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Researchers Claim Facebook Is 'Dead and Buried' To Many Young Users

JoeyRox writes "The recent decline in Facebook's popularity with teenagers appears to be worsening. A Global Social Media Impact study of 16 to 18 year olds found that many considered the site 'uncool' and keep their profiles alive only to keep in touch with older relatives, for whom the site remains popular. Researches say teens have switched to using WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Twitter in place of Facebook."

457 comments

  1. Who would believe it? by cold+fjord · · Score: 0

    People actually still use Facebook and Twitter? Facebook's problems are well know, and Twitter is too wordy.

    #sittingonporch
    #sippinglemonade

    --
    much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    1. Re: Who would believe it? by iamhassi · · Score: 4, Informative

      Unfortunately researcher is almost right. I have a teenage relative that only uses instagram and snapchat. She has a Facebook profile but that's only because myself and other "older" relatives use Facebook.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    2. Re:Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Agreed.

      I'm 25, I stopped using facebook about 2 years ago (suspended my account even, email spam is annoying).

      I signed up to twitter, I still have my account, but honestly I don't think I ever looked at twitter after creating an account, I'm not even sure what my username is.

      Communication is personal, not "lets spam the world with my words". I have a phone, I text and call people I actually want to communicate with. I have skype and IRC for online / casual discussions with people who aren't in my immediate world. Forums and mailing lists for more technical and important things. Email covers everything else.

      Needless to say, with the above tools at my, far more appropriate disposal - there's literally no need, want, or remote desire for facebook, nor twitter. Nor was there ever.

    3. Re:Who would believe it? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      The answer is obvious: Facebook should buy Twitter. Or the other way around, the way things are going...........

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    4. Re:Who would believe it? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Informative

      I don't think there's any one place - yet - that has the cachet Facebook (and MySpace before that) once had. Among my daughter's circle of friends (all in their early 20s), though, it appears Tumblr is the new Facebook. And she's told me before the only reason she has a Facebook account at all is to keep in touch with her older relatives.

      Of course I like to respond that I quit Facebook before it was cool. :-P At which point she invariably rolls her eyes and says "DA-ad..."

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    5. Re: Who would believe it? by Moridineas · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Funny, I just had a conversation with the same answer from my low 20-somethings sister. She never uses Facebook and chats with instagram and snapchat. Seems inefficient, but maybe that's just me!

      She does have a twitter account--a marketing course in one of her college classes required all the students to open a twitter account. If THAT'S not the death knell of a social network (professors ordering students to open an account!), I don't know what is.

    6. Re:Who would believe it? by lxs · · Score: 2

      Merger could result in an Axis of Drivel with disastrous consequences. Are you ready for the Tweetocalypse?

    7. Re: Who would believe it? by arth1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      She does have a twitter account--a marketing course in one of her college classes required all the students to open a twitter account. If THAT'S not the death knell of a social network (professors ordering students to open an account!), I don't know what is.

      I don't think a professor can demand that of the students. What if a student cannot accept the EULA of Twitter? Will the school refund the tuition and other expenses incurred before knowing about this requirement?

    8. Re:Who would believe it? by noh8rz10 · · Score: 2

      #sittingonporch
      #sippinglemonade

      #rollindownstreet
      #sippingginjuice

    9. Re:Who would believe it? by noh8rz10 · · Score: 5, Funny

      WOW, full circle. welcome back to my lawn!

    10. Re: Who would believe it? by Derec01 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I think the inefficiency is part of the point, honestly. I personally dislike Facebook exactly because it has tried to be where you contact everyone you know, regardless of the context, and I simply don't want to spend the time to curate a stark divide between sharing with coworkers and friends when I don't share that much on Facebook in the first place. At this point in my life, it's like my contact list, except that it posts cat videos.

      The old Facebook dismissal is that if you want share something with your real friends, you pick up the phone. I think that's the slightly wrong way to look at it, but it has a point. It's a bit of signaling, actually, that is accomplished by using the phone or any more involved means of contact. If I take the time to learn your details in a completely new or inefficient contact system, it means that messages from me are more likely to be significant because there's a greater barrier to me contacting you and I clearly put more effort into it that pulling up your profile on Facebook.

    11. Re: Who would believe it? by jd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If efficiency was cool, Linux would have been developed in the 1960s, all airlines would be blended-wing, with waveriders being next year, minimum gas mileage for new cars would be 100 mpg at 100 mph, fast food would be fast (and healthy), the Tea Party would be banned by law, teenagers would have memorized everything published on the Blue Zones and ebooks would be in LuaLaTeX format, not a subset of HTML.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    12. Re:Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well Done. You are well on the way to becoming a grumpy old person.

    13. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      I assume you had this conversation with your sister in between bouts of fucking? Because that's all me and my sister do. None of this talk crap you Americans are so fond of.

    14. Re: Who would believe it? by amiga3D · · Score: 3, Informative

      Hell, I still use IRC.

    15. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      She does have a twitter account--a marketing course in one of her college classes required all the students to open a twitter account. If THAT'S not the death knell of a social network (professors ordering students to open an account!), I don't know what is.

      I don't think a professor can demand that of the students. What if a student cannot accept the EULA of Twitter? Will the school refund the tuition and other expenses incurred before knowing about this requirement?

      No different than if an engineering student felt they couldn't accept the EULA of Matlab. These are the standard tools of the profession and if a student is unable to bring himself to use a profession's standard toolset then it is much cheaper to find out after paying for a few courses than after completing an entire degree program.

    16. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Folks on IRC are most likely an order of magnitude smarter than Twitter twits or Facehookers.

    17. Re: Who would believe it? by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      Twitter is a professional tool in some field?

    18. Re: Who would believe it? by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 5, Funny

      I use talk.

    19. Re:Who would believe it? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Naw, a real grumpy old man like me wouldn't bother with skype, IRC, etc. Email is good enough for almost everything, voice phone calls covers the rest. Occasionally google+ to see what some people are up to (at least you can divide people into groups, though it still lacks the vital -1 button).

    20. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      marketing.

    21. Re:Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that is the saddest thing I have heard in a long time.

    22. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If efficiency was cool, Linux would have been developed in the 1960s, all airlines would be blended-wing, with wave riders being next year, minimum gas mileage for new cars would be 100 mpg at 100 mph, fast food would be fast (and healthy), the Tea Party would be banned by law, teenagers would have memorised everything published on the Blue Zones and ebooks would be in LuaLaTeX format, not a subset of HTML.

      And yet pricks would still feel the need to take cheap shots at others with different political views than themselves, often in the name of tolerance and progress. Great future.

      This shot was in the name of comedy so grow a thicker skin.

    23. Re: Who would believe it? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If efficiency was cool, Linux would have been developed in the 1960s ...

      Of course, you realize that Unix development started in the mid 1960s.

      The history of Unix dates back to the mid-1960s when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, AT&T Bell Labs, and General Electric were developing an experimental time sharing operating system called Multics for the GE-645 mainframe. ... On this PDP-7, in 1969, a team of Bell Labs researchers led by Thompson and Ritchie, including Rudd Canaday, developed a hierarchical file system, the concepts of computer processes and device files, a command-line interpreter, and some small utility programs.

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    24. Re: Who would believe it? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      yeah. so she is actively using it.

      it is not dead. it's her fucking email and blog replacement. so how it is dead and buried??? ICQ is dead and buried.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    25. Re: Who would believe it? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      To be fair the course was called "Twitter Sock Puppetry for Anti-Social Marketing"

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    26. Re: Who would believe it? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      What if a student cannot accept the EULA of Twitter?

      These services have a EULA?

    27. Re: Who would believe it? by adolf · · Score: 1

      Dude, these are -marketers-. They are, at best, third on the list behind lawyers and bankers.

      Who cares?

    28. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who do they discuss with?

      Other marketers?
      It would be easier for the marketers to get together and then call or mail each other directly.

    29. Re:Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      #TakingADump
      #OoohItsRunny
      #ManThatStinks

    30. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you support the fucking tea party, you deserve all the cheap shots you are destined for. Fuckwit.

    31. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's all about privacy. Ironically everyone said the kids don't care about privacy while not realising they were leaving in herds because of privacy. It's just that their privacy concerns are more short term than ours. They are worried about being caught doing whatever it is they do by their parents, rather than what boring stuff like what future employers will know about them etc.

    32. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You forgot project managers and business analysts...

    33. Re:Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      #TakingADump
      #OoohItsRunny
      #ManThatStinks

      #DamnOutOfBogPaperWhatAmIGoingToDo

    34. Re: Who would believe it? by _Shad0w_ · · Score: 1

      Given many (most?) major companies and organizations maintain an active Twitter presence operated by their PR or customer relations department? Yes.

      --

      Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.

    35. Re:Who would believe it? by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      Occasionally google+ to see what some people are up to (at least you can divide people into groups, though it still lacks the vital -1 button).

      I have two circles, ignoramuses and smarty-pants. I haven't yet found anyone who cannot be classified thus.

    36. Re: Who would believe it? by Bazman · · Score: 1

      Bill Hicks cared - he would have had a lot less material without marketers.

      Although he did only want them to kill themselves.

    37. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I use $send

    38. Re:Who would believe it? by distilate · · Score: 2

      #DamnOutOfBogPaperWhatAmIGoingToDo

      Now if you were on facebook rather than twitter you could have asked your mum.

    39. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Folks on IRC are most likely an order of magnitude smarter than Twitter twits or Facehookers.

      [Citation needed]

      I got an IRC client running on one desktop and a browser on another and I haven't notice a change in IQ when switching desktop.

    40. Re: Who would believe it? by pspahn · · Score: 1

      I had a "Web Design" class require me to use Dreamweaver located on a remote VM. At least in this case they are having students use something that is a professional standard.

      --
      Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
    41. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately yes. Most companies monitor twitter for customer complaints and such.
      Do I wish that wasn't the case? Yes. Does that change reality? No.

    42. Re:Who would believe it? by qubezz · · Score: 2

      I noticed the decline about three years ago, which was about the peak of user interaction. That was probably the point of max data, when you could use it to look up just about any classmate or former co-worker you were curious about and see pictures of their kids and where they were going to be. Then people stopped being stupid, more and more profiles became private or friends-only, facebook started requiring a login to even see content on their site, real names were required and dubious names autodeleted (including mine), and people started cancelling accounts. Then there was a movie. RIP The Facebook, you hardly knew me.

    43. Re: Who would believe it? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      other marketers, mainly.

      supposedly with customers.

      a bunch of fake customers too.

      with fake customers too. why? so that the twitter campaign would look effective and they would keep receiving their paycheck.

      yeah, it's pretty stupid. also one way to spot a marketer is that he is using a fucking url shortening service for every fucking url. not because he couldn't fit the whole url - but because he wants clickthrough stats. fuckers.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    44. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +1 Insightful

    45. Re: Who would believe it? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

      Marketing is a professional field?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    46. Re: Who would believe it? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why oh why did you have to write this as AC? It's the perfect analysis of the problem: Facebook is getting less popular with teens exactly because it gets more popular with older people, i.e. their parent generation.

      Not only because of the ancient "It's uncool to do what your old folks are doing". You can't share your ... less "parent-compatible" exploits anymore with your friends using Facebook. Because your parents are listening. Huh? You could make it "friends only" and not friend your parents? Yeah. Sure. You can not friend your parents.

      So you could only use Facebook to post about your latest "family friendly" happenings. Which would pretty much double as the killer for your social life as a teen.

      So of course teens move away from a service they can't use sensibly anymore.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    47. Re: Who would believe it? by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 4, Funny

      i have nothing to hide, i use 'wall'

    48. Re:Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Merge them. YouTube + Twitter + FaceBook = youtwitface

    49. Re:Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      #DamnOutOfBogPaperWhatAmIGoingToDo

      #TheColonelSaysItsFingerLickingGood

    50. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And it was very funny!

    51. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    52. Re:Who would believe it? by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Facebook is destined to become the Myspace of its time.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    53. Re: Who would believe it? by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Kind of an aside from the topic, but, If I am paying more for an education than a house, I AM THE ONE who had better be giving orders to professors or there will be retribution, gnashing of teeth and lamenting of the women.
      Wise up people. Who is paying who and is it fucking really worth it?

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    54. Re: Who would believe it? by craigminah · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Until next month when SnapChat and Instagram are considered dated. They jump from one thing to the next depending on what's deemed "cool".

    55. Re:Who would believe it? by YttriumOxide · · Score: 3, Funny

      I have two circles, ignoramuses and smarty-pants. I haven't yet found anyone who cannot be classified thus.

      I believe that says more about you than it does about other people...

      --
      My book about LSD and Self-Discovery
      Also on facebook as: DroppingAcidDaleBewan
    56. Re: Who would believe it? by akozakie · · Score: 2

      Seems like FB's friend/non-friend division is not a good model of real life relationships! Wow! Surprise, surprise. Makes me wonder what Google did wrong with G+ to get so little popularity - the categorization of friends into separate groups and selective per-group availability of your content seemed to be among the initial assumptions (based on press releases from long time ago, I have no idea whether it works as advertised). That seems to be the right solution. Something else must have been very wrong... Without an account on either service I can't risk a guess.

    57. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The second oldest profession, yes.

    58. Re: Who would believe it? by msauve · · Score: 1

      Prostitutes are considered professionals, why not marketeers?

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    59. Re: Who would believe it? by Lumpy · · Score: 0

      " These are the standard tools of the profession"
      IF Twitter is a "standard tool" then no wonder most college grads are morons.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    60. Re: Who would believe it? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      I don't think a professor can demand that of the students. What if a student cannot accept the EULA of Twitter? Will the school refund the tuition and other expenses incurred before knowing about this requirement?

      Yeah, I thought the same thing when the local public school (a mandatory-attendance government-run institution) required kids to sign up for Turnitin(TM). Certainly I didn't have an option as to whether to pay my school taxes in light of this requirement.

      I think it is bogus, but good luck getting the majority to go along with it. What is even more bogus is that stuff like the National Electric Code or United States Pharmacopoeia is copyrighted. It is basically illegal to tell somebody what the law is - you need to pay the appropriate corporation for the right to know the law.

    61. Re: Who would believe it? by labyrinth · · Score: 1

      Without marketing you would never have heard about Bill Hicks.

    62. Re:Who would believe it? by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      ... whooshhhh

    63. Re: Who would believe it? by Calydor · · Score: 5, Funny

      I disagree. Technically the first prostitute wasn't a prostitute until she'd done the deed, and that didn't happen until she'd marketed her wares. Marketing is the oldest profession, prostitution a very close second. ;-)

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    64. Re: Who would believe it? by Rich0 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Makes me wonder what Google did wrong with G+ to get so little popularity - the categorization of friends into separate groups and selective per-group availability of your content seemed to be among the initial assumptions (based on press releases from long time ago, I have no idea whether it works as advertised). That seems to be the right solution.

      Well, being the right solution doesn't make a social network popular, automatically.

      However, G+ has its flaws as well. Its main fault is that it is purely people-centric in terms of sharing information, and is blind to topics. I'm interested in reading about Linus Torvald's work on Linux. I'm not interested in his scuba-diving hobby. With G+ it is very difficult to get the one without the other. It requires that Linus use multiple accounts (something Google doesn't like), or that he not post publicly and maintain separate circles for the millions of people who are interested in his work on Linux vs his other hobbies.

      Sure, for the little noise Linus generates I'll overlook it. However, the problem is that this does not scale up. When you want to communicate with hundreds of people it is really disruptive when many are "off-topic" much of the time. That's why mailing lists and forums enforce topic-adherence.

      What Google+ really needs is the ability to not follow Linus, but to follow posts by Linus with the hashtag #linux or whatever.

      I probably take a harsher stand on this than many, but the sentiment really is out there. A few months ago the rage on G+ was begging all your friends not to share their "+1's." It wasn't that people weren't interested in having access to that data. The problem was that the UI turned it into noise. Not only do I now have to read about Linus's scuba-diving, but if Linus +1's his sister's announcement of the birth of his nephew I get to read about that too. Such a thing only makes sense if you treat the network like most people treat Facebook - a place to interact with family and family-safe friends.

    65. Re: Who would believe it? by jafiwam · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Seems like FB's friend/non-friend division is not a good model of real life relationships! Wow! Surprise, surprise. Makes me wonder what Google did wrong with G+ to get so little popularity - the categorization of friends into separate groups and selective per-group availability of your content seemed to be among the initial assumptions (based on press releases from long time ago, I have no idea whether it works as advertised). That seems to be the right solution. Something else must have been very wrong... Without an account on either service I can't risk a guess.

      Google forces users to use real names.

      Google tries to TRICK you into adding real information.

      Then when you do, locks it up with all your other Google type service accounts; youtube. gmail, etc.

      And follows it up by taking away a bunch of tools IN those service accounts.

      In return for this, you get more ads related to what they think you will buy.

      It's truly insidious and very likely to poison the opinion of google in any half-aware tech person.

