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More Users Are Shunning Facebook
Hugh Pickens writes "Blake Snow writes that evidence suggests that a small but increasing number of users — at least in North America, where Facebook use is especially saturated — may be shunning the site with Facebook losing nearly 6 million users, falling from 155.2 million at the start of May to 149.4 million at the end of the month, the first time the US has lost users in the past year. Some users complain they're spending so much time on Facebook that they're short-changing the rest of their lives. 'I figured out that I wouldn't look back as an old man and wish I had spent more time on Facebook,' says David Cole, an IT manager from Boston, adding that he believes the popular social-networking site is a useful tool, but not a replacement for what he calls 'realbook' experiences. Kip Krieger, a college student from Virginia, says Facebook has become predictable. 'It's really gotten to a point where I know pretty much what my friends are going to post. They usually just write the same thing over and over again, and I am getting sick of that.' Still there are a lot more satisfied customers of Facebook than disgruntled ones, so are Facebook shunners a tiny minority or part of a growing trend? 'Having that connection with others is a very powerful thing,' says Toby Bushman who felt so much pressure that she decided to rejoin Facebook, and is glad she did. 'It makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger and more grand than just my life as a stay-at-home mother.'"
Seems to be chock full of stalkers, spammers and generally maladjusted people talking to themselves via status updates
Why are these people in your friends list in the first place? The whole internet is full of stalkers, spammers and generally maladjusted people. The point of Facebook (or any other messenger service) is that you only white-list those you want to associate with.
which is totally what she said
My young daughter and her friends have recently left Facebook. The reason? Because everyone's parents now use Facebook.
Those skilled in the internet have known Facebook will not last forever. The media, having hyped the living shite out of it for the past few years, are about to jump on the "Facebook is a sinking ship" hype, and I'm happy to help.
Good riddance to bad websites.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
I have personally not dropped my facebook page but I visit a lot less often now. I've closed my blog page and I have returned to writing letters. I'm an IT admin so its a little difficult relearning to "write" with a pen so that others can read it. But a lot of my friends world-wide like the letter with the clipped photos and other things I send. There is something more personable in a letter that someone actually wrote and handled. i also got a custom wax stamp so i send them out with wax seals like they used to 100 years ago.
Turn off the TV, shut down the computer, and go interact with other people, or go do something with your hands. You'd be amazed how many calories you burn by puttering around in the garage or in the yard, or by meeting friends out in public. You should especially do this kind of stuff in the years between 18 and getting married. Don't worry about updating your status, use that smartphone to assist being out and about, not as a replacement for it.
Life is short, don't squander it.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I'm not going to say this is the start of the end, but it certainly shows that people are no longer "excited" about the social network world.
People are noticing real-world consequences to the privacy issues, reducing the amount of interesting stuff that people will post. I've run into employer issues, I've had relatives with relationship issues, and I've read enough about legal issues to be wary about what I post. Add in the number of businesses embracing Facebook, and you start to see why "social networks" have reached a saturation point.
It still has its uses. It is more personal than email (great for keeping your family updated on life events). It is easier to control reoccurring events, such as birthday parties and pick-up games in the park. It is also easier to ignore people on Facebook than through email. I will continue to use it about as regularly as I use my email, but that doesn't mean I like it.
For someone like you Facebook would be a boon, but you're the exception. Me, I really have no use for it. I have an "unlimited" cell phone plan (don't pay for minutes, $50 per month flat fee for calls, long distance, roaming, text, internet, and email) and can call, text, or email anybody I know for free.
I think it's a fad, like Hula hoops, pet rocks, mood rings, and... um, what's the name of that social networking site everybody was on a few years ago? I've forgotten. Chances are in five years everybody will have forgotten Facebook as well.
Free Martian Whores!
The key is to know what Facebook is good for, and what it is not. As a gaming platform, it's awful - and yet people gladly surrender not only their time but their marketable data and often real money to play idiotic, plotless dreck like Mafia Wars and Farmville.
On the other hand, it's great for quickly disseminating news, vacation photos, etc. that I'd like to share with friends and family (and NO others) all at once, and conversely, find out when friends and family have important news --- someone has graduated, someone is in the hospital, someone got abducted by aliens and is now Elvis' love slave on Europa...
I don't even mind using it as a discussion forum occasionally, although it's ill-suited for that (no way to search past discussions, no threaded replies, etc.) Sometimes a friend will feel strongly enough about some item in the news that he or she will post a rant, and it's interesting to see the various responses from the friends of that friend. I've also been able to crowdsource when I needed ideas quickly to solve a problem.
