  Maybe, but the thing is...Facebook is pretty awesome. I know that probably sounds a little juvenile, but that's the attitude that most of its users have. They could care less about having control of their data. The vast majority have no clue that Facebook could give them control of their data, and even if it happened they wouldn't know what to do with it. "Hey neat, I downloaded my Facebook. I wonder if I'm supposed to play XML files in iTunes or Powerpoint..." The only thing that millions of people would (not could) potentially do with their Facebook data is: move away from Facebook, given a better alternative. I haven't yet seen a solid argument for why Facebook should open up that data. Maybe there are decent ethical/moral/rhetorical reasons, but none which make business sense for Facebook and the majority of their customers...
  - khoerling 19y ago
    I concur, and ignorance is bliss :)
  - fauigerzigerk 19y ago
    If it was possible to export that data there would be apps to help people to process it further. No need to stumble around in XML piles. Your "makes no business sense" argument is not even Web 1.0 ;-) It's the ages old argument that was brought forward wrt Office file formats, pre TCP/IP network protocols and an endless list of other lock-in strategies. Even Microsoft has shed that retro attitude to some degree exactly because it does not make business sense in the long run. You need third parties to build on your stuff and that means you must set the data free.
    - derefr 19y ago
      But people only care when 3rd-party tools exist that they can't use. Right now, the ivory tower is okay, because the rest of the landscape is flat and barren.
      - fauigerzigerk 19y ago
        I think people do care a lot about moving data between applications. There is nothing that comes up more often when end users need help. Today I was asked to move emails out of Mac Mail. Last month it was watch lists from a trading site to an Access database. Data silos are a huge problem and a productivity killer.
    - reidman 19y ago
      Your post and the one above by Goladus have helped me change my attitude towards this. Thanks for your replies. That "pre-Web 1.0" stab wound will certainly take time to heal, though ;)
  - Goladus 19y ago
    Customers will care about controlling their data as soon as someone offers a useful product that requires it. Many are already reluctant to get involved with Facebook because of this. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000052.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000052.html As it is, MySpace users who want to switch to Facebook do it anyway, leaving behind a GhostSpace where they log into to check messages maybe once every 2-3 months. People are going to get sick of that crap, and will switch to a service that promises they'll never have to worry about it again.

by reidman 19y ago

henning 19y ago

The real point is that it doesn't give you control over your data while profiting off of it. Others have said this in different ways before but it bears repeating.

reidman 19y ago
Maybe, but the thing is...Facebook is pretty awesome. I know that probably sounds a little juvenile, but that's the attitude that most of its users have. They could care less about having control of their data. The vast majority have no clue that Facebook could give them control of their data, and even if it happened they wouldn't know what to do with it. "Hey neat, I downloaded my Facebook. I wonder if I'm supposed to play XML files in iTunes or Powerpoint..." The only thing that millions of people would (not could) potentially do with their Facebook data is: move away from Facebook, given a better alternative. I haven't yet seen a solid argument for why Facebook should open up that data. Maybe there are decent ethical/moral/rhetorical reasons, but none which make business sense for Facebook and the majority of their customers...
- khoerling 19y ago
  I concur, and ignorance is bliss :)
- fauigerzigerk 19y ago
  If it was possible to export that data there would be apps to help people to process it further. No need to stumble around in XML piles. Your "makes no business sense" argument is not even Web 1.0 ;-) It's the ages old argument that was brought forward wrt Office file formats, pre TCP/IP network protocols and an endless list of other lock-in strategies. Even Microsoft has shed that retro attitude to some degree exactly because it does not make business sense in the long run. You need third parties to build on your stuff and that means you must set the data free.
  - derefr 19y ago
    But people only care when 3rd-party tools exist that they can't use. Right now, the ivory tower is okay, because the rest of the landscape is flat and barren.
    - fauigerzigerk 19y ago
      I think people do care a lot about moving data between applications. There is nothing that comes up more often when end users need help. Today I was asked to move emails out of Mac Mail. Last month it was watch lists from a trading site to an Access database. Data silos are a huge problem and a productivity killer.
  - reidman 19y ago
    Your post and the one above by Goladus have helped me change my attitude towards this. Thanks for your replies. That "pre-Web 1.0" stab wound will certainly take time to heal, though ;)
- Goladus 19y ago
  Customers will care about controlling their data as soon as someone offers a useful product that requires it. Many are already reluctant to get involved with Facebook because of this. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000052.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000052.html As it is, MySpace users who want to switch to Facebook do it anyway, leaving behind a GhostSpace where they log into to check messages maybe once every 2-3 months. People are going to get sick of that crap, and will switch to a service that promises they'll never have to worry about it again.