      Meanwhile, google makes it easy for the nigh-facist government to scoop up all the data. (Which, might not bother you now, but could when a different congress and a different president get in control who later decide you shouldn't be allowed to be free of IRS audits due to your beliefs on drug use.)

      That's just what I picked up by reading here and other places about google+. I am never going to use it, and I instruct anybody who asks never to use it.

    66. Re:Who would believe it? by murdocj · · Score: 1

      As long as we are being anecdotal, the young adults that I know seem to constantly be on Facebook (young being early 20's).

    67. Re: Who would believe it? by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately researcher is almost right. I have a teenage relative that only uses instagram and snapchat. She has a Facebook profile but that's only because myself and other "older" relatives use Facebook.

      Would you post your stuff to anything that has your parents and "older" relatives on it?

      Houston, I think we found the problem....

      --
      No sig today...
    68. Re: Who would believe it? by akozakie · · Score: 1

      True, but not an answer to my question. Most of the things you mention are 2013. G+ failed to take off a lot earlier, when it was not as all-encompassing as it is now. I know why it's almost universally hated now. Tell me why it failed in the beginning.

    69. Re:Who would believe it? by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      People actually still use Facebook and Twitter? Facebook's problems are well know, and Twitter is too wordy.

      Facebook is its own worst enemy.

      Their mule-headed instance that *everybody* sees *everything* doesn't work when teens have parents on there.

      --
      No sig today...
    70. Re: Who would believe it? by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      google FOCRES people to use real names? thats funny, I have a few google accounts, only 1 actually has my real name. Mike Ock would disagree with you

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    71. Re: Who would believe it? by geekmux · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Given many (most?) major companies and organizations maintain an active Twitter presence operated by their PR or customer relations department? Yes.

      Given that it only takes one bad (or mistaken/misread) tweet from a major company that could potentially disrupt millions in revenue, or even ruin their image permanently, I'm rather surprised that the organizations own lawyers haven't recommended it to be removed due to the liability*.

      We've seen things go horribly wrong. Plenty of times. Some are forgiven. Most are not. All are remembered permanently thanks to the internet.

      * How long before social media liability insurance policies are written? I'll give it another 15 seconds. Watch and see. I promise you it's coming.

    72. Re: Who would believe it? by ganjadude · · Score: 2

      BBS were cool, well not really i nthe general sense. Then AOL was cool, you saw a aol keyword on everything, on all commercials etc. Than it was myspace, everyone had to be on myspace. then it was FB, everyone had to have a FB, then twitter, you see #this and #that everywhere. Looks like snapchat is next.

      I know im getting old because I am behind the curve with snapchat, Ive heard of it, have no idea what it is, dont really care, every thing prior listed I remember being involved with in some way shape or form

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    73. Re: Who would believe it? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I was having similar thoughts. Thanks for speaking my mind so clearly.

      ALL social media sites are simply fads. There is not one that will stand the test of time. Facebook selling stock? Cool - Suckerburg really got one over on all the greedy fools with money to gamble. It certainly isn't going to last as long as MS, Apple, or Google. Facebook isn't the new IBM, or even Timex. Bars, pubs, and other social meeting places come and go. Facebook offers nothing truly special, unless they start serving free beer.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    74. Re:Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Facebook is destined to become the Myspace of its time."

      Don't wish Murdoch upon anybody.

    75. Re: Who would believe it? by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      I have a G+ account mostly because I use other Google services.

      Quite some people added me to their circles - I didn't add them back. I don't use the G+ thing.

      What they did wrong? I don't know. Timing, maybe, by releasing when Facebook was still in its prime, with users not so interested in an alternative - now G+ is one of the "old" ones, not a "cool, new thing".

      Never gained critical mass, I have no idea why it could be useful for me. As others mentioned, having it linked to so many other accounts of so many disparate services is also a drawback. At least for me, it is something that I do have in mind.

    76. Re: Who would believe it? by snowsnoot · · Score: 2

      Bill Hicks said it best I think: http://youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo

    77. Re:Who would believe it? by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      And that while GP is only just out of his teens! There is still hope for the next generation!

    78. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      From Wikipedia:
      The Tea Party movement is an American political movement that is primarily known for advocating a reduction in the U.S. national debt and federal budget deficit by reducing U.S. government spending and taxes.[1][2] The movement has been called partly conservative,[3] partly libertarian,[4] and partly populist.[5] It has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009.[6][7][8]

      What is your problem with that?

    79. Re: Who would believe it? by TheloniousToady · · Score: 1

      It reportedly is even popular among professional politicians, one of whom now lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

    80. Re: Who would believe it? by somepunk · · Score: 1

      You dinosaur! Trendy kids these days use ytalk!

      --
      Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. (Isaac Asimov)
    81. Re: Who would believe it? by Nemyst · · Score: 1

      Your conclusion is only a small subset of the bigger conclusion: anything which requires a large critical mass to exist and work will eventually collapse as the mass decreases and passes below the threshold. This includes social networks, but also a lot of other things. Some could argue countries make it into such a definition ;)

    82. Re:Who would believe it? by Nemyst · · Score: 1

      Pretty much the same here, though I never really caught onto facebook. I'm 24. I use Skype and forums for most of my online communication. The only reason I even have a facebook account is because I have a lot of friends who don't care to use anything else (also managing a page for a project I'm working on). I have a Twitter account, but I haven't gotten around to getting it down to a manageable state (I'm using it largely to keep track of news in my field, which works well, but I have too many subs to read everything every day).

    83. Re: Who would believe it? by ebno-10db · · Score: 1

      Because prostitution can be an honest profession.

    84. Re: Who would believe it? by Radres · · Score: 1

      I'd hardly call referencing his name in the liner notes of one of the most popular albums of the 90s "marketing". There are some products that are so good that they need no marketing to sell.

    85. Re: Who would believe it? by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Because prostitutes provide a valuable service that people actually WANT to get.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    86. Re: Who would believe it? by msauve · · Score: 1

      And exactly what does that have to do with whether someone is a "professional?"

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    87. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ignorant and proud of it.

    88. Re: Who would believe it? by Moridineas · · Score: 1

      That's very funny--I think I'll have to steal it!

    89. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can make lots of money on 'simply fads'. And that's what marketing is about - making money.

      I mean look at bell bottoms. Somebody made lots of money on bell bottoms (and the entire 1970's for that matter).

    90. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can't you folks leave a joke alone for once?

    91. Re: Who would believe it? by craigminah · · Score: 1

      While I appreciate your sarcasm, I was trying to say that Facebook and Twitter are hardly old. It seems the kids of today jump from one technology to the next in an effort to remain relevant and "cool".

    92. Re: Who would believe it? by gbjbaanb · · Score: 3, Funny

      you're forgetting something...

      1st: "wave boobies in face of passing caveman, say "ug ugg want it bb". That's Marketing.
      2nd: refuse advances until ugg has handed over shiny rock. That's Sales.
      3rd oldest profession happens next, and is possibly the most reputable of the 3.

    93. Re: Who would believe it? by gbjbaanb · · Score: 1

      True, the ral companies who succeed are the ones who reach that critical mass, and then realise that they have to keep on moving and produce something else, possibly related to their original field (as that makes it easier to convert the existing userbase).

      Google did this - search was popular, reached critical mass, then started doing lots of other things, and now no-one would say they will disappear.

      Facebook did some crap about social communication, then spent any additional innovation "being more facebook", its hardly surprising they're on their way out.

      I wonder if they do become a tiny shade of their former selves, what the knock-on effect on the silicon valley/startup scene will become. If investors lose their shirts with FB stock, will the negative publicity and "shock, horror, stocks can go down too" mean other companies will not be able to . I don't know, produce a website that rates turds, and get a billion dollars in VC funding.

    94. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought farming was the oldest profession

    95. Re: Who would believe it? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      echo > /dev/tty

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    96. Re: Who would believe it? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Bell bottoms were a fad? Crap - I thought they were a uniform. I enlisted so that I could get some. You mean, I could have just gone to K-mart and bought them?

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    97. Re: Who would believe it? by xero314 · · Score: 1

      You mean the album that featured a song all about marketing and how you would have never heard about the band if they had not sold out to a publisher to provide marketing for them? So yes, you might have heard of hicks through liner notes and not marketing, but you would never have seen the album without marketing.

    98. Re:Who would believe it? by drkim · · Score: 1

      Facebook is destined to become the Myspace of its time.

      As was Myspace the Friendster of its time...

    99. Re: Who would believe it? by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      no sarcasm intended actually I was agreeing with you. AOL had a good run from say 95-99, myspace from about 2000-2004 and myspace from about 05-2011, twitter has been gaining momentum and everything from about 2010 til ???

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    100. Re: Who would believe it? by superdude72 · · Score: 1

      Yep. Facebook became less fun the second my parents friended me. And I'm in my 40s! Oh sure I could block them, along with all my uncool relatives. But c'mon, they're still my family. I don't want to do anything so drastic, even if it means I'm deluged with status updates that are less interesting than when I was connected only to my closest peer group.

      Moreover, for me it was all about reconnecting with friends in distant places, people I hadn't heard from in 10 years or more. What's the appeal for a teenager? For the majority of them, their friends mostly live within a 10-mile radius. They're not so concerned with whatever happened to that boy who moved away in the second grade.

      Oh, and there's Words with Friends. I think the kids are into different sorts of online gaming, however.

    101. Re: Who would believe it? by dcollins · · Score: 0

      Oh, because it's impossible that a man would initiate that sexual encounter?

      Or that monkeys do the same thing, no marketers involved:
      http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1700821,00.html
      http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/magazine/05FREAK.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

      How did parent get a 5 "interesting" score? Even as a joke it's kind of misogynistic.

      --
      We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
    102. Re: Who would believe it? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      You can even get them at K-Mart in colors other than blue and white.

    103. Re: Who would believe it? by ZombieThoughts · · Score: 2

      I think you have 2 and 3 mixed up. I always thought you paid the prostitute to leave, not to sleep with you.

    104. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm required, although it's not checked, to tweet and retweet stuff at least 10 minutes everyday related to the company while at work and I'm a logic designer. It's funny seeing the marketing speak come out.

    105. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.efsmi.org

    106. Re: Who would believe it? by iampiti · · Score: 1

      I think you're spot on. You should be able to subscribe to the posts of a person which have a certain hashtag. And now it would be really simple and convenient since Google implemented autohashtagging of posts in G+ some time ago

    107. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Short answer: No.

      Longer answer: No, and it is fairly inconceivable that a student is going to enroll in a class where the use of Twitter is required, but the student balks at Twitter's EULA. There are such things as Master Syllabi for exactly this reason -- so that the student can determine whether or not they wish to enroll for the course. If there's a legitimate gripe with a EULA (usually based on privacy concerns), the student and professor have a conference to hash out the issue. In all but the most extreme cases, a happy medium can be agreed to. The extreme cases require decision-making above the professor's pay grade -- and that's what Administration is for. Policy decisions for a campus (which are what intractable and stubborn problems lead to) should be as uniform as possible.

      Shortened to avoid TL;DR, but *sighs* I know it will receive one anyway. ;)

    108. Re: Who would believe it? by Silverhammer · · Score: 1

      This shot was in the name of comedy so grow a thicker skin.

      If you replace "Tea Party" with "NAACP", "Greenpeace", or "NOW", is the joke still funny?

    109. Re: Who would believe it? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Oh, because it's impossible that a man would initiate that sexual encounter?

      Without a time machine or some kind of wormhole device to view the past, we'll never know for sure.

      Or that monkeys do the same thing, no marketers involved:

      You're obviously a racist. Just because someone's not human doesn't mean they aren't doing marketing.

    110. Re: Who would believe it? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Don't forget that Google may capriciously deny you access to your online data and services any time it chooses and for whatever reason or no reason, and you have no recourse.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    111. Re: Who would believe it? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      google FOCRES people to use real names?

      They tried and failed. They will regroup, dream up some more effective technical means of cohersion and try again.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    112. Re: Who would believe it? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      [Citation needed]

      I got an IRC client running on one desktop and a browser on another and I haven't notice a change in IQ when switching desktop.

      Easy, when you switch to the browser you also switch to your browser persona, which is too stupid to notice the IQ drop.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    113. Re: Who would believe it? by pepty · · Score: 1

      Kind of an aside from the topic, but, If I am paying more for an education than a house, I AM THE ONE who had better be giving orders to professors

      Actually this is on topic as long as you view your professors as prostitutes (discussed upthread).

      Anyway, I'd worry less about your professor ordering you to use a free service than your university ordering your professor to choose course materials which return the greatest revenue to the university, and ordering you to buy them from the school bookstore or Amazon affiliate link in order to stay registered in your classes.

    114. Re: Who would believe it? by pepty · · Score: 1

      By the time Facebook figures out how to monetize Instagram that one will be passe as well.

    115. Re: Who would believe it? by Swampash · · Score: 1

      Instagram: a business unit of Facebook

    116. Re: Who would believe it? by easyTree · · Score: 1

      They lack moral fibre.

    117. Re: Who would believe it? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      ALL social media sites are simply fads.

      Fads are precisely what you need to get involved in for marketing/PR.

    118. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is with the description. It should read; the Tea party movement is an American political movement that is primarily known for its open racism, attracting religious fundamentalists, and promoting political goals that are considered batshit insane by the majority of the population at large.

    119. Re: Who would believe it? by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Google plus screwed the pooch with forcing real names and trying to do too much creating excessive complexity. Then of course really being privacy invasive and forcing the google plus real indentity across their whole portal offering was just that bitter sour cherry on top and pretty much the end of google plus.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    120. Re: Who would believe it? by causality · · Score: 1

      BBS were cool, well not really i nthe general sense. Then AOL was cool, you saw a aol keyword on everything, on all commercials etc. Than it was myspace, everyone had to be on myspace. then it was FB, everyone had to have a FB, then twitter, you see #this and #that everywhere. Looks like snapchat is next. I know im getting old because I am behind the curve with snapchat, Ive heard of it, have no idea what it is, dont really care, every thing prior listed I remember being involved with in some way shape or form

      I did enjoy BBSes but at the time I didn't know anyone who had heard of them (other than those I introduced). I suppose "obscure" is the word I would use, rather than gauging how cool they were. I never used AOL or any other "online service" beyond a "dumb pipe" ISP, and I thought AOL sucked back when they vigorously competed with the likes of Compuserve and Prodigy (I think that was its name) for dial-up users. I have a learned disdain of anything that needs to be promoted so hard that I run out of files to put on their floppies and pieces of furniture that needed their CDs as coasters. I simply never cared for fads. I'm not anti-fad, because they aren't important enough to me to justify my active opposition of them. I simply don't care for them.

      I was aware of the problems with MySpace and then Facebook when they came around because I had tried to give Google a hard time tracking me before that. Other than a few of their web bugs that I saw before I blocked those, no machine I own has ever sent a packet to or received a packet from any Facebook-owned domain. I'm less hostile to Twitter but I have no use for it and I also recognize its own faddish nature. I simply don't care what random strangers ate for breakfast last week and there are better news feeds for anything important.

      The difference is, BBSes were something I discovered on my own. I didn't need a marketer or a mob of people to try to shove them down my throat. It was, in a word, organic. That made them easy for me to appreciate. At the time I was something of a newbie in terms of technical skill, and it was like a new little world full of things I could discover. I just don't find that kind of sense of wonder with the modern fads. There's nothing technically interesting there and no real meaning to be found in them, just a whole lot of empty banter and attempts to make sales.

      Let's say I probably sound a lot older than I actually am (get off my lawn!), but at any rate, I agree with you about Snapchat and I wonder how many fads we have to witness before the average user starts questioning why they bother with the hype. This is the main thing I have never fully understood about most people: how can they experience so many instances and iterations of an abstract theme and still fail to grasp the principle, let alone even realize that there is, in fact, a theme or a template?

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    121. Re: Who would believe it? by RedWizzard · · Score: 1

      I disagree. Technically the first prostitute wasn't a prostitute until she'd done the deed, and that didn't happen until she'd marketed her wares. Marketing is the oldest profession, prostitution a very close second. ;-)

      Only if he or she advertised first. But if he or she was solicited, which seems more likely, then prostitution was the oldest.

    122. Re: Who would believe it? by holostarr · · Score: 1

      I keep hearing how prostitution is the oldest profession, but I was under the impression that hunting was the oldest profession!

    123. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Very insightful. I wish I could mod you up to +6. Haha.

    124. Re: Who would believe it? by trentfoley · · Score: 1

      Not only would that remove what little logic is in the joke, it would offer too many options and include too many acronyms. Some jokes work only when provoking a thin-skinned group of near illiterate tools of Koch Industries.

    125. Re:Who would believe it? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Young vapid adults mostly.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    126. Re: Who would believe it? by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Google did this - search was popular, reached critical mass, then started doing lots of other things, and now no-one would say they will disappear.

      I will say it. They will disappear when something newer and shinier catches people's interest.
      People said the same thing about Yahoo! and Altavista too - they were too big to ever disappear. Where are they now? Heck, where is DEC now?

      No one is too big to fall, unless the government owes them money.

    127. Re:Who would believe it? by xenobyte · · Score: 1

      Facebook is its own worst enemy.

      Their mule-headed instance that *everybody* sees *everything* doesn't work when teens have parents on there.

      Actually Google had the right idea in dividing your friends into different groups ('circles') and only allow certain groups to see any given update. That solves the parents or boss issue. I'm not FB friends with my boss, nor any of my previous bosses, for that very reason. If I want to take a sick day and later feel better and go out and get tagged or do my own update, I'd not want my boss to see it and thus end up with completely unnecessary questions.

      But FB is not dying. Apart from the initial burst I've never added that many new friends as I do now. Sure, I don't have that many new 20-something friends but people my own age (mid 40's) are jumping on FB as never before.

      --
      "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
    128. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agree 100%

      The other example is being bi-langual, and doing posts in English and your native language. Surely they can't expect me to keep circles for that! It can all be public, but the english speaking followers should not have to see the native language in their stream

    129. Re: Who would believe it? by gordo3000 · · Score: 1

      so basically ew can replace all you wrote about google with Facebook, except Facebook also tries to link your account to other accounts you have with totally unrelated services (create an account, OR log in with Facebook for ease)

      All online companies doing things for free are in the business of trying to build up as extensive of an online profile of you, so they can sell targeted ads to companies at the highest price (why pay much for a targeted ad if the company only has sparse, and limited profiles?)

    130. Re: Who would believe it? by umafuckit · · Score: 1

      We've seen things go horribly wrong. Plenty of times. Some are forgiven. Most are not. All are remembered permanently thanks to the internet.

      Nah, these petty things are often forgotten in practice; internet or no internet. The next "scandal" that comes along erases them from most people's radar. I know they can be looked up again on the internet, but there's so much of this shit out there that it often (of course not always) gets naturally buried.

      Anecdote: Our CEO (who is very famous) said some very dumb things a few years ago. What was said was reported internationally, a big scandal ensued, and it was very worrisome for the organisation. It was so big that all (>500) employees were invited to a large round-table to give their opinions on how the incident should be handled. The organisation did three things: distanced itself from the comments, issued a wrist-slapping, and hunkered down to weather the storm. A few months to a year later it was as if nothing had happened. People on the outside had either forgotten what was said or no longer cared, and the person who caused the shit-storm essentially remained in the same role. On occasion I still get questions about the event when people hear where I work, but they're not judgemental or angry questions. People just want to know what happened.

    131. Re: Who would believe it? by gbjbaanb · · Score: 1

      ah, but my point is they've diversified so much that they, as a whole entity, cannot disappear.

      DuckDuckGo has taken over as my search engine, and openstreetmaps as my mapping views, but I still use Android. Even if Android goes away and is replaced by .. Jolla, say, then they'll still have advertising and all the other bits n bobs that'll keep them in the game while they come up with something new.

      DEC, Yahoo, IBM, even Microsoft to a large extent, are all 1-trick ponies. They may have had huge tricks, but it was still 1 trick.

      PS. You're only too big to fail if *you* owe the government money .. they'll want it back before letting you fail :-)

    132. Re: Who would believe it? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      True, but I've also seen times when a company's Twitter presence gives some great customer service in a very public manner. I've even had it happen to myself at times. One example: My annual deal with my cable company (Time Warner Cable) was coming due. I called their customer service number and was offered a new "deal": Pay $10 more a month and get slower Internet speeds. Yes, that was the best they could offer. If I wanted to keep what I had, I'd have to have paid about $30 more a month. My wife complained on Twitter (more venting than looking for a reply) as we considered cutting cable. The people behind the TWC Twitter account gave us a number to call and we were offered a much better deal which saved us some money.

      Obviously, YMMV. It's not guaranteed that complaining on Twitter will lower your bills, but this turned a potentially bad PR situation (customer's "deal" is to pay more for less service) into a good one (customer happy with new deal) and kept a customer who could have easily just cut out cable entirely. (Not that that's not an option anymore, but they've delayed it for a year or two.)

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    133. Re: Who would believe it? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      Makes me wonder what Google did wrong with G+ to get so little popularity

      I used Google+ for awhile and my main problems with it were:

      - Real Name Policy: I rarely use my real name online. My Slashdot account is one of a few from my earlier days on the Internet when I did. On social media, I use a pseudonym. I'm known by that pseudonym when I blog so why would I want to use my real name on some social networks and my pseudonym on another? They eventually added a "nickname" field but only let people display it in a form like "Jason Levine (Pseudonym)". Why couldn't I give Google my real name but opt to have only my pseudonym show up?

      - Pages Following: Google did give a place where you could use your Pseudonym only, but it involved extra steps every time to post there. In addition, you could only follow people on Pages if they followed you first. So I couldn't use that as my main screen, I had to use my real-name area to read G+ posts and then go to my Pseudonym screen to reply (if it let me).

      - No third party app access: I believe this has changed, but for awhile there was no third party access to Google+. I couldn't compose a message and send it to both Twitter and Google+. However, I could use one tool to post to both Twitter and Facebook (were I on Facebook). This meant I had to use two tools to essentially post the same thing. I have limited social media time so this contributed to my decision to ax Google+. Like I said, this may have changed, but it turned me off the service at the time. You want to make your new service easy to use, not cumbersome.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    134. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, to be fair, prostitutes have standards and ethics.

    135. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Facebook sucks my hairy balls and swallows my cum shot

    136. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I tried to "Like" this statement, then realized I wasn't on FaceBook. ;-)

    137. Re: Who would believe it? by vandamme · · Score: 1

      Why not use GNU Octave? I can accept the EULA of Matlab but not the price.

      Well, actually, I object to the EULA too. It's not open source.

    138. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Given that it only takes one bad (or mistaken/misread) tweet from a major company that could potentially disrupt millions in revenue, or even ruin their image permanently, I'm rather surprised that the organizations own lawyers haven't recommended it to be removed due to the liability*.

      Ummm, that isn't what liability means.

      Saying something stupid online, on TV or other media can certainly alienate customers and cost you a lot of money, but that is the free market at work, not liability.

      Liability is when you owe money because you harmed someone contrary to law, and the courts will make you compensate them for that harm.

    139. Re: Who would believe it? by MooseMiester · · Score: 1

      As one who makes his living in digital interactive software development... you might stop to think that digital marketing has created a huge number of programming jobs over the last ten years. Facebook has been a major boon to millions of developers, and continues to do so.

      What you've also failed to take into account is that there are more hot chicks in the marketing department... than anywhere else in the company.

      --
      Murphy was an optimist
    140. Re: Who would believe it? by Steve72 · · Score: 1

      Can you tell me how you ensure how no information gets sent to Facebook across all the computing platforms you use?

    141. Re: Who would believe it? by IndieVoter · · Score: 1

      Be careful of jokes. Men who are under the armpit of a dominant female will react violently, as told, when you attack NOW, Greenpeace, or any like Facist organization. And, many men who post here can only get the attention of such a female.

    142. Re: Who would believe it? by oreiasecaman · · Score: 1

      At least your data can be downloaded anytime you want

      --
      This is a UDP joke, I don't care if you get it or not...
    143. Re: Who would believe it? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Google did this - search was popular, reached critical mass, then started doing lots of other things, and now no-one would say they will disappear.

      I will say it. They will disappear when something newer and shinier catches people's interest. People said the same thing about Yahoo! and Altavista too - they were too big to ever disappear. Where are they now?

      Funny you should ask Search atavista, click on the link, and up comes a Yahoo search window. Go to http://www.yahoo.com/ and up pops a strikingly active looking web page for your "Where are they now?" question. The answer is "Pretty much where it's always been.

      It's something I've noticed in a lot of slashdotters. Unless a business is number 1, it somehow doesn't exist. Yahoo such as it is, has branched out into sports, with it's own ESPN'ish people. It has subcategories like entertainment, food, health, and other stuff. It has a very active groups section. And as a search engine, it's actually better than Google in many respects. I used to use Google a lot, until my searches just brought up sites that figured out how to game Google, and the first page of links were just other business search engines, that often had what I was looking for only in the meta crap.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    144. Re: Who would believe it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Methinks the emotionalism in your ideology has made you into your own enemy. Open racism? Reduction is batshit insane?

      Take the KKK and substitute tea party for n*ggers and we have your views.

    145. Re: Who would believe it? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I don't think a professor can demand that of the students. What if a student cannot accept the EULA of Twitter? Will the school refund the tuition and other expenses incurred before knowing about this requirement?

      Yeah, I thought the same thing when the local public school (a mandatory-attendance government-run institution) required kids to sign up for Turnitin(TM). Certainly I didn't have an option as to whether to pay my school taxes in light of this requirement.

      I think it is bogus, but good luck getting the majority to go along with it.

      And if you didn't want to buy the textbook the course demanded? Of course, there is the conundrum of what happens if you disagree with something the Professor says. Can you retroactively refuse to pay for that textbook? or sue the university for the damage that a Twitter account caused you?

      My only advice is that people realize that if they are going to have extremely stong convictions that will not allow them to participate in requirements of various courses, or even professions, they will need the courage of those convictions. Blind people cannot demand to be issued drivers licenses, even if it is discriminator,p>y. People who have such an objection to using Twitter need to resign themselves to the fruits of that refusal. Twitter isn't an illegal or immoral service, only a stupid one. What is even more bogus is that stuff like the National Electric Code or United States Pharmacopoeia is copyrighted. It is basically illegal to tell somebody what the law is - you need to pay the appropriate corporation for the right to know the law.

      I don't think you meant what you wrote. What you wrote is saying that you can't discuss the NEC with anyone unless they buy a copy.

      And you can always try this link to pdfs

      https://bulk.resource.org/codes.gov/

      Pardon the tiny url, the website is the nfpa

      http://tinyurl.com/n6hvw8v

      That is for online viewing only.

      Much ado about not a whole awful lot.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    146. Re: Who would believe it? by bbsalem · · Score: 1

      Hell, If I was teaching Web Design, I'd make the students code the HTML, CSS, and scripting by hand. Using a templating environment is fine for the small business person who hasn't the time to learn the nuts and bolts, but if that is going to be your profession, I'd make you code by hand and you'd do it from the command-line. Go look at Koding. That gives you a virtualized Linux, a command tool and a web server and browser.

    147. Re: Who would believe it? by cboslin · · Score: 1

      I'm required, although it's not checked, to tweet and retweet stuff at least 10 minutes everyday related to the company while at work and I'm a logic designer. It's funny seeing the marketing speak come out.

      Surprised that they think this type of twitter marketing actually works. Most people unfollow accounts that do this.

    148. Re: Who would believe it? by bbsalem · · Score: 1

      If efficiency was cool, Linux would have been developed in the 1960s, all airlines would be blended-wing, with waveriders being next year, minimum gas mileage for new cars would be 100 mpg at 100 mph, fast food would be fast (and healthy), the Tea Party would be banned by law, teenagers would have memorized everything published on the Blue Zones and ebooks would be in LuaLaTeX format, not a subset of HTML.

      But of course we all know that adoption of standards is shaped by businesses trying to create captive markets. A very good example is Google Docs. That is a dumbed down environment that supports no widely used standards and is no more sophisticated than Word 2000. The web tools is particular are very like Front Page 2000, in fact I think that some old Grey Beard form Microsoft of that vintage designed it.

    149. Re: Who would believe it? by bbsalem · · Score: 1

      Make text-only USENET groups available for free on the web! What is old is new again, and a decent answer to social media. C'mon you venture capitalists. Are you afraid to have a debate?

    150. Re: Who would believe it? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      The Tea Party doesn't stand for reducing the national debt or budget deficit any more. It started out as a populist movement with those goals, but it was hijacked by religious nuts and far-right politicians. Do you hear any TP politicians calling for a massive reduction in military spending? Of course not. You can't be simultaneously in favor of reducing the budget and maintaining military spending.

    151. Re: Who would believe it? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      It's "dead" in the same sense that MySpace and AOL are "dead", it just hasn't gotten as far-gone as those two, yet. It's headed there. All the teens and early 20-somethings have abandoned it, and that means it's going to go the way of AOL in the future. The question is, how quickly? These young people aren't going to change their mind in 5-10 years and come back to it in droves.

    152. Re:Who would believe it? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      It also has burned a lot of working people, when their employer saw something on FB they didn't like and fired them. I know at least one person this happened to.

    153. Re: Who would believe it? by m4mac4162 · · Score: 1

      No, that's lawyering.

    154. Re: Who would believe it? by Rich0 · · Score: 1

      Blind people cannot demand to be issued drivers licenses, even if it is discriminatory.

      The only reason blind people cannot get a drivers license is because it isn't possible to safely operate a vehicle (today) without being able to see. That really isn't discriminatory (at least not in the commons sense of the word), and neither is refusing to hire a blind person to translate ordinary print books into braille or refusing to hire a quadriplegic as a ditch digger.

      On the other hand, requiring somebody to pass a multiple choice test is discriminatory, because there are people who have the knowledge to drive safely who couldn't pass a multiple choice test (I know one firsthand - took about 30 tries to pass though she could have discussed any driving law in conversation or by drawing diagrams and was perfectly able to follow the rules of the road when driving). But, that's another topic...

      I don't think you meant what you wrote. What you wrote is saying that you can't discuss the NEC with anyone unless they buy a copy.

      I didn't say that you couldn't discuss the NEC - only that you couldn't tell somebody what it is (as in, verbatim). If you posted a copy of it on your website without permission you'd get in trouble for it, despite it having the force of law in many communities.

      And you can always try this link to pdfs.

      Thanks - useful, though I don't see a copy of the NEC or USP in there.

      Pardon the tiny url, the website is the nfpa...
      That is for online viewing only.

      That's my point. Sure, some of these organizations may provide copies for limited public use, but they're still copyrighted and the example you just linked isn't even visible unless you register for an account.

      Governments should not be able to incorporate copyrighted outside standards into law by reference. They should be free to directly incorporate them if they wish, but they would need to republish them in the body of the law and putting them into the public domain in the process. You shouldn't need to pay somebody for the right to access the law. Sure, I'm fine with administrative fees if you want them to print you a bound copy, but anybody should be free to copy and distribute anything that has the force of law.

    155. Re: Who would believe it? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      That's just ugly.

  2. Yogi Berra by gmhowell · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded.

    And trust me, it's not because it's "uncool", its because the little shits are afraid of getting caught.

    --
    Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    1. Re: Yogi Berra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree 100 percent. It can't be cool if your parents hang out there.

    2. Re: Yogi Berra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this.

      I'm surprised about snapchat honestly. so apparently tweens sext more than they actually talk?

      I think part of it is that kids typically don't have distant family whom they care to keep in the loop. Once you get kids it's pretty obligatory to post pictures when they do something cute or funny

    3. Re:Yogi Berra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the little shits are afraid of getting caught.

      Can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it horrible for the kids?

    4. Re:Yogi Berra by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 2

      That is the definition of uncool.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    5. Re: Yogi Berra by TheRealHocusLocus · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm surprised about snapchat honestly. so apparently tweens sext more than they actually talk?

      Obligatory XKCD

      --
      <blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
    6. Re:Yogi Berra by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2

      When "everyone" includes your parents, grandparents, your aunts and uncles, your SO's parents, your teachers, and the pastor who baptized you as an infant, then "that thing everyone else is doing" suddenly stops being cool and becomes the thing to scorn and stay away from. Getting caught or not has nothing to do with it, based on the teens I've seen and the stories we all see circulating from time to time. It's simply a matter of it not being the place where teens hang out since it's the place where everyone else is hanging out.

      Give it a few more years and it may become retro, but until then, this change makes absolute sense, and it's likely to only get worse since Facebook has defined itself as a social company. What are they going to fall back on? At least Google isn't defined as a social company, so when they finally give up on G+ as a failed venture that very few people are willingly signing up for, they can simply make something new, just like they did after Buzz failed.

    7. Re: Yogi Berra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, wait. If teens sent more than we know, then Snapchat is some kind of paedophile heaven.
      Who gets to see those pictures???

    8. Re:Yogi Berra by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      the little shits are afraid of getting caught.

      Can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it horrible for the kids?

      Even if you try you are just "an old dude trying too hard to be cool".

    9. Re: Yogi Berra by pspahn · · Score: 1

      Once you get kids it's pretty obligatory to post pictures when they do something cute or funny

      Which seems to be just about all that happens on Facebook. Well, that and pictures of what people cooked that night. Honestly, I don't care about your kids and I don't care that you know how to open a box and put it in the oven. The only thing that really matters is that I get to continually remind myself how much more awesome I am than the people I went to high school with.

      --
      Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
    10. Re: Yogi Berra by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't know if youngsters use SnapChat because of its privacy aspects; perhaps they are simply using it because it is easy to use and/or popular. It could just be a flavour-of-the-month thing, but who knows: perhaps FB was right to want to acquire SnapChat (do we start abbreviating that as "SC" now?), and perhaps SnapChat was right to decline what seemed like a very generous offer from them.

      Then again, what SnapChat lacks (and Facebook has) is a "stack". If one service holds ones content, contacts, communication and even identity to other services, one might be slow to switch. But a stand-alone messaging service is easily ditched, or used alongside another one.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    11. Re: Yogi Berra by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The NSA and other peeping toms. Duh.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    12. Re:Yogi Berra by jez9999 · · Score: 2

      G+ has millions of users and rising, including Wil Wheaton. :-) I prefer its interface to Facebook's. I'm not sure why Google would "give it up as a failed venture".

    13. Re:Yogi Berra by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded.

      And trust me, it's not because it's "uncool", its because the little shits are afraid of getting caught.

      This.

      They added their mothers, teachers and bosses to Facebook and now are scared of getting caught. There are good reasons I keep my Facebook friend list short, it doesn't include family or employers for very good reasons.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    14. Re:Yogi Berra by gnupun · · Score: 1

      And trust me, it's not because it's "uncool", its because the little shits are afraid of getting caught.

      Wouldn't this problem be solved if facebook allowed pseudonyms (like email), instead of requiring you to provide your real name? The teens would then have one account for family and another for friends.

    15. Re: Yogi Berra by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      But a stand-alone messaging service is easily ditched, or used alongside another one.

      Very much this. At the height of its day, EVERYONE had an AIM name, (im talking before universal clients like trillian) If you were in middle school or high school, you had AIM. when myspace came around the need for a stand alone client

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    16. Re:Yogi Berra by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      While there are indeed millions of legitimate users on G+, the vast, VAST majority of G+'s "users" were compelled (read: extorted) to join or had a G+ page automatically created for them without their awareness. The same was true for Buzz, which similarly could have been said to have had tens (hundreds?) of millions of "users", but which was also filled with people who had no idea that they were a user at all, and were shocked when they discovered how their data was being shared without their knowledge (e.g. the case of the stalker ex-boyfriend using the service to find the ex-girlfriend who had moved halfway across the country to get away from him), which ultimately led to its shutdown.

      About a year back, Google took away the ability for YouTube users to post comments, and held that ability hostage until the user agreed to go through a process that involved creating a G+ account. If they later decided that they didn't want the G+ page and deleted it, Google automatically re-disabled their ability to post comments on YouTube and compelled them to go through the whole process again. That policy remains in place today. Google is effectively extorting their own users by removing key functionality for a service and only giving it back to the users after they agree to do something with an unrelated service that they wouldn't have otherwise.

      Similarly, signing up for a Google account of any sort today will automatically create a G+ page without telling you that they were doing so until after the fact. You can later delete the G+ page, but doing so is beginning to have side effects, such as the aforementioned inability to post on YouTube. I'd hardly call those people "users" in any traditional sense of the word, given that most of them are oblivious to the fact that they even have a G+ account, and all it takes is one good PR scandal like what happened with Buzz before G+ suffers a similar death.

      From what I've seen and gathered, the legitimate G+ users are largely made up of people from a handful of niches, most of which lean heavily towards the same sort of demographic that you see here on Slashdot. Every "normal" person I talk to seems to think that G+ either died and was buried over a year ago, or else thinks that it's dying a slow death. I've heard a few of the savvier ones complaining about how Google keeps making a G+ page for them, but I have yet to meet the normal person who's continued using G+ after the first few months of its launch in the same sort of way that we'd typically think of users using Twitter or Facebook.

    17. Re: Yogi Berra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But a stand-alone messaging service is easily ditched, or used alongside another one.

      Very much this. At the height of its day, EVERYONE had an AIM name, (im talking before universal clients like trillian) If you were in middle school or high school, you had AIM. when myspace came around the need for a stand alone client

      Did you leave out a? Mad Lib? Copypasta from your Twitfeed?

    18. Re: Yogi Berra by xenobyte · · Score: 1

      I have not heard any youngster mention privacy in any context so I seriously doubt it has any significant relevance. It's just what popular right now. As apps now enable you to keep snapchat pics and texts forever, the basic privacy idea is long gone. People will return to FB simply because everybody else is there and it's easy to find long lost friends, classmates etc.

      --
      "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
    19. Re:Yogi Berra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      G+ has millions of users and rising, including Wil Wheaton. :-) .

      Thanks for the warning. I'll block that cretin right now.

    20. Re:Yogi Berra by minstrelmike · · Score: 1

      slashdot is also dying a slow death. It' one of those deaths where it looks like it's still growing and working but we all know _eventually_ it will die, kind of like the universe itself (barring divine intervention).

    21. Re:Yogi Berra by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      I'd agree, but I don't quite see the relevance, I'm afraid. I'm not making an argument that G+ will, like everything else, die eventually (though that is true). I'm making an argument that it's already dead, essentially, and that it's just taking some people (i.e. folks around here) longer to realize it than the general population. We here like to cling to our relics of the past and deny that they are dead just as much as we like to support the newest technologies and assert that they will succeed, in both cases doing so despite evidence to the contrary.

    22. Re:Yogi Berra by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure why Google would "give it up as a failed venture".

      Because that's common with Google: they decide that some service isn't popular enough, and they shitcan it. Heck, I've even seen Google cancel services I had never even heard about. Yeah, if you don't leave something out there long enough for people to hear about it and try it out, of course it's not going to become super-popular.

      The way Google is being run, I expect them to collapse not too long after Facebook dies out.

    23. Re:Yogi Berra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ADMIT IT; IT IS FULL OF ERRORS. Because after the ORIGINAL interface, they had NO IDEA WHAT ELSE TO DO. Eh? Nothing beyond system programming, eh? - Danilo J Bonsignore

    24. Re:Yogi Berra by IHateEverybody · · Score: 1

      And I'm one of those millions of users even though I can't remember the last time I actually posted something on Google+ or even looked at it. And as somebody else already pointed out, the only reason a lot of Google+ users have an account is because Google goes out of its way to foist Google+ on users of its other services. And since when does a service have to be a failure for Google to abandon it? *cough* Reader *cough*.

      Having said that I doubt that Google will end Google+ any time soon. At this point Google+ is to Google what Internet Explorer is to Windows. You may not like the former but if you want to use the latter, you're going to be stuck with the former anyway.

      --
      Does this .sig make my butt look big?
  3. Good. by starX · · Score: 4, Funny

    I hate it when those damn kids start playing on my lawn.

    1. Re:Good. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I hate it when those damn kids start playing on my lawn.

      You call THAT shit a lawn?

      Damn, have your standards been lowered by social media...

    2. Re:Good. by binarylarry · · Score: 1

      *ahem*, I believe you mean "your wall," right gramps?

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    3. Re:Good. by gravis777 · · Score: 1

      I hate it when those damn kids start playing on my lawn.

      I'm not familar with that game, but I block game requests on Facebook.

  4. No loss by msobkow · · Score: 2, Interesting

    All I've ever seen contributed by teens is slang and whining and posts of crap they claim is music.

    Now get off my lawn!

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    1. Re:No loss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Redundant

      All I've ever seen contributed by teens is slang and whining and posts of crap they claim is music.

      Now get off my lawn!

      All I've ever seen contributed on Facebook is utterly pointless drivel, of which 95% no one has use for.

      The kids have a point, and it's about damn time the de facto authentication mechanism of the Internet gets a reality check. I'm rather tired of trying to visit (any random) site to sign up for their services only to find a fucking Facebook login box. Get out of my face with that shit already.

      Happy mowing.

    2. Re:No loss by msobkow · · Score: 1

      Aww, surprise surprise.

      Some whiny-assed bitches with mod points can't take a joke.

      Maybe you should go cry to mommy about the mean old grey-beard...

      --
      I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    3. Re:No loss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      surely that hits the top 10% of quality on FB

      lol Captcha is Operetta

  5. Fuck... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    I'm old :(

  6. Newspaper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I read about this in the newspaper.

  7. Too complicated by EmperorOfCanada · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Personally I find that Facebook has too many features. It sort of reminds me of Microsoft Office with this endless parade of new tiny and mostly useless features.

    I think that this is where the snapchats and twitters do so very well. With a very simple core feature set it is not hard to keep focused on what works. But with facebook it almost seems like they don't want to leave anything out just in case some competitor comes along and eats their lunch.

    I think it all boils down to the question: what is Facebook? With the highly successful recent upstarts that is an easy thing to answer. But with facebook the question is actually quite complex. It is very difficult for facebook to be so much to so many.

    To sum it up they have lost their 30 second elevator pitch. But maybe with this information Facebook will realize that their core audience aren't teenyboppers but adults and thus will focus their feature set in that direction.

    1. Re:Too complicated by Kevin+Fishburne · · Score: 1

      It's more now what it's always been; a clusterfuck. From a usability standpoint it's like GT5's main menu but scrolling to infinity. I deleted my first account long ago and my second one only echoes my Twitter feed. Google+ isn't much better, sadly. A clean, intuitive interface would do wonders for both services.

      --
      Buy your next Linux PC at eightvirtues.com
    2. Re:Too complicated by mlts · · Score: 2, Interesting

      To me, FB was becoming too much of an "all eggs in one basket" type of site. It handles authentication for third parties, a gaming platform, messaging, calendars, contact lists. None of this is something unique to FB, because other applications or websites have been doing this.

      Then there are the concerns about privacy. At least SnapChat offers the illusion of privacy which people are wanting since there have been stories and stories about FB data falling into the wrong hands [1].

      To boot, I don't know anyone that really _likes_ FB. At best the service is tolerated because it is expected. However, G+, VK, and other social networking sites offer virtually the same thing, so there isn't anything other than critical mass that makes FB stand out to a subscriber base [2].

      [1]: One example personally was someone tagging me while I was browsing a humidor in a FB pic. A week later the health insurance company I had at the time then sent a demand letter that I either go for a physical or pay smoker's rates.

      [2]: Advertisers and their backend are different, as FB is extremely good, but this isn't as visible to the product (i.e. accountholders.)

    3. Re:Too complicated by arth1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      A clean, intuitive interface would do wonders for both services.

      Be careful when asking for "clean".
      The newer generation of "UI designers" (and I use that phrase lightly) thinks that clean means adding more whitespace and blowing everything up full screen.

    4. Re:Too complicated by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to intrusive ads and the selling of your personal information as "features".

      (Couldn't resist...)

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    5. Re:Too complicated by arth1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      [1]: One example personally was someone tagging me while I was browsing a humidor in a FB pic. A week later the health insurance company I had at the time then sent a demand letter that I either go for a physical or pay smoker's rates.

      That claim I find rather hard to believe. So much so that I don't, without it being backed up.
      Does anyone have any evidence for this happening?

    6. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Personally I find that Facebook has too many features. It sort of reminds me of Microsoft Office with this endless parade of new tiny and mostly useless features.

      I think that this is where the snapchats and twitters do so very well. With a very simple core feature set it is not hard to keep focused on what works. But with facebook it almost seems like they don't want to leave anything out just in case some competitor comes along and eats their lunch.

      I think it all boils down to the question: what is Facebook? With the highly successful recent upstarts that is an easy thing to answer. But with facebook the question is actually quite complex. It is very difficult for facebook to be so much to so many.

      To sum it up they have lost their 30 second elevator pitch. But maybe with this information Facebook will realize that their core audience aren't teenyboppers but adults and thus will focus their feature set in that direction.

      AOL 2.0

      Don't think I'm joking, FB doesn't need to be replaced by anything, it can just suffocate under its own weight and be reinvented under a new name years later as a revolutionary way to waste time and "talk" to "friends". This is bound to repeat.

    7. Re:Too complicated by Derec01 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Whoa, footnote [1] is a little too egregious for me to let it pass unremarked. Why in the world could the insurance company see the picture? How long was it from posting to reaction? Which company was this? (I'm not inclined to reward this kind of behavior)

      For one, the logical leap they made is huge, and for another, that's some serious monitoring of online traffic for this to be true. I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical, not that I'm sure they wouldn't love to do this.

    8. Re:Too complicated by bzipitidoo · · Score: 1

      The way some have raved about FB's supposedly dirt simple website design, I thought I was the only one who found FB's interface poor and confusing. Somehow, reading an invite or message doesn't always clean up the list of new things FB likes to nag you about, and logging in doesn't always take you to a home page. Terminology is a bit misleading. I've frequently ended up in the interface for searching out and adding new friends while hunting around for something else entirely.

      I don't feel too trusting of FB's intentions. Always feels a little dirty to use FB for sending messages to friends and family.

      --
      Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
    9. Re:Too complicated by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I was about to ask the same thing. If it were try then it could be an incredibly powerful weapon in the war for privacy. A massive and crippling lawsuit could finally put some kind of limit on how far privacy violation can go.

      Unfortunately, like 82% of anecdotes and 94% off statistics on Slashdot it is probably made up.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to intrusive ads and the selling of your personal information as "features".

      (Couldn't resist...)

      You've never read or listened to Eric Schmidt?

    11. Re:Too complicated by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Google+ has the ability to disable tagging, despite it's other flaws. If facebook doesn't allow opt-out too then it again points to it as a site for kids who don't care about privacy.

    12. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To me, FB was becoming too much of an "all eggs in one basket" type of site. It handles authentication for third parties, a gaming platform, messaging, calendars, contact lists. None of this is something unique to FB, because other applications or websites have been doing this.

      Was this not how America Online and Compuserve became popular almost 20 years ago? People eventually migrated to newer and cheaper alternatives to www chat IM newsgroups and email.
      We can't take the "research" seriously. There is no real worldwide FB alternative, and teens and some adults have been doing nothing beyond the whining stage. As long as they have to use the account for keeping in touch, they're not really abandoning it.

      I'll feel confident when you start hearing cases like "Son, I've been on FB for 5 years and gone thru 3 cellphones. Since the phones burned and I don't know how to use the PC, FB has all my stuff ransom. I need to mass-copy important photos to [???-Profit!!-book]."
      I expect a lot of miracle-apps to slurp content, and either scamming them or getting banned like the Facebook Purity guy.

    13. Re:Too complicated by Martin+Blank · · Score: 1

      Facebook has had opt-out for photo tagging for a long time. It also has the option of allowing you to approve tags. I approve a handful of them, but most get rejected.

      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    14. Re:Too complicated by Martin+Blank · · Score: 1

      If it's a true story, it's possible that it was simply a coincidence. The insurance company may make the demand on random policy holders (it should be in the policy itself) and cover the cost of it if they mandate it.

      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    15. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, and what is amazing to me about Windows 8 is that I've never met anyone in person who liked it, and almost nobody in the comments of a news site that hates it.

    16. Re:Too complicated by mjwx · · Score: 1

      A clean, intuitive interface would do wonders for both services.

      Be careful when asking for "clean".
      The newer generation of "UI designers" (and I use that phrase lightly) thinks that clean means adding more whitespace and blowing everything up full screen.

      You can blame the pseudoscience of User Experience (UX) for that one.

      UX has almost nothing to do with the actual sciences of HMI or HCI (Human Machine Interface and Human Computer Interaction). It was created by Apple to fool people into believing their bad interfaces were somehow good or useful despite being the opposite of good HCI. Well it worked fantastically and we're all suffering for it.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    17. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't work like you believe, you're still tagged behind the scenes.

    18. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Be careful when asking for "clean".
      The newer generation of "UI designers" (and I use that phrase lightly) thinks that clean means adding more whitespace and blowing everything up full screen.

      And infinite scrolling. "Ancient history" is anything that takes more than two or three swipes to get to.

      Old and busted: Page 1 of 123, 100 images/comments per page. You could do a binary search for before/after an event of approximate (but precisely-unknown) date in fewer than 7 steps.

      New Hotness: most users are too stupid to know what a binary search is, 80% of the clicks are on the first page, so we'll just infinite-scroll to make it look sexier on mobile and (because nobody who has a binary search with an indeterminate timeframe uses the filter-by-date option) we'll just drop that option from the UI, rendering the past forever archived, yet forever inaccessible.

      Next up: You don't need to know this conversation was December 29, 2013. Just that it was "a few hours ago" or "about a year ago (could be 7 months old, could be 23 months, we're not telling, because if you want to search by date, you shouldn't be using any search engine that indexed our content, we want you using our site..." (Slashdot beta, I'm looking at you. Or rather, I'm trying to do everything in my power to avoid ever seeing you again.)

    19. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes but how could his insurance company see the 'behind the scenes' tag?

    20. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait - you just made that statistic up, didn't you ?

    21. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      regardless of whether that particular anecdote is real or not... makes no difference. the fact remains that THIS SHIT HAPPENS and will happen more and more every day unless something is done to stop abuse of data stores, restrict data sharing, and give users real privacy protections.

    22. Re:Too complicated by gbjbaanb · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately Microsoft does a lot of HCI testing, yet they still produced Windows 8 and Windows Phone. (I will refer you to a recent episode of the Gadget Show (4:00 in) where they had a face-off between 3 phone OSes, the ordinary people using Windows didn't do too well, and disliked it a lot)

    23. Re:Too complicated by DiEx-15 · · Score: 1

      I think it all boils down to the question: what is Facebook?

      An advertising space with no privacy whatsoever for everybody from Coca Cola to Nigerian Bank Scammers to solicit their wares and the NSA's wet dream become real.

    24. Re:Too complicated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This probably didn't have anything to do with your friend tagging you. A whole bunch of insurance companies switched to split policies for smokers in preparation for ACA.

    25. Re:Too complicated by IHateEverybody · · Score: 1

      Of course they're features. They are very important features for Facebook's real costumers. [1] Advertisers.

      [1] Even though you have a Facebook account you are not a customer of Facebook. You're its product.

      --
      Does this .sig make my butt look big?
  8. A meme returns by sjames · · Score: 4, Funny

    Only old people use Facebook.

    1. Re: A meme returns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol wasn't that the point of this article? And every comment afterward??

    2. Re:A meme returns by arth1 · · Score: 2

      Many old people prefer methods of communication where they decide exactly who the recipients are, each and every time. And where the history is available no matter how much time has passed, or what service you now use, because it adheres to open standards.
      Like e-mail.

      When, a couple of years ago, I predicted that Facebook would face the same fate as Myspace, Livejournal and others, I was ridiculed. Facebook was the best thing since sliced bread. Well, folks, do you still think the same now?

    3. Re:A meme returns by Kaenneth · · Score: 1

      Join the club, I was downmodded when I said the Ghz race would end someday.

    4. Re:A meme returns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tablets are a fad. Someday we will look back at Android the same as we do Palm OS.

      There. I said it.

    5. Re:A meme returns by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      I'm old and I don't use facebook. I had an account about 3 years ago and after about a year I had logged in maybe 5 or 6 times. I kept getting all this ridiculous spam from everywhere so I just deleted it. What the fuck is up with the farm game anyway? People actually play that?

    6. Re:A meme returns by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Turns out young people are fickle. Fashions change quickly, there always has to be something new. Who knew?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    7. Re: A meme returns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm old and not on FB, or Twitter. Never plan to be either. If you have a life you just don't get time for these online distractions.

    8. Re:A meme returns by sjames · · Score: 1

      Email is my personal preference for exactly the reasons you give. Facebook has nowhere to go but down. Honestly, I'm surprised the Facebook bubble has gotten as big as it has.

    9. Re: A meme returns by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 1

      Only old people use Facebook.

      Lol wasn't that the point of this article? And every comment afterward??

      Yes but where people previously didn't read the f*ing article they now no longer read the f*ing /. summary before making informed comments on the subject. Thus the gist of the /. summary bears repeating in abbreviated form because anything longer than 4 words is likely to overtax the attention span of some of some of the youngest generation of /. posters. Come to think of it he's actually kind of pushing the envelope by using 5 words and no SMS-speak.

      ... now get off my lawn.

      --
      Only to idiots, are orders laws.
      -- Henning von Tresckow
    10. Re: A meme returns by DeathElk · · Score: 1

      If you have a life you just don't get time for these online distractions.

      Oh, but you do have time to trawl and comment AC on slashdot? Heh heh can't help myself

    11. Re:A meme returns by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      I hear you :-) I'm one of those "old people" by now I guess. E-mail still rules for me.

      I do use Facebook. However many of my friends, mostly in their 30s and 40s, some 20 and 50s/60s, are moving more and more of their communications to Whatsapp (usually as highly inefficient alternative to making a call). I heard about an app called Line, said to be a WhatsApp alternative, until recently never heard about Snapchat.

      I'm one of the old guys still using Facebook - occasionally reading the (more and more useless) news feed, mostly for a single group where the local geocaching community talks to each other, and organises outings and so. That group is also the reason I use Facebook to begin with. Most of the messages I read in my e-mail; logging in when something interesting appears.

      WhatsApp doesn't do it for me, nor do their direct competitors like SnapChat. It's limited to the mobile phone, so typing sucks - and that holds me back using it. I get maybe one message a week, and many of those are people sending me links that I ignore as I hate browsing on such a small screen. I got much better devices for that. Also I believe soon I'll have to start paying for it, after the one-year free trial, which is very likely going to be the moment it's leaving my phone. Also I'm not interested to receive messages all the time; I just look at my wife occasionally for a reminder of why I don't have a data account with my phone.

    12. Re:A meme returns by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      Totally agree, it's going to die. It's just the question of: what next? And it seems the options are getting more and more limited in real functionality.

      Geocities allowed the building of an actual web site.

      MySpace allowed the thorough customisation of your profile page, as if it was a web page.

      Facebook allows you to upload a profile photo and cover photo.

      WhatsApp allows a tiny profile photo.

    13. Re:A meme returns by akozakie · · Score: 1

      Most new ideas are either flops or fads. A few survive the test of time and become part of the basic toolset of a civilization (telephone, e-mail, etc). These tend to be pretty obvious ideas made possible by recent advances, not "new revolutionary ways of doing something" based on the same basic technology. E-mail is almost as old as the networks themselves, because it was an obvious need.

      I've always been sceptical of the thought that anything newer than 10 years is really revolutionary, unless it's an effect of a technological or scientific breakthrough. So far in my experience life proves me right.

      But fads are powerful, in any field. I remember that one of the older professors in my MSc times taught us about the "new economy", how it changes everything and what its impact on our field (IT/CS) is. He seemed convinced - I was not. Weird - with this generation gap I should have been the enthusiast and he - the sceptic... Took reality less than 2 years to kick in with the first bursting bubble. I don't hear any "new economy" enthusiasts (in the sense he meant it) now.

      The one thing which is not a fad is a social platform for status updates, sharing and group communication. There is a need for that, but not really for only one. There was MySpace, there is Facebook, there will be others - some with full set of basic functionality, some specialized. Eventually standards (de iure, de facto, who cares - good solutions are there, just not universal and polished) will emerge for configurable forwarding of different types of content to different platforms. Stuff like "make my FB status automatically visible on G+ and add a button to Instagram to make sharing my new photo on SomeNewThing one click away, even though that SomeNewThing is in beta, I'm an early adopter and there's no way for Instagram to support it explicitly already." After that some fragmentation will happen and it will "just work". Who cares who your e-mail provider is? Maybe you even run your own server. Cool. Same thing will happen here.

      But what about single logon? FB started to take that role, but it seems it will fail. Looks like that simply must be a separate service. Not that I want it anyway...

    14. Re:A meme returns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Many old people prefer methods of communication where they decide exactly who the recipients are, each and every time."

      Like the telephone.

    15. Re:A meme returns by marcosdumay · · Score: 1

      Good thing you are A/C, that way nobody can come back to you later.

      Now, it's my turn: Tablets and notebooks will evolve into only one kind of device. I don't know if we'll still use smething called "Android" in 10 years, but if we do, it will be as powerfull as a desktop OS is nowadays (with as many problems).

    16. Re:A meme returns by antdude · · Score: 1

      I didn't even know Facebook was popular in Koreas.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    17. Re:A meme returns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Email is dead, says Zuckerberg lol.
      Facebook is dead, says Email.

    18. Re:A meme returns by minstrelmike · · Score: 1

      Farmville, as parodized in GTAV, combines the mind-numbing boredom of growing crops with the soul-crushing loneliness of the internet. win-win.

  9. My FB strategy is working by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I ignored it... and it's going away.

    1. Re:My FB strategy is working by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

      I ignored it... and it's going away.

      Whew! I don't do facebook yet if I follow a link to facebook I'm required to log in, I just skip the link.

      I was afraid it would be THE place for any companies contact point, and I'd have to make a bogus account access it.

      Research as your aware can read the numbers in many different ways to prove a given point, lets hope this is true the X - 21 age group is a major target group.

  10. So, let's make the circle complete... by Fishchip · · Score: 1

    Back to MySpace we go.

    1. Re:So, let's make the circle complete... by Svartormr · · Score: 1

      How about we skip MySpace and go back to Livejournal. That at least was interesting. >:)

    2. Re:So, let's make the circle complete... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Back to MySpace we go.

      Nah - lets go back to CompuServe. THAT'S full circle.

    3. Re:So, let's make the circle complete... by drkim · · Score: 1

      Back to MySpace we go.

      Nah - lets go back to CompuServe. THAT'S full circle.

      See you on alt.usenet

  11. Follow the money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Follow the money. Check to make sure the study was not funded by hedge funds who are short FB. Get back to us. No, I'm not saying that's what's going on. I don't know one way or the other. Somebody fact-check it for us. I don't trust these journalists to track down the source of funding for us. It's not my job. It's theirs. Did they do it? That's all I'm asking.

    Whenever you see studies, you gotta follow the money. How do we know this isn't like a "diesel particulates are good for what ails ya'" study paid for by oil companies?

    1. Re:Follow the money by Fishchip · · Score: 1

      I LOVE diesel particulates.

    2. Re:Follow the money by colinrichardday · · Score: 1

      I love the smell of diesel particulates in the morning; it smells like victory!!

  12. Get Off My Lawn by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

    I've always considered Facebook to be a little "transient", short, not for real conversation. But WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Twitter? Is this an indication that kids today have lost the ability to have meaningful communication? If it can't be said in 140 chars or less it's not worth communicating? There is a discussion at Balloon Juice about the current way of raising kids: Apparently face-to-face social interaction is passe* with the kids these days, and school shootings are up.

    *According to Google, the use of the word "passe" was really big in 1800 and again in 1900, but has steadily decreased since then.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I've always considered Facebook to be a little "transient", short, not for real conversation. But WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Twitter?

      Who cares? FB got enough users to go IPO and exit. In the time it took for that to happen, its users migrated to other services, just in time for them to create profitable exits for their founders and ultimately fuck over their retail investors when the userbase shifts to the next cool thing.

      The only business model is passing notes in class. Email and USENET let you fuck around while looking like you were working. Then came GeoCities, profitably exited to Yahoo. Then came Instant messaging systems, same sort of pump/dump deal. (Somewhere around here phone companies discovered there was money to be made in texting, which was just another way to pass notes in class.) Then came MySpace and Facebook, and Instagram. Then came Twitter, basically a way to monetize texting and take it back from the phone companies. Now it's Snapchat, who promises to let NSA and anyone clever enough to rename a misnamed .JPG back to ".JPG" keep archives, but since most of its userbase (see above -- passing notes in class!) doesn't care, because they don't know enough about technology to see beyond "the client app autodeletes after viewing".

      The more it changes, the more it stays the same, and the less I want anything to do with this industry anymore, except to daytrade the stocks in it. You can't invest in it, because fads only last 3-5 years, and it takes 2-4 of those years to go from startup to IPO exit. (Any bets on when GitHub IPOs, jumps its shark, and everyone switches to Mercurial? Fuck, maybe there's a fad/pendulum effect there, and in ten years we'll abandon DVCS for centralized versioning systems once thought obsolete, sorta like how we moved from decentralized application hosting of local executables on personal computers back to SaaS and the fuckin' cloud.)

    2. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Passe' has given way to 'Meh' and 'Whatever' is teen chat according to my grand kids.

      I prefer to use 'un-cool'. When you get to a certain age you become 'cool' because of the things that you do that are un-cool to others.

      Now where's my fountain pen? I have a letter to write.

    3. Re:Get Off My Lawn by g2devi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The more it changes, the more it stays the same, and the less I want anything to do with this industry anymore,

      Why are you so jaded? If email works, then stick to it. It's not as if anyone is forcing you to follow the fashionistas? One of the beauties of Unix is that you can take a Unix programmer from the 1980s and drop him in 2014 and he'll still be productive. True, he wouldn't know anything about GUIs (which change with time) but the core has remained largely the same. The same can be said about all core technologies around today.

    4. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Or maybe, if it's going to take more than 140 characters to say, it's worth saying in person?

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    5. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Zzzzzzz...

    6. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Whatever" was popular by 1989 when I started junior high, but it didn't refer to things being passe -- it was closer to a way of conveying resigned, disdainful awareness that somebody elseis determined to be an idiot and/or pain in the ass.

      OTOH I didn't hear or see "meh" anywhere until the early-mid 00s, and then it was from a bunch of young twentysomethings.

    7. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently 'cool' iis out because of predictive texting on dumbphones. The new word is 'book'.

      So now to be (old) 'cool' young people are learning to un-book off of FB. This can only be good for society...

    8. Re:Get Off My Lawn by synaptik · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No, it's an indication that kids want a channel that is very transient, non-persistent, and out-of-band for their parents.

      --
      HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
      NO CARRIER
    9. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      "Whatever" is way too long. Any cool abbrev for it existing?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    10. Re: Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Meh' got its popularity from The Simpsons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meh

      BTW, meh is a perfectly cromulent word.

    11. Re:Get Off My Lawn by zAPPzAPP · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is about communication, so yes, you are forced to use something that the other side also uses. Because communication involves at least two people.

      Sure, the UNIX nerd from 1980 can sit alone with his box and hack away, so all is fine. Typical slashdot reaction.

    12. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 2

      just in time for them to create profitable exits for their founders and ultimately fuck over their retail investors when the userbase shifts to the next cool thing.

      So far their retail investors have been "fucked over" to the tune of a pretty sweet profit. It's now up to the investors to determine if they should hold or get out. There's no long-term requirement, they can sell when the want. So nobody getting is fucked over. If people are investing in a business they don't understand then it's their own damn fault.

    13. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (Any bets on when GitHub IPOs, jumps its shark, and everyone switches to Mercurial? Fuck, maybe there's a fad/pendulum effect there, and in ten years we'll abandon DVCS for centralized versioning systems once thought obsolete, sorta like how we moved from decentralized application hosting of local executables on personal computers back to SaaS and the fuckin' cloud.)

      Why would anyone change VCS if GitHub shuts down? One of the main advantages with distributed version control is that anyone who has checked up the repo can set up a new "hub" or main server at any point. If GitHub shut down tomorrow, little would be lost (apart from metadata and their bug tracker I suppose), and the projects could easily create a new home on any of the other hosting sites such as gitorious, or set up their own. Spending a lot of time and effort to import the code to and for developers to learn a new VCS sounds a lot harder to me.

    14. Re:Get Off My Lawn by YttriumOxide · · Score: 1, Insightful

      If it can't be said in 140 chars or less it's not worth communicating?

      This really bugs me. I use facebook fairly regularly, as it's my primary method for keeping in contact with friends and family in all the different parts of the world that I've lived in or spent significant time in and suits this job very well. However over the last few years an annoying trend has popped up. People will post something interesting (in amongst the stuff I don't care so much about) and I'll write a long and thoughtful comment as a reply. The response is then "Ugh, you're so wordy", "TL;DR", "geez, I didn't need an essay", or similar.

      Meaningful thoughtful statements have somehow been declared 'out of fashion' or otherwise no longer acceptable.

      I also run a facebook page for the book(s) I wrote/write as well as a twitter feed. Interaction thought the facebook page is excellent; however I've basically given up on twitter as I can't really say anything useful in that small number of characters. I could in theory start my own blog, post information there and then link to it from the twitter feed, but that just seems like significant extra work compared to what I'm doing on facebook (honestly, I'd rather be spending my time writing books than promoting them).

      --
      My book about LSD and Self-Discovery
      Also on facebook as: DroppingAcidDaleBewan
    15. Re:Get Off My Lawn by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      Or via some other mechanism. Email works fine for long messages and really doesn't need yet another incompatible reinvention. For short messages, there's IM, SMS, and so on, and Twitter does the broadcast version of these. Facebook tries to be the broadcast version of email and largely exists because email sucks if you want to share photos and setting up a mailing list is hard for non-techy people (even with Yahoo / Google groups).

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    16. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or maybe, if it's going to take more than 140 characters to say, it's worth saying in person?

      Bullshit.

      Kids today do not use their vocal cords. Period. Full stop. They would MUCH rather text, chat, twitter, or email than actually pick up any phone and talk to someone. The only regular exception to this is if they are getting paid to talk to someone.

      There may be a lot of factors involved here, but a complete lack of any real attention span is the real issue, IMHO. Within 5 years, we've gone from 2-hour movies to 10-minute YouTube clips to minute-long commercials to 20-second commercial clips. And since 20 seconds is too long, we're now down to reducing entertainment to 15-second Instagram clips.

      Sadly enough, it was determined that even 15 fucking seconds is far too long for our youth to pay attention, so now we're down to 6-second Vines.

      Don't even bother with home movies anymore. No one in the future will apparently have the time to give a shit beyond an animated gif.

    17. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why are you so jaded? If email works, then stick to it. It's not as if anyone is forcing you to follow the fashionistas? One of the beauties of Unix is that you can take a Unix programmer from the 1980s and drop him in 2014 and he'll still be productive. True, he wouldn't know anything about GUIs (which change with time) but the core has remained largely the same. The same can be said about all core technologies around today.

      If you want enough money to eat something better than cat food in retirement, you have to follow the money, and that means following the fads. Sure, I can still be a productive developer (measured in lines of code, or efficiency of code) in front of a terminal window... but if the industry has moved on, it doesn't mean I'll ever produce anything that anybody will pay me for. Productivity (measured in dollars per hour) means being the first to market with a flat-design UX fart app. Doesn't matter if it has 300ms input lag because if six layers of Javascript between the user and the CPU as long as you $1.99 times a million idiots, or you get bought out by someone who wants to add another million idiots to their userbase.

      It's no longer about the technology, nor the communication, nor the possibilities enabled by that communication, it's about sticking ads in front of people's faces. (And in terms of the possibilities enabled by that communication? After the initial rush, we enabled two big social changes: First, with big data + search engines, we created the sort of hyperpartisan politics brought about epistemic closure: Republicans and Democrats get search results that reinforce their existing world views. Of course they're always right, the internet has never shown them they were wrong. And second, we enabled the NSA to take full advantage of the situation and create a surveillance society.

      But at least we put a fuckton of ads in front of people's faces and made billions doing it! In the same sense that my generation knew that AOL was never an ISP, it was an advertiser, I must ask a similar question for the next generation: did Google really acquire Doubleclick, or did Doubleclick acquire Google?

    18. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Pinky's+Brain · · Score: 2

      Uhuh, so when the pension fund of some naive person is left holding the bag that's his own damn fault? The stockmarket and society as a whole should not be one huge clusterfuck of perverse incentives.

    19. Re:Get Off My Lawn by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      my younger sister likes to use "whatevez"

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    20. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We had to say it in 80 characters.

    21. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes people are forcing it on us. It's getting harder and harder to find places to comment that don't require FB, Google+ or some other bullshit. Contests increasingly require a FB or Twitter account. Employers start to get suspicious when you don't have any of these accounts that they can snoop on.

      It's still optional at this point, but the cost of not going along with it is quite a bit higher than it used to be.

    22. Re:Get Off My Lawn by ebno-10db · · Score: 1

      You forgot to tell them to get off your lawn.

    23. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> Uhuh, so when the pension fund of some naive person is left holding the bag that's his own damn fault?

      There, see, you understand. The investor is responsible for their own actions and the pension fund managers are professional investors.

    24. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The more it changes, the more it stays the same, and the less I want anything to do with this industry anymore,

      Why are you so jaded? If email works, then stick to it. It's not as if anyone is forcing you to follow the fashionistas? One of the beauties of Unix is that you can take a Unix programmer from the 1980s and drop him in 2014 and he'll still be productive. True, he wouldn't know anything about GUIs (which change with time) but the core has remained largely the same. The same can be said about all core technologies around today.

      What is "a Unix programmer"?

    25. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *According to Google, the use of the word "passe" was really big in 1800 and again in 1900, but has steadily decreased since then.

      So the word "passe" itself is passe?

    26. Re:Get Off My Lawn by drkim · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sorry, didn't finish that...

      What "really bugs you"?

    27. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Any bets on when GitHub IPOs, jumps its shark, and everyone switches to Mercurial?

      Please pardon my pedantics, but

      Github != Git

      If Github shutters, there will be a giant sucking sound of Git repos moving to Bitbucket (who have been supporting both Git and Mercurial for a few years now) and/or Gitorious.

    28. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Rix · · Score: 1

      So, you seem to be saying this business model transfers wealth from the idle rich to those building things.

      You seem to have some sort of objection to this, but I don't understand it.

    29. Re:Get Off My Lawn by number17 · · Score: 1

      The naive person is gambling on a pension fund making the correct gamble. If the naive person wants to guarantee not getting "fucked over" then invest in something more stable such as GIC's.

      There is no free lunch.

    30. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perfectly stated... sarcasm and attitude perfectly executed.

      THIS!

    31. Re:Get Off My Lawn by minstrelmike · · Score: 1

      ...I'll write a long and thoughtful comment as a reply. The response is then "Ugh, you're so wordy"

      1. They are reading your stuff on smart phones with a screen so small if you view porn on it, you really will go blind.
      2. Get over yourself. If you want to sell books to a specific market you have to meet them on their terms or write them off.
      Not all thoughtful comments have to be long. "Sorry this letter was so long but I didn't have enough time to write a shorter one." [Editing works]

    32. Re:Get Off My Lawn by YttriumOxide · · Score: 1

      1. They are reading your stuff on smart phones with a screen so small if you view porn on it, you really will go blind.

      ...

      Not all thoughtful comments have to be long. "Sorry this letter was so long but I didn't have enough time to write a shorter one." [Editing works]

      Yes, this can be a problem. But I fail to see how this is my problem. While information density of language can vary (I am always astounded how marketing people in my company can talk for 20 minutes to say something I would've said in 30 seconds), there is a limit. If the information I want to convey requires 300 characters, I'll use 300 characters.

      2. Get over yourself. If you want to sell books to a specific market you have to meet them on their terms or write them off.

      I don't view twitter or facebook as specific markets. I view them as a way to reach a general audience (specific markets would be things like the advertisement I placed in a medical journal). And by basically giving up on twitter as I did, I did 'write off that market' (if you view it as such), so I don't see how your decision to insult me with a snarky "get over yourself" was particularly productive.

      --
      My book about LSD and Self-Discovery
      Also on facebook as: DroppingAcidDaleBewan
    33. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      You might as well be arguing with a wall. The OP is obviously an American.

    34. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Email works fine for long messages and really doesn't need yet another incompatible reinvention.

      Maybe not, but it really does need a backwards-compatible reinvention. Email is neither reliable nor secure; it was never designed for those things. We could really use a new email infrastructure that guarantees delivery, and which has end-to-end encryption so the NSA can't read all our emails so easily.

      Facebook tries to be the broadcast version of email and largely exists because email sucks if you want to share photos and setting up a mailing list is hard for non-techy people (even with Yahoo / Google groups).

      Both of these show more reasons why email needs to be redesigned. And from what I'm seeing with Yahoo Groups, using that doesn't really work anymore either because Yahoo has botched up that service so badly with their "NEO" redesign.

    35. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (I have a much better story Under the Hood, which incidentally I wear and am _forced to use...)

    36. Re:Get Off My Lawn by doccus · · Score: 1

      Why are you so jaded?....

      He's probably made the mistakle of paying attention to trends online..

    37. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WhatsApp is just a messenger, no limets as far as I know. You can make channels erm.. groups, or whatever they are called. I'm not that young, but I'm using WhatssApp on my mobile, as it's way easier to use than IRC through terminal. WhatssApp replaced texting, and added groups to it. Works fine for now, I'm sure they will eventually ruin it by adding stuff to it, but for now it's very good.

    38. Re:Get Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is about communication, so yes, you are forced to use something that the other side also uses

      Same message format but not same client, server, or even delivery method. Email does a good job of this. I think one of its failing is that you lose control of a message once it is sent. Too easy to spoof originator as well. I think email could be improved by having the message itself remain at the originator and instead only have notifications delivered, then it would be easier to combat spam and phishing and other types of fraud. Encryption would also be more easily implemented.

  13. The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by mysidia · · Score: 1

    What the heck do these WhatsApp and Snapchat chatter programs have to do with social networking, anyways?

    1. Re:The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by Derec01 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'd imagine the lack of social networking elements is the draw. People assume that today's kids don't care about privacy, but I get the sense that most of them want their social connections to be more ephemeral than Facebook encourages. With Facebook, defriending someone could be slightly embarrassing, so I just accumulate a pile of people I used to know and may not identify with anymore, with potentially added stress if I delete them. With a messaging app, I message you, or I don't. You can add all the privacy features you want to Facebook, but the possibly preferable alternative is not putting all the effort into maintaining a profile.

    2. Re: The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's a WhatsApp anyway?
      Yes I am too lazy to Bing it. :)

    3. Re: The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by mysidia · · Score: 1

      What's a WhatsApp anyway?

      Jabber for n00bz. Seriously. WhatsApp uses the Jabber protocol, wrapped behind an app, with your cell phone number as the portion of your handle before the @. And an "image upload" feature that posts images to a server and sends a link over chat.

      I guess what's going on here is... Snapchat and WhatsApp are SMS text messaging replacements; the extra attribute that the kids like is that the Snapchat conversations are forcibly destroyed within seconds after they were made ---- so, unlike Facebook or normal SMS text messages.... there's no "record" to worry about their parents snooping off their account or their device.

    4. Re: The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by DeathElk · · Score: 1

      What the fuck's a bing?

    5. Re: The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fuck's a bing?

      Altavista for Microsoft fans.

    6. Re:The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by hebertrich · · Score: 2

      " Social networking " is an intelligence gathering tool under cover of being practical . All it does is gather data about you.
      Cut off the umbilical.tying you to the secret services and police forces . Shut those accounts down , wipe the data out and never get fooled again by the Americans into trusting them with a single bit of data.

    7. Re: The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by knarf · · Score: 1
      --
      --frank[at]unternet.org
    8. Re:The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I felt like Google plus found a way to deal with this situation in a way that made sense, by creating a kind of two-way subscription model that was a lot looser and more opaque than Facebook's "hard" friendship model. You share with whom you will, to whomever is interested in being shared with, without really coming to a firm agreement about a mutual bond.

    9. Re:The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by IHateEverybody · · Score: 1

      The Egyptian protesters who used Twitter and Facebook to organize protests that drove two dictators from power say "hi."

      --
      Does this .sig make my butt look big?
    10. Re: The REAL cool kids are all using IRC by IHateEverybody · · Score: 1

      I always figured it was a table you could buy at Ikea.

      --
      Does this .sig make my butt look big?
  14. Communication online is a fungible commodity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fungible: The source doesn't matter, only the price. In this case the price is that of ads, and a reliable interface, and social cost, and etc.

  15. It's true! by ApplePy · · Score: 1

    Just the other day, I heard an 18-year-old tell his mother that she spends too much time on Facebook.

    I about fell off my chair. Maybe it gets better, after all! :)

    --
    That I'm right, and you don't like it, doesn't mean I'm a troll.
    1. Re:It's true! by Moridineas · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Like many slashdot users, for most of my life, I've been accused of spending too much time on computers.

      As a child of the 80s, I've spent countless hours on BBSes, terminal internet, dialup internet, AOL instant messenger, battle.net, mmos, civilization 1, civilization 2, civilization 3, etc. ;-)

      Today, however, I feel like a luddite. I don't use Facebook. I don't use instagram or snapchat or whatsapp. I read one or two twitter accounts, but don't have an account myself. My wife is totally hooked on Facebook, and I'm now I'm the one complaining about spending so much time on the computer!

      It's a bizarre world.

    2. Re:It's true! by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 1

      I had an epiphany recently when my niece texted me at 7am.

      When I was in college in the 90s, I used to check email without getting out of bed. Because of that, I was a big geek.

      She regularly texts people on her phone before she gets out of bed. She's a print and video model in hollywood.

      Times really have changed.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    3. Re:It's true! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sound exactly like me. I've always thought it was peculiar how I shun basically every form of social whatever despite the fact I grew up on chat rooms and through online games in the 80s and 90s. I spent almost all my free time on computers.

      I can't stand the garbage that has displaced what I used back then. The tracking of absolutely everything, ads for shitty ab machines and hot singles everywhere, and having to wade through a vast ocean of utterly useless garbage vomited up by people I never cared to know then and have no interest in knowing now.

      It's good to know I'm not alone in feeling this way.

    4. Re:It's true! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I never heard it called an "epiphany" before ...

    5. Re:It's true! by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      I take pride in being an oldschool geek. The "social" people laughed at us when we had social life involving computers in the 1980s and 1990s. Now the same people are all on Facebook, and I have no interest in doing what they do.

      I had a kind of epiphany a couple of years ago when I got active in some projects on Github. I realized it's basically the Facebook for computer geeks - an update means you publish some code, and you often have a discussion about it (though this usually happens on IRC or a web forum).

      Last year, I reluctantly got myself a Facebook account because of certain non-computing hobby groups. I think FB groups are fine for this sort of thing, considering we used to organize things mostly with mailing lists, but I keep the rest of my life out of there.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    6. Re:It's true! by drkim · · Score: 0

      ...my niece...texts people on her phone before she gets out of bed. She's a print and video model in hollywood.

      Post pix of her actually texting in bed or we don't believe you.

    7. Re:It's true! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Post pix of her actually texting in bed or we don't believe you.

      Right, because young women don't text from their phones at all times of the day and night. Totally unbelievable.

    8. Re:It's true! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She regularly texts people on her phone before she gets out of bed. She's a print and video model in hollywood.

      Pictures, or it didn't happen.

    9. Re:It's true! by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 0

      Pictures, or it didn't happen.

      Ok, already. Here is a pic she sent me

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    10. Re:It's true! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I concur and feel like this was written nearly word for word from my own mind except in the 80s and early 90s using these tools and services felt educational and beneficial to my long-term growth vs. today's tools and services like Facebook, Instagram and the like are just high school popularity contests all over again and built around regurgitation of something that someone already wrote, designed or photographed ten times over.

    11. Re:It's true! by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Slashdotter offering to post pic of model. I'm guessing goatse.cx.

      anyone care to confirm?

      thought not.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    12. Re:It's true! by tibman · · Score: 1

      She should probably visit a healthcare professional.

      --
      http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
    13. Re:It's true! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      tub.

      I think that's enough to say which pic it is. popular culture ftw!

    14. Re:It's true! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I could have written this post...

    15. Re:It's true! by Luyseyal · · Score: 1

      My wife is totally hooked on Facebook, and I'm now I'm the one complaining about spending so much time on the computer!

      My mom bought my wife a Kindle Fire and I would pray to any god that would get her off of Candy Crush and back onto books.

      ARGH!

      -l

      --
      Help cure AIDS, cancer, and more. Donate your unused computer time to worldcommunitygrid.org. Join Team Slashdot!
  16. I agree, I left 2 years ago. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was one of the first adopters of Facebook. And also one of the few first to leave it.

    Why? Here's why:

    1) Gazillion stupid apps that tells me that my so called friends are posting cute images of some virtual pet in their image gallery.
    2) Gazillion equally stupid ads that doesn't even relate to me in any way.
    3) Constant need to filter out the new ways the apps have found to circumvent the filtering.
    4) Do we really need to know when an ex-coworker you had 5 years ago, is AFK to go to the bathroom?
    5) Do we really need to know that little-princess 4 months old have just learned to walk, in a family we don't even remotely know?
    6) Do we really need to connect with one or several of our high school bullies that has the narcissistic need to connect with you to cover his/her past?
    7) Do we really need to be "FRIENDS" with our boss (who's only mission is to monitor our every move)?
    8) Do we really need....arh...you get the point.

    Facebook - DELETED!

    1. Re:I agree, I left 2 years ago. by Jhon · · Score: 1

      My "friends" are family and friends so close to be considered family. Thats around 30 people with a few "odd ball" old friends who "found" me. That tops off around 40 folks in my "friends".

      I only see about 15 in my feed (by config). So I WANT to know that little-princess 4 months old just learned to walk in THAT group.

      What I don't understand is the desire to have 100, 200, 2000 friends. That is just crazy and leads to the signal overload you describe above.

    2. Re:I agree, I left 2 years ago. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was one of the first adopters of Facebook. And also one of the few first to leave it.

      I'm sorry, but if you only left 2 years ago, you weren't one of the first few to leave.

    3. Re:I agree, I left 2 years ago. by drkim · · Score: 1

      ...Do we really need to know when an ex-coworker you had 5 years ago, is AFK to go to the bathroom?

      Wait - they can't text from the can?
      Luddites.

  17. Is it a problem? by nickol · · Score: 1

    Obviously teens and older people have different interests and different views, so they need different forms of expression. It is good that the separation occured by natural selection and not by advertising.

  18. more fads to ignore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Facefuck ... twatter ... watsap ... snapcrap ... man, it's so hard to keep track of all these fads I'm ignoring.

  19. Alternatives by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They could start using Google+, no parents there, just Google employees.

    1. Re:Alternatives by Chrisq · · Score: 2

      They could start using Google+, no parents there, just Google employees.

      but my dad works for Google you insensitive clod!

  20. A temporary fadbook by godlessgambler · · Score: 1

    The end of Facebook is Generation Nothingness, whom are now looking for the next big thing. And we move on (well, we do but your data, if you've participated, is permanently written in stone and available to be inspected by security forces along with a few thousand twenty-something recent college grads with marketing degrees -- consume, obey, enjoy).

    1. Re:A temporary fadbook by Anrego · · Score: 1

      but your data, if you've participated, is permanently written in stone and available

      Call me naive, but I have faith that this data will fade rather quickly. Not due to some hard hitting privacy laws combined with a major shift in the public's view towards privacy, but simply because the data probably isn't all that valuable after a relatively short period of time, maintaining usability of said data over the long term is probably a huge pain, and the companies that control the data will die. The data will sit on some companies file server unused for years until eventually it gets cleared out to make room for more relevant data.

    2. Re:A temporary fadbook by drkim · · Score: 1

      but your data, if you've participated, is permanently written in stone and available

      ...the data probably isn't all that valuable after a relatively short period of time...

      Excellent point.

      I seem to get targeted ads based on:
      1. Random crap I was surfing that has no relevance to anything I might buy.
      2. Actual products I was shopping for, and have already bought, and will not be buying more of.

      I don't shop around online for products I regularly buy (e.g. toothpaste), because I already know what I like.

  21. Kids don't have much disposable money by eric31415927 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    After spending all their money on cell phones, kids cannot afford to buy products advertised to them on Facebook.

    The fact that Facebook's customer base is morphng into older folks only helps its business model of selling ads.

    1. Re:Kids don't have much disposable money by chameleon3 · · Score: 1

      After spending all their money on cell phones, kids cannot afford to buy products advertised to them on Facebook.

      What? Parents buy the phones most of the times and pay for the minutes/data as well, which leads to point #2: kids have no bills. Every single dollar they have is disposable. Advertising gold.

  22. Get outta the house by hambone142 · · Score: 1

    Perhaps they'll "get out of the door and out on the street all alone". The fresh air may kill them.

  23. No Surprise by Evil+Pete · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Teenagers want and need to find a place of their own, to form their own subculture. A new technology comes along, they jump on board because they are highly adaptable, their parents less, often much less, so. But after five years the teenagers are getting out of their teens and those entering the teens once again need to find their own space. Therefore, there can be no permanent place for teens unless it puts off older people joining or staying. Anyway, someone needs to beta test the new communications paradigms.

    --
    Bitter and proud of it.
    1. Re:No Surprise by Jhon · · Score: 1

      "...and then I found a job. Keeping people from hanging out in front of the drug store".

    2. Re:No Surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... it puts off older people joining or staying...

      4chan?

    3. Re:No Surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Therefore, there can be no permanent place for teens unless it puts off older people joining or staying.

      Hah, that's way I am still waiting for the 4chan IPO.

    4. Re:No Surprise by sl4shd0rk · · Score: 1

      Teenagers want and need to find a place of their own, to form their own subculture.

      Tell them to go outside. Anything online that gets popular just ends up being what they are trying to get away from.
      Besides, they are the generation who will pay for never having freedom of thought without scrutiny. The sooner they
      start fixing that, the better off their kids will be.

      --
      Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
    5. Re:No Surprise by mjwx · · Score: 0

      Teenagers want and need to find a place of their own, to form their own subculture.

      Back in the day, subcultures formed around actual cultural items and ideas, like music, games, movies, TV and books. Music was always a big one, you had the mods and the rockers of the 60's, disco in the 70's, pop and metal in the 80's, grunge in the 90's and many more. But I guess they cant do that with Nikki Minaj, Lady Gaga and Kanye having no culture beyond the a possible yeast infection. TV?, well Honey Boo Boo and other reality junk so they youth of today have nothing there. Books and movies? Erm, the Hunger Games so again not really much to base a subculture around.

      So understandably I can see why the subculture has evolved not to include any actual culture.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    6. Re:No Surprise by Solandri · · Score: 1

      But after five years the teenagers are getting out of their teens and those entering the teens once again need to find their own space.

      Bingo. People who were 13-19 years old when Facebook really started to pick up steam (about 2006) are now 20-26 years old. The teens today are different people, and more than likely they want to trod a different path just for the sake of trodding a different path. Kinda like how my generation bought SUVs and minivans because we didn't want to be like our parents and own a station wagon. By the way, I noticed the awful over-sized glasses from the 1970s are back in style again...

    7. Re:No Surprise by dcollins · · Score: 1

      This does suggest the rather interesting prospect of a "Logan's Run Social Network", where accounts are automatically deleted when the registrant's age hits 21 or 30 or whatever.

      --
      We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
    8. Re:No Surprise by drkim · · Score: 1

      Teenagers want and need to find a place of their own, to form their own subculture...

      Thank goodness there are still street gangs out there for them to join.

  24. Privacy Settings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I doubt the reliability of Facebook's privacy settings but I accept friend request from my relatives but I use the post settings to keep them from seeing most of my posts. Then again, I'm 22 so maybe I'm just too old to have left Facebook.

    1. Re:Privacy Settings by rusty0101 · · Score: 1

      Yes, you are too old to have avoided joining FB in the first place. You are also missing what the policies and practices are with respect to how your posts may show up on other's pages. Even if someone is not in your group to distribute 'likes' and comments to, if you are posting a comment to or 'liking' a 'public' post, that post will randomly be posted to anyone who is a friend.

      I suspect it's mostly a way to 'encourage' friends to like what their friends like, but it basicly means that you don't have the control over who sees your comments and 'likes.'

      --
      You never know...
  25. Whatsapp by johnsie · · Score: 1

    1 on 1 chat for people who want to f--k around. At least with facebook there is a little bit of accountability.

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

      I didn't even know it was a real thing. I've seen the name on really bad spam in my inbox... looked like a scam just from the subject line lol

  26. Who needs facebook? by linuxpjohnston · · Score: 0, Redundant

    My wife and I have set down some simple but effective rules.
    1) They get 1 hr per day to use the computer for playing World of Warcraft or other various on-line games.
    2) If they have homework that requires internet research, which seems to be all they get from their teachers these days, one of us must be around.
    3) They are not allowed to have any email, facebook, twitter, etc. If they want to communicate or hang out with friends and family they can use the phone or ride their bikes over to the other person's house.

    They actually get out of the house and socialize with their peers and learn how to interact and communicate.

    We have our moments where they try to be sneaky and create an account. We catch them and then sit down and actually talk to them and ask why they needed to do such actions in the first place, and after the conversation every time we find a solution without having to create any on-line identity for our children.

    They do not even have their own cell phone/smart phone/tablet. But main reason is they don't need it, whenever they go out of house they have either my cell phone or my wife's cell phone. And I have the phones set up where all you can do is use the text messenger or phone dialer unless you enter specific override password.

    Will there come a day when they must have an account? The answer is yes. We already know my son will have to setup an e-mail account next year for a few of his high school classes but that is next year. But even then we will have restrictions and will be monitoring it like we do now.

    But the only reason this works for us is because we take the time and effort to raise our children.

    1. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >They are not allowed to have any email, facebook, twitter, etc. If they want to communicate or hang out with friends and family they can use the phone or ride their bikes over to the other person's house.

      Provided you don't want your kids working or being super-proficient with tech, this is great advice. Achieving a high level of savvy with tech in general requires countless hours of self-guided toying.

    2. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I feel sorry for your kids; disadvantaged by their own parents in terms of general computer literacy by only being able to use it for an hour to do games, and use google for research.

      They've lost the general computer literacy they'd get from using their PC/device daily.

      They've lost the culture of their peers; how awkward it must be for them to be in a conversation and not being able to relate. Sad.

      They've lost the opportunities they'd have to practice self-discipline and time management, by balancing their lives with computer use.

      What happens when they don't have a parent or manager? They're in for some serious struggles in life, thanks to you.

    3. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This kind of thinking is not unique to the current generation of kids.

      In my generation, this reminds me of the kid in school who's parents wouldn't let him watch TV. Every school had at least one. Years later you hear they joined a cult or became a missionary or are in jail or became a lawyer or something.

      Keep in mind that as stupid as all this facebook/twitter/and now apparently snapchat nonsense is, it _is_ how the generation interacts and communicates. Good principles aside, restricting them might have negative social consequences.

    4. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anrego · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Totally agree.

      When I was in school I saw this quite a bit (parents forcing their viewpoint to the detriment of their kids).

      Trying to impart good values has to be balanced by reality. I too don't get a lot of this "phone culture" stuff. It drives me crazy to be at a restaurant with a bunch of people from _my_ generation all with their phones out instead of actually talking. That said, this is the reality we live in, it's becoming a necessary skill to fit in socially.

      Robbing a kid of the ability to socialize in their generations preferred medium because the parents thinks it's rubbish is just asking for problems later in life.

    5. Re:Who needs facebook? by DeathElk · · Score: 2

      Dude, I appreciate your efforts to restrict your children's online activity with an emphasis on interpersonal contact and physical activity, however you've gone way too far. I can assure you that this will backfire in a big way, the only thing you will achieve is to alienate yourself from your kids if you insist on your hardline position. Loosen up a bit mate, be their friend and mentor, not their "restrictions and monitoring" overseer.

    6. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That just makes your kid the one with the "crazy parents who don't let him eat Chocolate because that's how the devil gets inside you".

      Part of raising a kid is letting them grow socially. See also: letting them hang out with friends you don't like, go to parties where there is dubious supervision, listen to music that may actually be about how to get the devil inside you.

      The kids going into high school. In my country (and I suspect yours) he'd be old enough to drive a car, get a job, and make the legal decision to end his education... and you're micro-managing his email usage? Your intentions are no doubt good, but I'd just ask that you consider that fitting in socially is actually important and sometimes requires compromise.

      A kid that always does his homework, never swears, and always says please and thank you is great on paper, but some day that kid has to deal with the real world outside your control and outside his small circle of friends which make allowances for you. Unless your kid is growing up (and plans to spend their life) in a small farming community, this shits gonna be brutal.

    7. Re:Who needs facebook? by murdocj · · Score: 1

      Wow... the horror of actually having to experience the world instead of sitting behind a keyboard.

    8. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At the start of the meal everyone stacks their phones up on the table.

      First one to take the phone from the stack has to pay for the meal.

      Works wonders. It does need some reasonable friends however as sometimes people need to be available for work etc.

    9. Re:Who needs facebook? by YumoolaJohn · · Score: 1

      it's becoming a necessary skill to fit in socially.

      If you have to be an idiot to fit in, then just don't bother.

    10. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anrego · · Score: 1

      There's a huge difference between encouraging kids to get outside and do some physical activity (which I do strongly agree with) in addition to other forms of entertainment and cutting off an entire widely used social outlet.

    11. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A kid that always does his homework

      Public schools are garbage and most homework is inane and useless. It does nothing to further one's education, unless you consider rote memorization to be education.

      never swears, and always says please and thank you is great on paper

      Those last two are subjective nonsense. "Swear words" are nothing more than strings of letters that irrational people find offensive for irrational reasons. People who get offended by the words themselves are idiots. As for "always says please," whether that's good or not is subjective.

      In short, it's not even great on paper.

    12. Re:Who needs facebook? by murdocj · · Score: 1

      It's not what I would do, but it's not going to cripple their kids either. Somehow they'll survive.

    13. Re:Who needs facebook? by Yosho · · Score: 1

      Why do you want your kids to be completely unprepared for dealing with the real world after they go off to college? These are the kind of parenting techniques that produce kids who drop out of college because they're spending too much time binging on things they've never experienced before.

      --
      Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
    14. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sucks to be your kids. if i were in their shoes i would be learning how to avoid you as much as possible.

    15. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I'm the queen of France, btw.

    16. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you are denying your high-school age children any and all means of online communication. They can't even send and recieve e-mail? They can't have their own cell phone? That's beyond cruel. Their peers probably think they are wierdos.

    17. Re:Who needs facebook? by kgfowler · · Score: 0

      ... and far fewer hours of assisted toying. Since the first consumer computers weren't available (and affordable) until I was in my 20s, it was no great detriment. It's true I've spent countless hours at my HW/OS hobby *maintaining* my skills, but it was good ol' book learnin' that provided the depth and breadth of knowledge, and the bootstrap into a paying job. -- kf

    18. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is, you're taking the time and effort to make a bad job of raising your children. Which is a pity.

    19. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They'll survive. They might even read books instead of wikipedia articles.

    20. Re:Who needs facebook? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, how will a person ever manage when all they've been taught by their parents are things like "boundaries", "structured discipline", "personal responsibility" and "time management"? How will such individuals possibly survive in a workplace environment? I tell you, there's no way they'll be able to compete with people who sit on facebook or pintrest hitting "Refresh" every 5 minutes for 12 hours of their day every day!

  27. Big suprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So teens have 140 character and 10 second attention spans. Who would have guessed.

    They'll either use Facebook as they grow up and start actually having social networks (in the sociology sense, not the "websites for chatting with friends sense), or there will be a market for a replacement method of finding people's contact info. More than anything, Facebook has become my address book for so many people that I don't have other means to contact.

    1. Re:Big suprise by jones_supa · · Score: 2

      More than anything, Facebook has become my address book for so many people that I don't have other means to contact.

      This. Facebook comes with a lot of crap, but for contacting casually any person you know, it's a damn powerful tool. Because "everyone" is there, it's a quite comprehensive address book of the world.

    2. Re:Big suprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. The spy-vs-spy bunch love this address book too. Keep on feeding it sheeple..

  28. Only in your circle? by John+Da'+Baddest · · Score: 1

    The concept of "everyone" meaning just a small circle of people is in evidence here. What about the so-called "third world" where modem dial-ups in a dingy cafe still common? Sometimes in these circles, Facebook IS the Internet and is still growing rapidly. Of course, "our youths" don't chat with this rest of the world who don't count in the coolness-factor of the survey above and discussions here.

  29. My Newsfeed barely moves! by Tasha26 · · Score: 2

    After hiding those who consistently (long-term) wouldn't participate on my posts, may it be in terms of comments or thumbs-up, I've proceeded to also hide friends who only "share" links such as those from 9gag or Youtube or Facebook pages. Problem now is that my Newsfeed looks nearly static for 24-36 hours! Facebook is indeed dead to me but that's after removing the selfish/narcissists and true time-wasters.

    I'm now wondering why I even joined Facebook. It used to be ok and then one day the Newsfeed was changed to default to "Most popular" posts rather than chronological. So much for not putting a view-count on your Profile page or under your photos because somehow management didn't want Facebook to be some MySpace popularity contest sh***y website. That new Newsfeed is a true contradiction to that ancient moto.

    1. Re:My Newsfeed barely moves! by gravis777 · · Score: 1

      SocialFixer puts your posts back into Chronological order

    2. Re:My Newsfeed barely moves! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Problem now is that my Newsfeed looks nearly static for 24-36 hours!"

      It says something about our society when people consider that a problem...

    3. Re:My Newsfeed barely moves! by Tasha26 · · Score: 1

      Thanks but my point is that if you remove/hide the self-obsessed bloggers, the narcissists and those who plainly dislike your posts (they will read it but won't thumb it up or comment) then your Newsfeed will remain almost static. The "chronological" thing is me saying that since Facebook displays posts in order of popularity then when you recently post something, it will end up at the bottom of the Newsfeed pile. It's hard to blame a friend for not seeing your post when it's Facebook's fault for making it hard to find. Facebook truly sucks.

  30. Facebook was never for teenagers. . . by mosb1000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There was never an abundance of teenagers on Facebook. It was initially for college students, and it branched out to older users. It has never been a good tool for young people living with their parents (for obvious reasons).

    1. Re:Facebook was never for teenagers. . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was in my teens when Facebook started growing more popular outside of its initial East Coast college adoption. Initially not a lot of my peers were on the website but after a few months there was not a person in my high school without an account. I still remember how completely surprised I was the first time I noticed (or perhaps was told) that some of my classmates were actually "friends" with their parents/relatives.

      I'd say there was definitely a period of time when Facebook accounts were absolutely ubiquitous among the high school crowd. I'd assume it's still the case now, judging off of all these stories about younger people keeping their accounts to be "friends" with relatives.

      Deleted my account only a few years ago after finally accepting that the only thing I got from having a facebook account was the occasional depressing reminder that other people my age that I knew were having lots of fun/relationships with one another while I stayed at home playing videogames.

    2. Re:Facebook was never for teenagers. . . by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      . It was initially for college students, then it branched out to high school students and finally it branched out to older users

      TFTFY.

      As another person posted, Facebook has lots of features. So do things like rich e-mail clients. Most children don't have complex needs. Snapchat does not have a rich feature set, nor did AIM before it.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    3. Re:Facebook was never for teenagers. . . by mosb1000 · · Score: 1

      Deleted my account only a few years ago after finally accepting that the only thing I got from having a facebook account was the occasional depressing reminder that other people my age that I knew were having lots of fun/relationships with one another while I stayed at home playing video games.

      This has got to be one of the most depressing things I've read in a while. Have you considered getting therapy for your social anxiety? It doesn't sound like you're very happy with your life the way it is.

  31. Know what would be really weird? by thedrunkensailor · · Score: 1

    I would be pretty freaked out to see people's faces. Some people have not been blessed in that way and I prefer them on their phone looking away so I can keep my lunch down. I think there are a few genres of social sites based on how a user can use them: user to user or user to group direct communication (akin to talking face to face), broadcast networking (more like terrestrial radio, you send info out and people may tune in), and stalking (whether familial research or otherwise, like a background check that you can do for free on persons of interest based on how and what they have made available) I don't know/care how most people will/do accomplish this, but for me, Google's product line covers all needs, but no one app cuts it.

    --
    i support the right to offend.
  32. Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 3, Informative

    ... only because myself and other "older" relatives use Facebook

    Sorry.