On the other other hand, hanging on Facebook 24/7 and announcing every time you fart or move from one room to another or what you just ate... give it a rest, guys. Fortunately not many of my friends are that wrapped up in FB or themselves that they need to do so, just a couple of colleagues from work.
And as far as security, you just have to be aware of the flaws and don't do anything that could make you the victim of identity theft (or get you fired). Don't post your home address or phone number; in that spot I tell people to message me privately if they need that and do not have it. Don't announce when you are going to leave the house empty for two weeks at a time. Don't brag about doing something illegal, or against company policy, or whatever. And for the love of all that is binary, don't give stupid apps permission to access your private data, or answer intrusive questions about yourself just because some stupid app wants you to.
I know a LOT of people that have quit facebook... quit as in changed to only looking at it for a few minutes once a week.
Why? because FB has made it an annoying piece of crap. you cant block all stupid game requests by default. now they allow fricking apps to post to your wall, and they stop showing you people that you have not commented on any of their stuff in the past 30 days.
Facebook utterly sucks compared to a year ago.. It's fricking turning into MySpace.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
What I don't know is how these numbers are measured. These numbers don't come from FB but third parties and rely on things like "unique visitors" and ad traffic. Depending on the methodology, the measurements can be subject to external factors. Anything that relies on ads is subject to ad blocking. Counting on visitors might be skewed if they are counting MAC addresses, IP addresses etc. For example the drop in May in Canada can be attributed to university students going home after the school year and everyone using the family computer instead of their own.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
It always strikes me that Facebook is like some overblown school reunion. People whom you would never ordinarily consider contacting are drawn into the endless feedback loop of a social networking site that uses emotional blackmail to keep you there. If you want to quit, you have to run the gauntlet of Facebook's messages claiming that you will "lose" all your "friends" if you go, and what will you do then...
Not for me. I was born into a world that had no internet, and although it is now part of my headspace (FWIW), I am happy to keep real friends at the end of an email, phone call or a knock on the door.
It's probably a sign that Facebook is becoming mature, hitting their initial peak and losing a few users who didn't really understand it or need it in the first place. They'll probably lose quite a few users in the near future, settling back to a core set of users, though still over 100 million. If they provide useful functionality for people, they'll grow at a more reasonable rate and continue to mature. If they panic in the face of losing users and pull some BS maneuver and start blasting out spam, they'll die on the vine.
Are there any studies around the rise and fall of AOL and MySpace? Some enterprising college student should put that together.
The Spoon
Updated 6/28/2011
Don’t friend them.
You've never ran into the "friend of a friend guilt" trip, I see.
I have many friends on Facebook from back when I was a punk kid. A good portion of them grew up into decent adults, but a proportion of them are developmentally atrophied at 16-21. I have no problem being friends with the ones that grew up, but try to avoid the other group like the plague. Sadly many of the latter group have finally discovered computers and smart phones.
Now every time I go to a party or generally hang out with my old friends I get to spend an hour of people chastising me for not being friends with so-and-so (who happens to be in their mid-30s hanging out with 18 year old kids in back alleys doing drugs). I've had five people all gang up on me, trying to convince me of the merits of "friending" people who'd I rather never think of again. It gets worse when these people show up places, since then I have to listen to them guilt trip me as well.
If often comes to the point where I might as well "friend" them, since it saves me hassle and stress in the long run. I suppose it doesn't matter, since I only actually check Facebook once a month or so (if even) when I have absolutely nothing better to do. Its not like my feed is full of any important information or communications to begin with, just minor burbles and desperate pleas for attention.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
I never blamed Facebook. It just makes it a bit harder to do what the previous poster said. Sometimes, if I had my druthers, I wouldn't even be on Facebook. Sadly I have a couple friends where pretty much the only way to communicate with them is with it. Its sad and amusing that there is a decent segment of the youngish (30 something) population who has completely failed to grasp email. I know many people who don't even have a personal email account, much less check it, and this MyFaceSpaceBook has become the de facto standard for quick communications (that and SMS).
Social networks exist because of the exploitation of social leverage. I, personally, miss Livejournal, since it allowed me to type pretty much open letters to my friends. It allowed content. But as social networking evolves the emphasis is much less on content and on mere superficial ass sniffing. There isn't much of interest that can be said in a mere 250 (or 140) characters.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey