Slashdot Mirror


Facebook To Introduce Video Ads

another random user writes "Facebook is reportedly introducing video advertisements to News Feeds this summer. Reports in the Financial Times (registration required) say that the clips will last for around 15 seconds, and the first one users see each day will play automatically. The first video will apparently play without audio, and restart if the account holder chooses to activate sound. Facebook is yet to officially confirm the move, but the report claims that the social network will gradually introduce video advertising to minimize user disruption. The company's most lucrative marketing partners, including American Express, Coca Cola, Ford, Diageo and Nestle, are expected to be the first brands to make use of the feature. Facebook is said to have implemented the strategy in a bid to take a slice out of TV ad revenue by undercutting the sector."

180 comments

  1. that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by swschrad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    and is likely to result in my pulling the plug. screw 'em.

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
    1. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by sycodon · · Score: 0

      I'm out.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    2. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by i+kan+reed · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Anyone who sat through previous Facebook abuse will sit through this. They have a monopoly on your friends. That's a hell of a thing to overcome. I deal with it by only ever talking to the friends I'm quite close to and leaving everyone else to themselves in the modern social networking era.

    3. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What does "play automatically" mean? I use Flashblock (and the equivalent built-in feature of Konqueror).

    4. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 2

      and is likely to result in my pulling the plug.

      So pull the plug already... Some of us never even got into that squalid bathtub (social diseases, ugh).

      --
      Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
    5. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and is likely to result in my pulling the plug.

      If you haven't already then my money is on Zuckerberg hanging on to his slice of your time on this Earth.

    6. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hell, I bailed months ago. got tired of verifying my privacy settings every week. Last time I found them jacked, they got that "expunge my data" email.

      b'uh bye.

    7. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by TWiTfan · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Anyone who sat through previous Facebook abuse will sit through this. They have a monopoly on your friends. That's a hell of a thing to overcome.

      Yeah, people used to say the same thing about MySpace.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    8. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      They'll start using HTML5 video and Javascript to play automatically.

    9. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by icebike · · Score: 2

      and is likely to result in my pulling the plug. screw 'em.

      What took you so long?
      Years of abuse, leaks, privacy violations and lying to you are ok, but one goddamed ad an you are gone?

      I'm glad I never signed up for Facebook, and still pissed they mined my information from my airhead
      friends that sell me out to them by useing Facebook as their address-book.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    10. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by jythie · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I would wager the various adblocking tools will be updated to handle these new Facebook ads pretty quickly. You would think that by now marketers would have learned that people will generally let ads slide as long as they are unobtrusive, but these 'HEY LOOK AT ME!' ones always end up with people either avoiding the site or installing blocking software. These ads just don't work.

      I guess we are seeing yet another new generation of marketers learning old lessons, or old marketers who have rising through the ranks and not learned a think for the last 20 years.

    11. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And many others.

      Especially for those that use their phones.

    12. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      Sure, in the long run, every element of culture is doomed to decay, and on the internet that process is a little more rapid. I didn't mean to imply that Facebook was eternal, just that people will put up with a lot until there actually is an alternative with all their friends.

    13. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

      I don't think that HTML5 autoplays have become pesky enough to attract much attention; but Greasemonkey or equivalent should make detecting and neutering Video tags easy enough, even if the browser itself doesn't offer controls natively.

    14. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by CRCulver · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, people used to say the same thing about MySpace.

      MySpace only had a small portion of a typical person's friends: younger people, more computer-savvy compared to the general population. With everyone else you stayed in touch by e-mail or occasional phone calls.

      Facebook, however, is now utterly entrenched in Western society. Everyone a person keeps in touch with is likely to be on it: friends from all walks of life, relatives both close and distant, professional colleagues. And many of those friends seem to have forgotten about e-mail and expect you to contact them via FB message.

      Leaving FB is a lot harder to do than moving on from Myspace or Friendster was years ago. I know for a fact that I'd lose contact entirely with many people if I gave up my FB account.

    15. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Interesting

      My suspicion would be that this is just another of Facebook's "Oh fuck, now we have shareholders to answer to" thrashing moves.

      They've got crazy pageviews, lots of hours-per-month, and a huge pile of personal information; but they've been learning the hard way that cellphones are cutting into conventional page views(since even the best mobile browsers are still coping with a tiny screen), lots of hours-per-month can only really be monetized by pissing people off with increasingly aggressive ads and upsells, and that huge pile of personal information can be used either to maintain network effects or to scare users in temporarily valuable ways; but it is less obvious that it can be used for both at the same time...

      We can only hope that we'll look back at them, as we now do on myspace, soon enough.

    16. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh bullshit. if you're still using facebook by now. You're not going anywhere and they know it.

      Now sit down. Shut up. And enjoy your shit sandwich. You paid for it after all.

    17. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd question the necessity of relationships that require facebook.

      Frankly, I quite like Facebook. It keeps the idiots safely corralled and and contained. I exclude myself from the insanity simply by not going there.

      It's also quite handy in non-social situations. If you're on facebook, I know everything about you. And your family. And your friends. From the information posted about you and your associates I can predict nearly every aspect of your personal and private life with 98% confidence. I know what you know, what you don't know, what you think, what you believe, and what you don't believe. - It's nothing personal, it's just statistics.

      I'm just a guy with a few hours of free time. Imagine what the serious data miners know.

    18. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That says something about the value of your friends if they are only willing to use a crappy medium to talk to you. Would you talk to a guy who only talked to you through a bullhorn?

    19. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Luckyo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sounds like someone who's a facebook addict.

      As someone who doesn't have a facebook account, I can tell you that you're wrong, and you'll likely realise just how wrong you are in judging the importance of facebook when you actually leave it and see that all your friends, acquaintances, people you need to contact... exist here in real life and have email accounts and phone numbers.

    20. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by admdrew · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Anyone who sat through previous Facebook abuse will sit through this.

      It's reaching a breaking point, even among those who use Facebook heavily. I'm a self-described heavy user of Facebook, but recently removed it from my phone to avoid ads (and the stupid bullshit where the app would still try to pull my GPS location even with 'location' turned off - but I digress).

      Not having access to mobile Facebook has been a big personal change, but one I'm generally happy with. I do miss being a "part" of some friend interactions (typically sporting events or other immediately-topical events), but I also feel my smartphone usage is far less compulsive - no longer am I idly checking Facebook on my phone during my commute, "forcing" me to read my book, for example - and it's definitely reduced my "need" to know what's going on immediately at all times. I may have a little easier than others because I never got into Twitter, so my Facebook feed is the 'fastest' social networking I do.

    21. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by mlts · · Score: 1

      You are not the only one. Bandwidth isn't growing on trees in the US. Adding streaming video ads that can't be stopped on iOS [1][2], and people will be starting to look elsewhere once the phone bills start rolling in.

      I remember in the time frame when people started leaving MySpace to FB, where at first, it was the more educated people who went, then as they left, virtually everyone else followed suit. I'm starting to see the start of the exact same migration to G+.

      [1]: Well, if you had a jailbroken phone and Firewall IP or another Cydia app, possibly. However, due to the 6.x SHSH blobs being unusable, it will likely be a year or two before another usable JB is released (iOS and hardware bugs are very rare.)

      [2]: Android is a bit easier, as there are utilities for booth rooted devices and Web browser extensions for non rooted ones.

    22. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My lack of video drivers and codecs will defeat them!

    23. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by houghi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Friends don't let friends use Facebook.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    24. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by johanw · · Score: 4, Informative

      Out? Why? There's nothing here that AdBlock Plus can't fix.

    25. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Fuck off. You don't know shit.

    26. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by admdrew · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For some it's really not that easy. Paul Miller's article about leaving the internet for a full year is pretty interesting, and touches on some important aspects of social networking. Facebook enables casual long distance relationships that are often not realistic for many of us. I rarely talk to my best friend from high school on the phone or via text, but we do interact via Facebook pretty frequently. Without that social network link, we would've fallen out of touch over the years - with it, we're able to stay relatively up to date with minimal effort.

      Now, do my friends deserve *more* than minimal effort? Of course. But the reality of leaving one's hometown (or college town or longtime employer) makes it unlikely that I'm going to see/call/write those friends of mine on a regular enough basis to keep close connections going, something Facebook has made possible for me.

      For those of us with (even mildly) busy lives who have met many wonderful people over the years, social networking has been terribly useful.

    27. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      You must be using Linux.

    28. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dcherryholmes · · Score: 2

      But email is not one-to-many in the way that FB is. It is point to point, not broadcast. Understand I say this as someone who pines for Usenet daily, has no great love of Facebook, and wishes for something better. I'm also struck by the irony that I'm having this discussion with some faceless person on a web forum (no offense intended, it just runs a bit against the grain of your point).

    29. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Art+Challenor · · Score: 2

      It's interesting that there was a long discussion previously about how people would not allow "bitcoin-ware" (games support by bitcoin mining - http://ask.slashdot.org/story/13/05/02/1850202/ask-slashdot-would-you-accept-bitcoin-ware-apps) because it would cost them, primarily in terms of electricity usage.

      At the same time, these ads suck bandwidth and power - notice the fan running on your computer when you have many ad-hungry tabs running - and they don't complain.

      Ads, and selling your personal data are an inefficient and irrational way to pay for Internet services, yet if you mandated, say $1/month for Facebook usage, the user base would vanish.

      People are wierd.

    30. Re: that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Linux ... and Lynx!

    31. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dragon-file · · Score: 3, Insightful

      screw 'em.

      See you say that, but I don't believe you. Maybe because every time facebook does something like this people say screw them... and go right back to using them in a month.

      I haven't used facebook in over 5 years and nothing they are doing is making me regret my decision.

      --
      Whenever a player quits EVE to go play WoW, the Average IQ of both games increase.
    32. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by rudy_wayne · · Score: 4, Informative

      Out? Why? There's nothing here that AdBlock Plus can't fix.

      I don't go to Facebook, i have absolutely no interest in it. but, you are right. This is exactly why AdBlock was created.

    33. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dcherryholmes · · Score: 2

      I have a bit of a following on Facebook (mostly political ranty-type stuff, nothing that amazing IMO). Still, more than a few people have told me that my FB posts are their daily news feed, for whatever that's worth. And I kind of despise Facebook for many of the reasons already described in previous posts. Yet I think "social networking" (ugh) has its place and its utility. I like Google+ better. I have wished vocally, on FB, that we would all just migrate together. Last month I decided to just jump myself, and maybe enough people would follow that at least my little zone of friends would still be intact. After about a month of crickets chirping (in a very superior UI, but still), I lamely wandered back to FB. I just want to talk to folks, and am not particularly ideological or religious about it. I imagine this is what it must feel like to be an IT-savvy Windows user.

    34. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by stymy · · Score: 1

      Or maybe most people, especially facebook users, don't block ads.

    35. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dragon-file · · Score: 1

      Yeah, people used to say the same thing about MySpace.

      Leaving FB is a lot harder to do than moving on from Myspace or Friendster was years ago. I know for a fact that I'd lose contact entirely with many people if I gave up my FB account.

      Been there, done that. Told my friends to use xfire or steam to get in touch with me or use this novel invention called the phone.

      It's easier than you think to break away from facebook.

      --
      Whenever a player quits EVE to go play WoW, the Average IQ of both games increase.
    36. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dragon-file · · Score: 1

      Think about the pirate bay and you'll get the gist.

      --
      Whenever a player quits EVE to go play WoW, the Average IQ of both games increase.
    37. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by CRCulver · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sounds like someone who's a facebook addict.

      I don't care much for FB and rarely post there. I'd be very happy to leave if I knew my friends and family would follow to other means of communication.

      As someone who doesn't have a facebook account, I can tell you that you're wrong, and you'll likely realise just how wrong you are in judging the importance of facebook when you actually leave it and see that all your friends, acquaintances, people you need to contact... exist here in real life and have email accounts and phone numbers.

      Nope, I've already tried moving back to e-mail. The result is that people rarely respond, because they can't be arsed to log in to e.g. GMail often, whereas if one sends them a message via FB, they perk up instantly. Consequently, I've kept my FB account even if I use it increasingly less.

      A friend of mine who left FB entirely last year, with whom I still keep in touch because we both accept e-mail, has bemoaned instantly losing touch with most of his acquaintances. And then mutual friends of ours often ask where he is nowadays, oblivious that he'd like very much to stay in touch with them. He has sent them e-mails, but they just can't focus on e-mail communication.

    38. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by mlts · · Score: 2

      It isn't that tough to leave. Google+ is getting just as entrenched via apps, web pages, "+1" buttons, and many other items. In fact, I know a number of people who keep both G+ and FB running because both are useful.

      If FB disappeared entirely, it can be completely replaced. Even if G+ didn't take over completely, messaging could go back to SMS or one of the IM providers, posts/walls could wind up on livejournal, cat pictures would move to Flickr or some other site, phone numbers and contacts could be shared via Yahoo or iCloud, gifts could be given via Amazon, and third party apps like Farmville would end up either becoming standalone websites, or becoming Metro/Android/iOS apps.

      FB has only one thing going for it: It is the US's central watering hole. If the beer gets too watered down, people will go find another dive bar to frequent.

    39. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by CByrd17 · · Score: 1

      I would wager that the various adblocking tools would just block these with no updates at all.

      I've never seen any ads on FB, but I'm told they are there...

    40. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Culture20 · · Score: 3, Informative

      They have a monopoly on your friends.

      Yep, and FB has done work to make sure that the monopoly is more secure; they removed the "phone book" feature that used to list your friends contact info, and they changed everyone's listed email to a username@facebook.com email address. Good luck contacting all your old friends you've reunited with via FB unless you manually ask all of them for contact info.

    41. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My suspicion would be that this is just another of Facebook's "Oh fuck, now we have shareholders to answer to" thrashing moves.

      Yep, another time where maximizing short-term profits will likely kill off long-term profits. Gotta love corporations and their continuing inability to look past the next few quarters. I'm just glad they don't have much influence on our politicians, or we might be in trouble.

    42. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dragon-file · · Score: 1

      You will note (or maybe you won't) that I added 'phone' to the list of contact methods. Surprisingly enough even non games know what that one is and how to use it.

      --
      Whenever a player quits EVE to go play WoW, the Average IQ of both games increase.
    43. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Kleen13 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Just before I disabled my FB account I posted a goodbye message on my wall for people to PM me if they wanted my contact info. It came as no surprise that nobody did. I'm just as unpopular to my "Facebook friends" as they are to me. I don't miss it one little bit and get a real kick out of watching people look at me with bewilderment when I tell them I'm not on Facebook. This world is one EMP pulse away from complete chaos.

      --
      That sinking feeling deep in your gut when you KNOW you screwed up bad summed up with: {head desk} {head desk}
    44. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Use CC or BCC. Also use mailing lists. I routinely use email as a broadcast for a hobby of mine broadcasting messages to a community of approximately 100 people.

    45. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by CRCulver · · Score: 1

      You will note (or maybe you won't) that I added 'phone' to the list of contact methods. Surprisingly enough even non games know what that one is and how to use it.

      And what about those old friends a continent away whom you'd like to keep in contact with, want to pay for long-distance phone calls just to maintain that acquaintance? When those long-distance friends are younger people who grew up on electronic communication, you can't even ask them to maintain a paper correspondence any more: the concept of the post baffles them and few are willing to regularly pay for postage. Facebook has become entrenched for these social circles.

    46. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know for a fact that I'd lose contact entirely with many people if I gave up my FB account.

      Maybe you should take that as a hint.

    47. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dcherryholmes · · Score: 1

      I used to run a pretty active mailing list of about 30 people in my home town (pre-Facebook), and we used it for many of the same things people use Facebook for now. So been there, done that. They're all on FB now, and for many things it's actually easier. It's not FB as a concept that is flawed, just this particular execution, exacerbated by some well-understood phenomena like network effects and first across the finish line.

    48. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dragon-file · · Score: 1

      What about all my friends currently visiting other planets in far distant galaxies. All joking aside I've grown up in one town in one state of one country. Sure I've visited other states and even have a few friends from my military days that live in other states. The ones that I keep in touch with most are the ones who I grew up with and even if they live in other states now I can keep if perfect contact with them using means other than facebook thank you very much.

      --
      Whenever a player quits EVE to go play WoW, the Average IQ of both games increase.
    49. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by mlts · · Score: 1

      Their mistake was going public. That means they have to answer to the lash of threatened shareholder lawsuits should they do anything but focus on what profits are coming on the next quarter.

      FB should not have IPO-ed. Instead, they should have kept to themselves and worked on honing their backend technologies, perhaps offering things for sale to the enterprise. For example, all their magic and redundancy lies in the top level app layer. A server failure isn't handled by a HA mechanism or a hypervisor sitting on a blade chassis, but the application running on the hardware deals with this. Enterprise stuff that doesn't care about clustering, SAN status, or what it is sitting on can be a hot seller, as it would compete ferociously against the high priced IBM/EMC/Oracle offerings.

      FB also handles a lot of data. I'm sure they could offer technology to have an archiving service (to fulfill the eDiscovery requirements of SOX and other regulations.) Real businesses would pay real cash for this.

      FB also handles authentication, as they are oftentimes used as an Internet gatekeeper. Why not add to those services? Offer dedicated SecurID keyfobs or OATH apps, OPIE style one time use password sheets, or perhaps some dedicated biometric device which connects via cellular for a multi-channel authentication method. Why not join the OpenID bandwagon, or perhaps work on some add-on so one can use their personal ID/password [1] to authenticate to a work account, and have a true SSO mechanism?

      FB should have gone into enterprise-ready technologies. Amazon did with their cloud, and are vastly reaping the benefits.

      [1]: Or ID/passwords, so one can have multiple items attached to various IDs. That way, if one leaves a job, they can kill that ID attached to their work items.

    50. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      go kill yourself.

    51. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I believe that the illusion of friendship is what keeps a lot of people hooked on Facebook. Without it, people are left to the real world where most of the people they are "friends" with on Facebook are not worth the bother of contacting specifically, if the thought of these people ever occurs at all. That, and the knowledge that the feeling is broadly mutual.

    52. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dinfinity · · Score: 1

      Facebook does have the option to 'download your data', which should include a list of 'Friends' with the email addresses they have chosen to disclose.
      I hadn't ever used the functionality, so I am curious what the archive will contain when they have compiled it and I am able to download it. I would be sortof surprised if indeed I found only @facebook.com addresses in there, but if so, it's a real dick move by FB.

      On the other hand, the contacts in my Android contacts list do have info (email addresses and phone numbers) from their associated FB accounts. Exporting the whole contact list to .vcf is trivial.
      I will add that I sync them using HaxSync, but I would be surprised if it made any difference if I were to use the official Facebook application to sync the contacts.

    53. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Zaelath · · Score: 0

      I rarely talk to my best friend from high school on the phone or via text, but we do interact via Facebook pretty frequently. Without that social network link, we would've fallen out of touch over the years

      Then why do you care? Or more to the point, it's clear you don't care, so why do you think it's valuable?

      I have friends that are a 10 hour drive away that I chat to every day, but I don't need to broadcast those chats to 1000 other disinterested parties, and if you're not doing it "in public" then it's no better than email or XMMP and you're just bullshitting yourself.

    54. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Obfuscant · · Score: 2

      This is nice for you contacting all your friends, but if your friends are posting on facebook instead of keeping their own list of friend's email addresses like you do, you lose out. You can tell them you miss them, but they'll be wondering why you never respond to poke or wall messages.

    55. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Ryanrule · · Score: 2

      You overvalue my friends.

    56. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      I would be sortof surprised if indeed I found only @facebook.com addresses in there, but if so, it's a real dick move by FB.

      If it shows only the ones people chose to reveal, then those won't show up. About a couple years ago, FB quietly hid everyone's chosen email and replaced the listed emails with their FB ones.

    57. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by antdude · · Score: 1

      Ditto. I had the same problem. People are tired of IMs, IRC, chat, e-mails, etc. outside of Facebook. I refuse to use Facebook (did have it for about three weeks before being kicked out for using fake datas). :(

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    58. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Very few people on that list are friends. It's a list designed for managing certain sports-related activity across the city I live in.

    59. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Kleen13 · · Score: 1

      I can't disagree with you. Since I dumped Facebook, my wife has curbed her Facebook activities to more like weekly browsing and said "Sooooo true" when she read your post. Social Engineering at it's finest. These days I make bread starter. I like that petri dish much better.

      --
      That sinking feeling deep in your gut when you KNOW you screwed up bad summed up with: {head desk} {head desk}
    60. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they weren't reachable via Faceplant, are they really your friends at this pont?

    61. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 1

      I also have no FB account anymoer, and I have to say that you're not as right as you might think.

      Sure, you get communication with people when you initiate conversations - but if you want to just keep up-to-date on what your friends are doing in life without having to pester them about, it's gotten much harder for the facebook-disconnected to do.

    62. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 1

      I would wager the various adblocking tools will be updated to handle these new Facebook ads pretty quickly. You would think that by now marketers would have learned that people will generally let ads slide as long as they are unobtrusive, but these 'HEY LOOK AT ME!' ones always end up with people either avoiding the site or installing blocking software. These ads just don't work.

      I guess we are seeing yet another new generation of marketers learning old lessons, or old marketers who have rising through the ranks and not learned a think for the last 20 years.

      You would think that by now people would have learned that their own experiences does not equate to those of most people ;)

      Most people don't use ad blocking software. Most people don't actually know it exists.

      Most people accept that the Internet is all full of ads, and will continue to frequent sites laden with them because they don't realize there's a choice.

      We know this is true because the advertising business remains extremely profitable - which only happens when ad impressions are made.

    63. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck off back to Utah!, you fucking fuck.

    64. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by mumblestheclown · · Score: 0

      where exactly is your regression analysis showing those ads 'just don't work?' data please, or your comments are just so much wishful thinking / pseudo internet expertism.

      / nevertheless "+5, insightful" on slashdot, apparently :(

    65. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...As someone who doesn't have a facebook account, I can tell you that you're wrong, and you'll likely realise just how wrong you are in judging the importance of facebook when you actually leave it and see that all your friends, acquaintances, people you need to contact... exist here in real life and have email accounts and phone numbers.

      The reason I went to Facebook was because e-mail was so unreliable as a contact medium. Everyone might have an e-mail address but a large number of people check it infrequently, they don't bother to keep spam under control so they miss many messages, etc. But a lot of people are on Facebook every day and so far its messaging system works.

      Ads on Facebook? I don't see any. I doubt the video ads will affect me either, especially if they require another script to be enabled for them to run.

      As far as phones go, if every phone on earth was chucked in a volcano tomorrow I would not shed a single tear.

    66. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A friend of mine who left FB entirely last year, with whom I still keep in touch because we both accept e-mail, has bemoaned instantly losing touch with most of his acquaintances. And then mutual friends of ours often ask where he is nowadays

      If friend's can't be bothered to respond to your emails or telephone, then perhaps they are not your friends at all.

    67. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by slick7 · · Score: 1

      Just think, TV commercials without the TV and people wonder why I don't watch TV.

      --
      The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
    68. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by CodeBuster · · Score: 1

      Will Facebook integrate video advertising in such a way that blocking it breaks Facebook? This is becoming common with video content on other sites where they won't allow you to view it until they've confirmed via embedded dynamic scripts that you've also viewed the advertisement. Would Facebook be willing to deny access to those who block ads? If they do then how will that effect their much vaunted user numbers? It will be interesting to see how Facebook plays this hand.

    69. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by CodeBuster · · Score: 2

      but these 'HEY LOOK AT ME!' ones always end up with people either avoiding the site or installing blocking software. These ads just don't work.

      We on Slashdot who use ad blocking are in the definite minority of users out there and especially so on sites frequented by the masses, like Facebook. They know that we block ads but they don't care because 90+% of regular Facebook, Disney and ESPN users don't. If the ads weren't effective, the advertisers wouldn't still be paying for them. I'm actually fine with this arrangement because it means that a sort of détente exists between us and the advertisers. They have no desire to engage us in an arms race of counter measures and counter counter measures while they're still reaching the vast majority of their intended audience, it's not worth it. That may change in the future but for now it seems that nobody wants to fire the opening shots in that war.

    70. Re: that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      in other words there are as many marginalized groups as ever

    71. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      someone mod this post up - I would but I can't be bothered to log in.

    72. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by readingaccount · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Bullshit.

      I don't think a lot of anti-Facebook people realize just how much Facebook has become integrated into people's lives and their methods of communication. It is EXPECTED that you have a Facebook account by now. Not having one makes you a social pariah apparently, and you miss out on a ton of things in you friends' lives that you probably won't hear unless you have Facebook. People aren't being rude - it's just a reflection of how society expects everyone to communicate these days. Trying to be different just reduces your social interactions and for no good reason.

      You don't have to use Facebook much, though. I don't. I barely ever post since I know no-one will likely respond (you can't compete with attention whores who post every 5 minutes and have 500 friends). But, like Windows, it's better to have it around than to not have it at all.

    73. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Aw! Your post is broke! :-(

      Fuck off back to Utah!, you fucking fuck.

      Here let me help you with that! :-)

      Bake off back to oven!, you caramelizing cookie.

      There! No need to thank me! :-)

    74. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe, if I were trapped in a burning building.

    75. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the ads weren't effective, the advertisers wouldn't still be paying for them.

      Does anyone know whether this particular fallacy has been given an "official" name?

      Let's try some other examples:
      If spam wasn't effective, advertisers wouldn't still be paying for it.
      If homeopathy wasn't effective, patients wouldn't still be paying for it.
      If psychics weren't effective, people wouldn't still be consulting them.

      Then again, there's this xkcd.

    76. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Tom · · Score: 1

      My solution:

      I'm on facebook. I use it for the messenger and practically no other part of my private life. It's a nifty way to be able to tell all your friends that you love/hate/miss them at once, without making real, personal, intimate contact with anyone.

      Also, it reminds you of everyone's birthday.

      The rest of the site could disappear tomorrow and I'd hardly notice.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    77. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by dinfinity · · Score: 1

      I've downloaded the data and as a way of getting contact info of your friends, it is utterly useless.
      Basically just a list of plaintext names of which a whopping 2 had an email next to them. They were gmail addresses, though.

    78. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by coolmadsi · · Score: 1

      A little while ago I was able to get all the emails addresses from Facebook, albeit in a somewhat convoluted way. I had to have a Yahoo email account, and link that to my Facebook account, and I was then able to import my Facebook contacts into the Yahoo account which, thankfully, had an option to just export that (to CSV I think). This was maybe a year or so ago, so I don't know if it will still work, but it was after they switched everyone to the @facebook thing.

    79. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Now you just sound like a jobless teenager.

    80. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by oreaq · · Score: 1

      but if you want to just keep up-to-date on what your friends are doing in life without having to pester them about, it's gotten much harder for the facebook-disconnected to do.

      I don't get it. My friends are the group of people that enjoy talking to me about their life. How can you call that "pestering"? Isn't "sharing your life" one of the things you do with friends anymore? It seems that the facebook friend status has become a (poor) surrogate for having friends instead of a way to keep in contact with "real" friends.

    81. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by d3jake · · Score: 1

      This was my thought process. That or SocialFixer will take them away. Either way, I'm not going to be bothered by those ads.

    82. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but do I really need to know what those guys I went to high school with and those guys I worked with 4 years ago are doing? I can get ahold of them if I need to and they can find me if they need to. The people I care about talk to me enough to keep up to date and the rest fall by the wayside until we meet up again. At least we have something to talk about without sitting there thinking, I can't believe this guy is such a douche (based on their insane FB posts).
      Without FB I'm an riddle, wrapped in a mystery, surrounded by an enigma.

    83. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      I think your describing acquaintances, not friends.

    84. Re:that is a massive rip-off of my data allotment by hkmwbz · · Score: 1

      It's not that they are only willing to use a crappy medium. It's that this crappy medium is the only place to keep in touch with all these people online.

      --
      Clever signature text goes here.
  2. and in the future by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    Facebook will allow you to add your own content to your ad... I mean news feed, but only once per day without paying per word.

  3. A whole lotta "don't care" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's go to a site that requires registration to read an article about a site I don't use that's going to annoy its users attempting to take market share from a medium I watch less and less.

  4. Eurobook... by UltraZelda64 · · Score: 2

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5mIm4bPBWE
    ^ That's what I think of Facebook.

    1. Re:Eurobook... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You raped a horse on FaceBook? Hilarious (video is worth watching).

  5. I'm psyched! by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 1

    This is great. I thought my news feed was messed up, because it had been weeks since I'd seen a story about Facebook sucking even more.

  6. Teevee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Facebook is said to have implemented the strategy in a bid to take a slice out of TV ad revenue by undercutting the sector."

    More like mimicking TV and the number one thing about it that made the internet seem like a potentially worthwhile alternative.

    1. Re:Teevee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Facebook is said to have implemented the strategy in a bid to take a slice out of TV ad revenue by undercutting the sector."

      More like mimicking TV and the number one thing about it that made the internet seem like a potentially worthwhile alternative.

      It's okay. After all, last time we had TV and wanted a worthwhile alternative, we got one! So now we have the web and want a worthwhile alternative.

  7. Really? by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

    I must add the obligatory "there are ads on the Internet?"

    Also, having not read the actual "story", I asked myself: "There were not video ads before? Who knew!".

    Seriously, Facebook (like Google) is an Ad Platform. Not news, move on.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  8. more reasons to use facebook less by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nothing is worse than when sound comes from the internet.

  9. The ultimate slap in the face by bignetbuy · · Score: 1

    When Joe User exceeds his monthly data plan, he has to pay more just for the privilege of viewing a video ad...to access his own Facebook page.

    1. Re:The ultimate slap in the face by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

      When Joe User exceeds his monthly data plan, he has to pay more just for the privilege of viewing a video ad...to access his own Facebook page.

      If you're exceeding your data plan, Twitter less or lay off the porn (I would suggest that you might be "pirating" copyrighted intellectual property, but that's all a bad set of words here).

      Seriously, lay off the porn.

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    2. Re:The ultimate slap in the face by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even after they toss out all the pirating users, they'll still be a top 10% of users. How long will it take for you to reach the top 10% when the ones above you leave?

    3. Re:The ultimate slap in the face by innocent_white_lamb · · Score: 1

      Contrary to what appears to be a fairly popular belief, t's not "his own Facebook page". It's Facebook's page, and they can use it, mine it, and monetize it in any way they see fit.

      --
      If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
    4. Re:The ultimate slap in the face by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Contrary to what appears to be a fairly popular belief, t's not "his own Facebook page". It's Facebook's page, and they can use it, mine it, and monetize it in any way they see fit.

      You hit the nail on the fucking head. Failbook lusers are not the customers, they are the product. Failbook collects the data then they sell it to advertisers and spammers and the fucktarded sheeple that use Failbook will continue to use it because they love being screwed in the ass. Have some art posted on Failbook? Forget about selling it because Failbook now owns the rights to it. Failbook also has the right to sell email addresses to spammers which will mean the lusers will have spam coming out the fucking ass. I think it is so funny the lusers want the US to be locked down tight with numerous anti-terrorism laws yet would have no problem giving out personal information that would make identity theft much easier. Fuck, these same morons would be more than happy to give Failbook their social security numbers if it were required to login so their stupid Farmville won't be interrupted.

    5. Re:The ultimate slap in the face by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This isn't completely fair- without any copyright infringement or adult content viewing on my mobile, I still hit my data cap near the end of every billing cycle. If they were to ever introduce this to mobile, I'd have to stop using the service.

      No huge loss, I guess.

  10. goodbye facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i already use adblock but mucking up my news feed is completely unacceptable.

    1. Re:goodbye facebook by Dins · · Score: 1

      i already use adblock but mucking up my news feed is completely unacceptable.

      If you care that much about your news feed, I doubt you're going anywhere...

    2. Re:goodbye facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's more that my family whines whenever i disable my account

    3. Re:goodbye facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Facebook timeline thingy is a news feed? It now has current events and news and not just regurgitated myths that have been debunked years ago, crazy relatives reposting silly religious stuff, people being outraged by damn near anything, and stupid cats? I would never in a million years call that silly morass of inanity a news feed.

  11. This is for your own good! by Talonius · · Score: 2

    Oh, we're sorry. You haven't NOTICED the text and graphical based ads here. Since we know that can't be because you have no interest, we wanted to make it easier for you to see our advertising!

    Reminds me of the project managers where I work. "Oh, reality? Fuck that, we warp it to what we think it should be!"

    --
    My reality check bounced.
    1. Re:This is for your own good! by dgatwood · · Score: 2

      The ads are already reaching my maximum tolerance now that they started blowing text ads into the middle of my news feed that look like normal posts, but they're not quite annoying enough for me to spend half an hour writing a Safari extension to banish them. But video ads? You get to show me exactly one, Facebook, and then it's worth the half an hour to block all of your ads. All of them.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    2. Re:This is for your own good! by preflex · · Score: 1

      You don't need a Safari extension to banish them. Social Fixer does this, and more. You can also use it to filter out the "SomebodyI'veNeverHeardOf is posting about SomeThingILiked" crap. It supports Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Greasemonkey. It's pretty neat.

    3. Re:This is for your own good! by d3jake · · Score: 1

      It sounds like the only people they're going to end up annoying are the ones that don't have the tech savvy to either write an extension, or even know that there are many pre-built to choose from.

  12. This can only end poorly for FB by rs1n · · Score: 1

    People are going to get pissed off at having their data get used by auto-playing video ads when they use FB for phones. Those using FB on desktops will probably figure out some way of filtering out the ads (maybe disable flash, or whatever they use to serve ads).

    1. Re:This can only end poorly for FB by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      People are going to get pissed off at having their data get used by auto-playing video ads when they use FB for phones. Those using FB on desktops will probably figure out some way of filtering out the ads (maybe disable flash, or whatever they use to serve ads).

      But if you disable flash, how can you play Zynga games?

    2. Re:This can only end poorly for FB by earlzdotnet · · Score: 2

      I actually saw my first auto-play HTML5 video/audio ad a few weeks ago on my Linux machine(without flash). Even advertisers are starting to understand that Flash is dead, sadly.

    3. Re:This can only end poorly for FB by ThePeices · · Score: 1

      "This can only end poorly for FB"

      You say it like its a bad thing.

  13. Punch The Monkey! by sinij · · Score: 1

    Ha Ha, Facebook addicts, Punch The Monkey, Punch It!

    You can quit any time you want, right?

  14. Had to check the date. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not April 1st.

  15. Free Traffic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A lot of mobile plans in Australia have free or ridiculously high data allowances for social media sites so the bandwidth might not be a huge drama there. Of course people might start getting turned off being able to quickly check facebook if they are going to get bombarded with videos, it's bad enough with the ads at the moment.

  16. I'm curious... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Has Facebook done *anything* in the last 3 years that has pleased or excited the general public in any sort of way? It's amazing to me that Facebook is still relevant.

    1. Re:I'm curious... by jythie · · Score: 1

      Eh, they have critical mass. While I know people like to bring up the 'but look at myspace' argument, the scales were pretty different back then. The barrier to an alternative rising has become much more significant.

    2. Re:I'm curious... by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      If they piss of enough people, they're dead. It won't happen quickly, but in time their 1 billion customers will shrink a few million at a time.

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  17. Wait, there are ads on the internet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I block every ad that flashes, plays video, changes size, or is otherwise intrusive.

  18. Egg that kills the golden goose by Smonster · · Score: 1

    If this proves true, I am done. Those advert that are forced into the "News Feed" are bad enough. Now a 15 second advert to great you the first time (which for many people is the only time) you log in everyday, I believe will prove to be the egg that killed the golden goose. They won't go away completely, they are too big for that. I just predict that they will lose a larger percentage of their casual users, like me.

    1. Re:Egg that kills the golden goose by mlts · · Score: 1

      People are already griping about FB. This might be the impetus that gets people looking at alternatives.

      Google Plus is quietly waiting in the wings, and there are sites like vk.com which have virtually everything FB does.

      Switching to G+ wouldn't be difficult -- most Android devices have a hook for it, and the iOS app is easy downloadable.

      Similar with VKontakte and other FB-like sites. It may not be a US social networking site, but Americans are tolerated.

    2. Re:Egg that kills the golden goose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hahahahaha

        It may not be a US social networking site, but Americans are tolerated.

      I'm american and I found this hilarious.

    3. Re:Egg that kills the golden goose by mtippett · · Score: 1

      Beyond this, there are some important differences.

      Google has successfully gone from monetizing search to monetizing their search algorithms (data matching) for advertising. For example, I go to google to look up something, yes there are ads there, but they are non intrusive. There are also ads extended out to other sites, but again are non intrusive. Google now can focus on data acquisition instead of monetization. A lot of their still remaining technologies (google voice, youtube, email, etc, translate) are all about learning about associations and re-inforcing their understanding the data to help providing a better match. G+ is about mapping that information to users and user associations.

      Facebook on the other side is trying to find ways to monetize their core business and why people go to them. They are interrupting the experience (video playing will grab more attention than other parts of the facebook timeline). If Facebook doesn't screw it up, they might be able to get to a google-style place and be able to focus on data collection.

      Time will tell, I haven't ever got into facebook. I have an account for authentication purposes, but that is about it.

    4. Re:Egg that kills the golden goose by mlts · · Score: 1

      While Google Plus is a nice aside for them, Facebook (and the companies that make the apps) are completely dependent on the whims of their product... i.e. their subscribers. Squeeze too much, and FB's stock price will be hurting very hard, very fast.

      FB is in a corner. If they don't find a way to dangle a carrot in front of developers and advertisers, they will stop paying money or writing for that platform, and with them being public, there is always the constant lash of the stockholders and the quarterly numbers. However, if FB starts going with animated ads with audio (which are great for the advertisers but will annoy everyone else to no end), people will give them the middle finger. People are already annoyed with them as it is about privacy, and a lot of other things, that it wouldn't take much for people to take their chat and cat pictures (and thus any ad/app revenue) elsewhere.

    5. Re:Egg that kills the golden goose by CRCulver · · Score: 1

      Similar with VKontakte and other FB-like sites. It may not be a US social networking site, but Americans are tolerated.

      VKontakte creeps out plenty of Russians because it is patently government-controlled (and requires Russian users to link their account to their ID). The company will never be able to overcome that Kremlin stigma and draw an appreciable number of users in the West.

    6. Re:Egg that kills the golden goose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would I have to download an app to use a website? We've come full circle again: Applications are too hard, lets make a web page. Web pages are too hard, lets make multiple applications!

  19. What a coincidence! by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

    I'm introducing Adblocker and NoScript to my Facebook News Feed this summer!

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    1. Re:What a coincidence! by admdrew · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, neither of those really work entirely (or at all? I have both and am not able to see any effects on FB), since the ads are pretty well integrated into the platform. socialfixer is an answer, but it's not ideal (nor is there a mobile analog that I know of).

  20. It's funny how out of touch with reality people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    are on slashdot.

    It will absolutely work out just fine for FB. Your doom predictions are frankly delusional and pathetic.

    PS: No one gives a shit if you threaten to cancel your account.

  21. Darth Zuckerberg by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.

  22. There's still time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    A Catholic priest, a Boy Scout leader and a lawyer take some boys out on an adventure trip. On the flight over, there is engine trouble and the plane is about to go down.

    "We have a problem", says the pilot. "There are only three parachutes!"

    The Boy Scout leader suggests they give them to the boys.

    "Screw the boys," shouts the lawyer.

    "Is there time?" asks the priest.

    1. Re:There's still time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A Catholic priest and a rabbi are driving around when they see a boy hitch hiking and decide to give him a lift. After a few minutes the priest leans over and says "Hey, let's take this kid out to the woods and screw him." The Rabbi says "Out of what?"

  23. Herp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cool, more stuff to block that I block anyways. Who cares?

  24. Facebook is the old myspace by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Everyone is on it, so there's stickiness to their userbase; but, its not cool anymore.

    We all know it doesn't take long for a targeted platform campaign to launch a new social network; it's happened a few times.

    G+ is poised to take over simply because it exists, isn't crap, and is already well integrated, but this would be the perfect opportunity for an upstart to release something with functionality and no crap and make a run for it.

    I still think it would be more interesting for a protocol to exist that allows you to publish personal data via P2P communication, that is not platform dependent. I think diaspora gets at this, but I haven't used it to know. Basically, you'd register like a website registers with a DNS, and then the local application would allow you to share information/publications with different level of sharing. If sharing is public everyone gets access, but you could also do key based settings where other users only have access if they are on your list/in your circle. The address system would be public, you'd control what data people could search for you by, and then you'd have data that was shared p2p via any client that follows the protocol.

    This will be frowned upon though because P2P is bad, but I still don't understand why this sort of data NEEDS to be held onto by a third party.

    1. Re:Facebook is the old myspace by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

      Except that the G+ user interface is 100 times more horrible than Myspace ever was... it's fucking maddening to try to use - and seriously, whomever came up with the "let's randomize picture sizes and then put them together like a puzzle" idea needs to be taken out back and strangled, castrated, drawn, and quartered IMMEDIATELY.

    2. Re:Facebook is the old myspace by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe? I don't know, I only ever use it for communities and video chats. I leave photo-sharing alone unless absolutely necessary. So, I don't really have a problem with navigation, but then, I use it on a limited basis and half the time from my phone.

      It's still not great. There are still adverts placed all over the thing, which is why I'd prefer a P2P based system, but I think it's better than FB at this point.

    3. Re:Facebook is the old myspace by DoctorBit · · Score: 1

      I like this idea, but I see three potential problems with it:

      1) When your computer is off, or disconnected from the internet, no one can access your data. This could be addressed by syncing your personal data across all your devices, so that when one is off, one or more of the others is available as a backup. Unfortunately, this increases the attack surface and makes problem 2 worse. I also don't think keeping your private data in a bittorrent-like swarm would work privacy-wise.

      2) Given the malware-infested state of most ordinary users computers, the app could not effectively protect their private data. On the other hand, if malware broadcasts a user's facebook username and password, anyone can access their private facebook data too, so maybe P2P is not worse.

      3) How would the creator of such a network make any money at all from it? Please don't say advertising! :-) One of the key benefits to the user base of this model is that anyone could make competing (hopefully better) apps that could use the same network and api. The registration info could also be maintained in a distributed database like bittorrent's distributed tracker. The main server would just have to maintain a list of currently active devices participating in the distributed database, keeping hosting costs close to zero. I guess someone could make this thing as an open-source volunteer project.

    4. Re:Facebook is the old myspace by gumOnShoe · · Score: 1

      It's possible you might have to pay to register, which might cut down on how many accounts a person would make. This is not a great idea. Depending on the tertiary capabilities of a client, you might pay for membership or ownership of a client that does more or looks better. Clients would still have the opportunity to use adds if they wanted to, they could even be browser based, but there wouldn't be any one person owning the data anymore. Also, when your computer goes down, your friends can still seed the data they have.

  25. As long as AdBlock still works... by lance_of_the_apes · · Score: 1

    I'm okay with it. Otherwise, I'm out.

  26. Here we go... by SeaFox · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The new, more obtrusive, more bandwidth hogging ads are coming.
    Next will be the increase in frequency and length of ads.
    Then the exodus will start.
    Then there will probably be a site-wide remake or relaunch to try and get people interested.
    By then a new social networking site will be getting hype and half their user will already have an account on it as well.
    Then they stop using their Facebook account and start referring people to the other site who contact them on FB.
    Then Facebook becomes another ghost ship of abandoned profiles like MySpace.

    1. Re:Here we go... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if FB is just trying to cash out before the ship sinks?

    2. Re:Here we go... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The funny part is that Facebook will own the second company and users won't notice.

    3. Re:Here we go... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't use FB but I'm sure the ads will just get worse.

      It's like Comcast OnDemand - they made movies unwatchable, not only with ads that interrupted the movies, but with huge crawling ads that took up to a quarter of the screen at times.

      I had the misfortune of using a PC without AdBlock yesterday and someone innocently sent me a link to a picture of their cat (not a lolcat, their actual cat). I felt like I was assaulted because instead of seeing the cat I got 2 popup windows and automatic video. Many years ago, I was interested in advertising and one of the things that was emphasized was that you make the idea (or brand) stick in the target's mind. I didn't pursue a career in advertising, but I think they've gone off the deep end.

      Like a lot of people have said, I wouldn't mind unobtrusive advertising, but annoying jingles, pop up ads, etc... really turn me off and I consciously avoid advertisers who use those techniques.

      I like the idea of targeted advertising. If I'm looking for a new thingie, it would be helpful to see what other types of thingies are available and what deals I could get on them, but FFS I already know what kind of soda I like and I already have car insurance and no I'm not looking to buy a new car either.

  27. FB down 2.5% since this announcement. by Animats · · Score: 1

    Since this announcement, Facebook stock dropped 2.5%.

    This advertising move is called "pulling a Myspace".

  28. that's my schituation by swschrad · · Score: 1

    I mostly use my phone to check in. that's so NOT gong to happen.

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
  29. adblock by asmkm22 · · Score: 1

    It works with youtube ads, so I can't imagine having a problem with these.

  30. Google Plus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is starting to look like an alternative..

  31. "minimize user disruption"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or maximize user complacency?

  32. Boycotting brands who advertise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not quitting facebook. I will just buy the competitors brands of whomever advertises. Your move advertisers.

  33. For those who plan to ad-block these ads. . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    . . .I would not be surprised to see FB institute, breaking new ground if necessary, some technological means of not only making these ads un-block-able, but going even further to require some verification that users let the ad run its course before being able to access their accounts.

    If there is a company that is arrogante enough and squeezed enough by revenue expectations, FB is that company.

  34. The irritation factor rises by johanw · · Score: 1

    and this will finally convince more people to start using adblockers. Good.

  35. Well by chaos_technique · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry to be awkward, but who's really using Facebook? I have an account in the same way I'm buying useless .org/.net domains: in order to stave off name/domain squatting. But really, is somebody actually using this? I guess I'm not in the target market, but could someone tell me what the market is, apart from the obvious teen throng?

    --
    Singe capitulard mangeur de fromage
    1. Re:Well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well aren't you a cool smart hipster, you must be insanely cool to not even realize how special you are in not using facebook.

    2. Re:Well by LihTox · · Score: 1

      I check Facebook because my extended family posts there; some of them I wouldn't be comfortable talking with one-on-one because we don't have a lot in common (and I've tried!), but I still want to know how they're doing because I love them and care about their well-being. Facebook isn't my main hangout and I rarely post there myself, but to quit FB entirely I would either have to cut myself off from my extended family a little bit, or else convince all of them (most of whom are not particularly computer-savvy) to move to another service.

      It's all about where your group is at. Personally I think it's weird that people have personal conversations over Twitter: it's just a news/joke aggregator for me. And I do most of my social-media socializing on an odd little website called Plurk, because that's where my closest circle of friends have ended up.

      I have a Firefox extension called Social Fixer which does great at fixing the major Facebook annoyances, but there's no such option on iOS and the in-feed ads are already pretty annoying; with videos I'll probably limit my FB viewing to the laptop.

  36. Adblock/aware/whatever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hopefully my adblocking software will kindly just omit it.

  37. pretty soon, by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 1

    it'll be just like a porn site, only without the porn.

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
    1. Re:pretty soon, by nitehawk214 · · Score: 1

      it'll be just like a porn site, only without the porn.

      You must not have any teenagers on your friends list.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  38. This is good news! by Rob_Bryerton · · Score: 1

    This is good news! #1: Piss of the sheep; maybe they'll look for greener pastures once the video ad bandwidth usage starts costing them. #2 Yes! "Compete" w/TV advertising dollars by undercutting them (race to the bottom), devaluing the ad industry on the way. #3 NarcissistBook's stock took a hit on this news. A trifecta.

    Really, best news I've heard all day!

    1. Re:This is good news! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone that uses the term sheep when referring to users is automatically a retard that has nothing worthwhile to say.

  39. Re:exactly why AdBlock was created by DocSavage64109 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't know about androids, but there's no adblock for an iphone.

  40. Re:exactly why AdBlock was created by c-A-d · · Score: 2

    There is an Adblock for android, but I have to leave it off or some sites will not work at all.

    --
    some karma... and kinda lukewarm about it.
  41. Re:exactly why AdBlock was created by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

    In the case of Facebook, that would be a good thing.

    --
    Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  42. Re:exactly why AdBlock was created by johanw · · Score: 1

    There are several adblockers for Android. The simplest are those who edit the hosts file, but they require a rooted phone. Now I think of it, ot would be easy to make an adblocked browser for the iPhone too, if you include and upgraded the blocked hosts in the browser itself.

  43. um... by Travelsonic · · Score: 1

    "... the social network will gradually introduce video advertising to minimize user disruption."

    Bullshit. Video ads are INHERENTLY disruptive.

    --
    If you believe in privacy, and believe you have "nothing to hide" at the same time, you're a goddammed idiot
  44. Man to ignore video ads by dohzer · · Score: 1

    Nuff Said

  45. Re:exactly why AdBlock was created by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You aren't missing out, don't worry.

  46. Make money facebook style by Dorianny · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Am I the only one that's relieved that for once, facebook announced a way to make money that does not involve selling or abusing peoples personal data?

    1. Re:Make money facebook style by d3jake · · Score: 1

      "Here, let me shoot you in the lower leg, than the upper leg." I see your point, however. I'm just saddened that FB can get away with the BS of selling personal data, when I just read the summary of another article on slashdot saying that the majority of Apple's privacy policy was shot down due to being incompatible with German law. And then, thinking that there are no such user protections in the US, because "MERICA! REGULATION BAD!!!!!! OOGA BOOGA!"

  47. at least... by iamnobody2 · · Score: 1

    at least there's juggalobook

    --
    nobody's perfect
  48. Re: exactly why AdBlock was created by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are adblocks for iOS if you're not using Safari...use Mercury Browser instead and you have the full experience including adblock.

  49. Subscription-based ad-free 'premium accounts'? by xenobyte · · Score: 1

    A lot of apps are like this: Free and full-featured but with ads. Buy the 'premium version' and remove the ads.

    It works for the apps - it will also work for Facebook.

    --
    "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
  50. Perfect! by jay+age · · Score: 1

    I see this as a positive development.

    The sooner they will become unbearably obnoxious, the faster they will go the way of the dodo.

    J=

  51. Millions of users leaving... even before video ads by knorthern+knight · · Score: 2

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/28/facebook-loses-users-biggest-markets
    http://www.geek.com/news/millions-are-leaving-facebook-every-month-due-to-boredom-1553510/
    http://technorati.com/social-media/article/facebook-deserted-by-millions-of-users/

    Summary, their oldest markets, i.e. US/Canada/Europe have reached "peak Facebook", and numbers are going down in those older markets. E.g. in the Technorati article...

    > Data released by analytics firm SocialBakers suggests that people are
    > leaving Facebook in their millions.
    >
    > It reveals that the social network has shed 6 million US visitors in the
    > last month, which represents a 4% fall. The UK fares no better having
    > lost 1.4 million users last month, a drop of 4.5%.

    > Worryingly for Facebook this is far from a blip. In the last six months the site
    > has lost 9 million users in America and 2 million in the UK. There's a similar
    > picture across the developed world, with usage falling in Canada, Spain,
    > France, Germany and Japan.

    Yes, the numbers of well-off North Americans and Europeans leaving will be more than offset by the influx of third-worlders. But that guy or gal in the call centre in Mumbai, or the peasant in Asia, is not worth as much to advertisers as the westerners that they replace.

    --

    I'm not repeating myself
    I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
  52. Re:exactly why AdBlock was created by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    shh! if you say "hosts file" 3 times you'll summon apk.

  53. Using from work by Geeky · · Score: 1

    I see lots of people logging on to check FB from work, which is tolerated in my office as long as it's not excessive. Video ads would kill that. It's the same as email - gmail presents a nice discreet screen, the ads are unobtrusive and it looks enough like work. I'm happy using that, but say Yahoo email? No. Loads of flashing animated ads lighting up the page? Ridiculous, and not subtle.

    --
    Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.
  54. Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like a good time for someone to roll you a new social media platform.

  55. Re:exactly why AdBlock was created by Yer+Mom · · Score: 1

    Sure, and that might work if you use Facebook in the browser, but it won't block these ads in the Facebook app — you'd need to jailbreak for that.

    I hardly ever use Facebook anyway. Final straw; I'll be removing my account when I have the time to go through whatever byzantine procedure they have for making sure the damn thing is actually gone and not just disabled.

    --
    Never mind Spamassassin. When's Spammerassassin coming out?
  56. Plays automaticaly — NOT by krischik · · Score: 1

    No video ever plays automatically on in my browser as plug-ins are configured “click to play” — But then again, i do fear the day … goes mainstream.

    PS: Reloading the page (and making the poster loose the posting) after changing the config is very evil indeed.