    Not all the "older folks" use Facebook.

    I for one, don't.

    Yes, I do have a FB account. I signed on to FB when it was brand new (just like I sign on to /. when it was brand new) but I do not like what people do there --- they TELL EVERYBODY EVERYTHING ABOUT THEMSELVES.

    I am not interested to know who eat what at where, nor interested to tell anyone what I do at what place in what time either.

    I logged on to my FB account for 2 times since I signed on. Yes, exactly two times, and no more.

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by AlphaWolf_HK · · Score: 1

      This.

      Though I'm probably the only person I know who almost never posts to facebook.

      --
      Careful with names containing L slashdot.org/~AiphaWolf_HK slashdot.org/~AlphaWoif_HK slashdot.org/~AiphaWoif_HK
    2. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Thanatiel · · Score: 1

      And now they know EVERYTHING about you.

      Joke aside, how much time did these sessions last, in years ?

      --
      Irrelevant news and morons using moderation to mod down what they disagree on. 2018 resolution: so long.
    3. Re: Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Sepodati · · Score: 1

      No, your friends of family post about EVERYTHING, not everyone. Of course your post just screams of the old "I don't even have a TV".

    4. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Opportunist · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I created a Facebook account for exactly one single purpose: To make sure nobody makes one in my name. So there is now an empty FB account with my name on it.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      but I do not like what people do there --- they TELL EVERYBODY EVERYTHING ABOUT THEMSELVES.

      Facebook exists to fill the need in narcissists. Nothing more, nothing less.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    6. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      And there are probably many more accounts that share your exact name. Names are not exactly unique, you know. Keeping it empty will not make it belong to you, as it could just as well belong to someone else with your name.

      If someone wanted to spoof you, they'd just register another account in your name, fill it with some more or less correct information about you (school, university, current employer, date of birth, place of residence) and add your photo as profile photo. Now good luck proving that this populated account is not from you, while the empty one that happens to share your name is.

    7. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      My name is not John Smith, ya know? I happen to have a fairly unique name.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      I thought the same - until Facebook added a .7 to my name. Fairly unique - only the 7th apparently. And it doesn't negate the part where anyone else can also create an account in your name. It being fairly unique could only make your problem worse.

    9. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      what he said...

    10. Re: Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by war4peace · · Score: 1

      I have (had) a "private" facebook account, now they've apparently taken that away from me too. Anyway, I have it to look at what my sister's doing (she's living in another country), same for my uncle (lives in yet another country). I don't post stuff, don't put pictures in, it's simply for me to keep in touch with them as passive reader.

      And I don't have a TV either.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    11. Re: Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      I was posting 'I don't even have a TV' back when posting 'I don't even have a TV' was still cool. So there.

    12. Re: Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by causality · · Score: 2

      No, your friends of family post about EVERYTHING, not everyone. Of course your post just screams of the old "I don't even have a TV".

      Is there something wrong with not owning a device for which you have little or no use? Should those people buy a TV just to earn your goodwill? Are you really that important? If they buy one just for you, can they send you the bill?

      Now if someone says or unambiguously implies ("I feel really emotional about it!" does not satisfy "unambiguously") something along the lines of "I don't own a TV, and that makes me so much better than you!", well, that would be one thing. In the absence of such objective evidence, the simple fact is this: people like you who get upset at a simple statement of fact are guilty of what you think you're accusing the other guy of.

      Incidentally I do have a TV. I just can't understand this need some people have to invent imaginary fault in other human beings who, for the most part, intend to leave you alone. About this, drugs, alcohol, porn, political viewpoints, religions, pretty much anything: not everyone shares your tastes, this is okay, and it's time to get over it. For fuck's sake. Find some meaning and purpose within yourself in a truly satisfying way and *poof*, like magic, these "problems" disappear. Suddenly you're much less concerned with how others want to live.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    13. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by causality · · Score: 1

      but I do not like what people do there --- they TELL EVERYBODY EVERYTHING ABOUT THEMSELVES.

      Facebook exists to fill the need in narcissists. Nothing more, nothing less.

      The opposite of a narcissist is an attention whore who is desperate to feel important to someone for a whole few minutes (likely because of some failure in their upbringing). Facebook merrily caters to both!

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    14. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Of course it can and hence it's one more page I have to look at regularly even though I don't really want to.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    15. Re:Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by goose-incarnated · · Score: 1

      My firstname alone is so unique that niether facebook nor gmail had anyone else with that firstname :) Some of us are just lucky I guess :)

      --
      I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
    16. Re: Not all the "older" folks use Facebook ! by Xman73x · · Score: 0

      Same here I used to be on it to communicate with my friends I knew years ago as well as my new friends I met on XBL and PSN with of course family but since these new ideas came out I hardly use FB that much anymore. I wonder if 2014 will be any different with FB that you see now in the next couple of months from now in 2014-16? If not to me then FB is over.

  33. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  34. let's be real by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..despite the hype, facebook needs you far more than the average user needs facebook.

  35. Note: Researchers and NOT Research by peaceful_bill · · Score: 2

    I'm looking for the research and see.....none. The credentials of the researchers is impressive at first glance, but there is no research. This whole thing looks like a hypothesis without any real research. The entire premise is very interesting, and some of their ideas are worth PROVING. I can't wait to see the results.

  36. Too obnoxious, not too complicated by Animats · · Score: 2

    Personally I find that Facebook has too many features. It sort of reminds me of Microsoft Office with this endless parade of new tiny and mostly useless features.

    It's not that Facebook is complicated. It's that most of the new features involve either advertising or collecting data about you. They have value for Facebook, not the user. Facebook is pulling a Myspace. Worse, they're doing it in the phone era, where ads are more annoying due to the limited screen real estate.

    Snapchat is still in the "no ads, no revenue" phase, when it's fun to use. Originally, Google didn't have ads. Originally, Facebook didn't have ads. Until recently, Twitter did not have ads. Once the ads appear, the downward spiral begins.

    It would be amusing, and perhaps useful, to create a social network system that looks to the user like Twitter/Snapchat/WhatsApp, but uses XMPP/email/IRC/SMS for transport and doesn't need servers of its own. Sell the app once for $5 or so. No ads. Phone providers usually give you a mail account and an SMS number. That's all you really need. WhatsApp comes close, but they have servers and an overreaching EULA, like everybody else. The trick is to make it spam-free, which probably means you have a friends list and only they, and maybe friends once removed, can reach you.

    1. Re:Too obnoxious, not too complicated by cmaxb · · Score: 1

      This: "Once the ads appear, the downward spiral begins . . "

      witness, Youtube.

    2. Re:Too obnoxious, not too complicated by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      The trick is to make it spam-free, which probably means you have a friends list and only they, and maybe friends once removed, can reach you.

      This is what would kill such a service from the get-go.

      With the app you suggest, one would first have to contact the other party by calling them, or sending them a WhatsApp or Facebook message, or SMS message, that they want to use that app to contact you. Then why not use WhatsApp or that phone call right away to convey the actual message you want to convey?

      As much as I hate spam, I'm very happy that anyone that wants to can reach me without me knowing them in advance. The good old telephone works like that, as do e-mail, WhatsApp, etc. This is what makes the services viable means of communication. For example I can give out my name card, and tell them "if anyone needs my services, call or e-mail me". That may be the person I give the card to, or someone whom I never met before.

  37. No, it's actually by nu1x · · Score: 0

    the fact that the average common denominator for intelligent discussion dropped markedly and measurably in the mentioned span of time.

    Now you have to WORK to find a good, intelligent circle, and then work doubly hard to protect it from casuals..

    This has to do with the fact that before, only academics and at least computer enthusiasts and hardcore geeks used the internet.

    Now, Biff "uses" it too.

    --
    I have nothing to lose but my bindings.
    1. Re:No, it's actually by Moridineas · · Score: 1

      The early days of the Internet really were the best. There were some really awesome communities back then. I'm sure such things are still around, but damn if they don't seem to be covered in mounds of crap.

  38. Smarten Up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good, maybe people are realizing it might not be such a good idea to tell a faceless company who sees you as their product everything about themselves from what they eat to who they know.

  39. Obviously by Charcharodon · · Score: 2
    This just in. Teenagers don't want to hang out with their parents or older relatives.

    Guess what, that will always be the case. MySpace died a grizly death as soon as Moms everywhere started dropping friend requests. Facebook is pretty much just the lazy person's way of sending email/IM. It's cool to be able to see what people are up to, but I find myself using it less and less as time goes on.

  40. Google+ is for you by pablo_max · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The old Facebook dismissal is that if you want share something with your real friends, you pick up the phone. I think that's the slightly wrong way to look at it, but it has a point. It's a bit of signaling, actually, that is accomplished by using the phone or any more involved means of contact.

    This is exactly what google+ excels at. Having circles of friends is much closer to the way we live . Of course, the circles are very small, since no one else uses google+.
    Hmm, this is also closer to real life too :(

    For those interested in photography though, check it out. It is worth it.

    1. Re:Google+ is for you by GNious · · Score: 1

      Of course, the circles are very small, since no one else uses google+.

      Is good no-one else uses Google+ - the 10-50 daily posts in my stream is more than enough! Good thing I turn off updates from communities.

    2. Re:Google+ is for you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, photography is not for you if you want to use Google+ because of the rights you must give Google in order to share said photographs.

      Fuck Google and their wanton grab for anything and everything that they can get their dirty hands on for nothing.

    3. Re:Google+ is for you by TeknoHog · · Score: 3, Insightful

      For those interested in photography

      Nudge nudge! Say no more! Bet she does, bet she does!

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    4. Re:Google+ is for you by bbsalem · · Score: 1

      Blogging is a failure for a conversation with any complexity at all. The inefficiency cited here is due to the requirement that you have to read every post and try not to be destracted. There is no structure other than the chronological order or some other single sorting criterion. All the social media varaitions suffer the same flaw because Google Analytics and other data mining applications do not work well with another than the text array that comes from a javascript textarea, nothing more complex.

      This cripples communication between people. The lack of context and topic drift or hijacking annoys people and colors their perception of one another. It is one of the factors for why social media can be so dangerous to relationships, but because of the business model and the technology cost limitations it is not going to change at the will of the social media corporations, They are going to keep it as it is until people realize how the technology hurts them and they decide to stop using social media.

      The alternative is to improve the complexity in the conversation beyond what the blog allows. The odd thing is that this was solved long ago before the GUI and the Web were important, in the old days of glass TTYs and e-mail. Your average mail UI had all the tools needed to give a conversation the needed structure. Add the USENET after 1985 and you have the other ingredient, the topic thread and the means in the message header to store metadata on the message. The USENET newsreader, even old rn(1) of about 1988, had much better features for organizing communication than any social media interface ever offered. And the really telling thing is that Google got the archive of those text newsgroups and undid all that complexity to allow for marketers to spy on you. There was no advertising allowed in the ARPANET and earliest Internet, that was the original meaning of spam, and if Google's motto is "Do No Evil" I'd say that is a shadowed sentiment that Google is all about doing evil as is Facebook, as is most other social media.

      An answer to the social media would be to bring back USENET style communication in a web interface with all the compleity of the newsgroups, restrict it to text and links, and make it highly regional with some latent interconnects between servers, and make the heirarchy topical, not social. The reason the USENET is served for a fee is so the providers can make a profit vending binary traffic, which is the bulk of their volume, that is not legal or suitable for many people, especially children. If you do not allow any of that, you get text only discussion groups, you can restore something of value to the nation other than flash-in-the-pan social media faddism, and you might provide a means to actually solve some important problems.

      Some of this happens right now on Slashdot, which is why I am here and not on social media. But Slashdot had the flaw that like a web site with a blog, the owner or an editorial board controls what topics get notice. On the USENET the hiererarchy is topical and that is what works best for regional or national discussion and debate.

      Ironically, Facebook has the germ of wide-spread discussion, but it is the wrong way around. Were it easier to allow for topic change to create new pages and there was a better mechanism that page creation and likes to link topics together, Facebook would have more like a discussion hiererarchy, but I doubt that Facebook would ever go so far. They experimented briefly with reply quoting, a feature that would help with context management and replying directly to another comment, but they suddenly abandoned it. I think that the reason is that their data mining applications couldn't deal with that added complexity.

      Context and threading is a tool for dealing with abuse, such as trolling, or other abuse, because with a sub-thread and context quoting you can take abuse to task directly and you can shunt it off into a junkable thread where it belongs. The other metadata it is possible to create about a messag

    5. Re:Google+ is for you by bbsalem · · Score: 1

      That is because the blog is bad for any extended or complex conversation. It should be killed off as a medium, or replaced with more complex conversation formats and tools.

  41. Ad broker by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google is an ad broker, selling you, your privacy, as a product to the highest bidder. For this they employ a small army of lobbyists and finance politicians, so that we don't get better privacy laws. In return, they look the other way while providing the NSA access to all your data, all of it. Google is evil. It is not an alternative social network. Unless you are a complete and utter moron who is going to post all of your private live to an evil whore of an ad broker that pisses on your rights.

    1. Re:Ad broker by gordo3000 · · Score: 1

      this is funniest because I think in the Snowden documents Facebook sold out to the NSA way before google did, and of course, runs on the exact same business model except with far more intrusive and annoying ads.

    2. Re:Ad broker by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey get this: I just scored ericsawanker@gmail.com. Hmmm, how should i use it?

  42. It is. I have account there. Been there like 2 yea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is. I have account there. Been there like 2 years ago for the last time.

  43. Initially by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Initially Zuckerberg stole data of these college students and put them online without their consent nor knowledge. Imagine your data are uploaded to a social media website just because the owner wants to.
    This is 'success' in America: starts with a crime, continues as immoral, ends as a great loss to everyone except the owner. Just like their banks, microsoft and almost all other companies.

  44. Good. by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    Facebook is creepy.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  45. I need no Facebooks with free deface hooks. by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

    now looking for the next big thing. And we move on (well, we do but your data, if you've participated, is permanently written in stone and available

    It's such a damn shame innit? They start crazy fights for privacy rights but aren't winin' it. Keep on moving on, getting inspected, not a single elder respected -- Like the old coulda told anything about info set management or social net arrangement; Not like we're the ones inventing the tech they keep renting: token ring, cold war dialling, social engineering, or any such thing.

    I recall the good ol' days, a BBS on my relays, on my own damn machine, bought by car, truck and van washing. My crew and I were the ones who invaded, berated, and sysoperated, ruling every line on your dime one at a time. We ATA'd every call since we had it all: From hiphop to funk, cyberpunk and phreaking, cracking, hacking, dumpster leaking, from robotics to erotics, sharewares and GIF scares and ANSI scrolls so thick they make your third eye sick. Through trace busting out-dials we'd drop hot fresh files, and leave notes scrawled on boards we crawled -- that's a "wall" for yall not the age to breed, or maybe "feed". Kermit and XModem had the fiends' heads explodin' from phat noise-free downloadin'. Your game's No-CD crack has chiptunes and whack splash screens thanks to zero-day smack boasting knack for Demoscenes.

    That TXT speak is weak; For fast finger walking prose we had Crosstalk macros. Web clients? I ain't buyin' it. How about No Fear to Peer-to-Peer, and our homebrew free as in beer? Ours had real crypto -- symmetric; You got SSL and wrecked it: Security went down the chutes since you trust bad actors as roots. References? Romance? What's the Hong Kong Post to you? Why: Preferences, Advanced, Certificates and View. To key shit we left you HTTP-Auth; You treat it like a scruffy nerf herder on Hoth. You got images and kerned text full of bot scrimmages and defects. Let me tell you, we got viewers too, with more features than yours do; No terminals hung playing Kung to this senior's Fu. Cindy Crawford wasn't so fine coming down that line in a 16 color swimsuit, but if you think that hot dithered mess hasn't seen progress take an app dirt-nap and reboot.

    The pigs don't have a clue where all that data got off to. Bit rot got mold, disk platters went cold, forgave our digital sin: ASCII pages of old never to be scrolled or softly trolled ever again... You never forgive, never forget? You're caught in the Web, not the Internet. Before shit was Y2K compliant any machine was a server or client -- Now you pay the man his business plan just to show off your furry friends or pets: From your system you can't list 'em 'less holes get cut in your nets. Forget any of that or encrypted chat, if you're found at any 3rd party site: Folks at the Hong Kong Post can just as simply roast your connection's toast with state sponsored thermite.

    Your browser skids marks like hand writ perjury: You got a "Referer" Header; It's not rocket surgery. Net ended up routing out behind NAT, buffer bloated pouting and all that; You kids can flunk Hogwarts but not forward ports. Not all of yall ignored the call of the tech wild, just enough it's rough to get inbound data dialed. I tried to STUN the sense back in your fool head; Nowhere to TURN symmetric NAT left you dead.

    Half the world flushed IP6 down the commode, at least back in the day I had a unique dial code. Rolled out regulators instead of mounting up switches, and ASIC instead of firmware? Keep fucking up, bitches.

    Look under the hood of your wireless modem, a separate OS: To the fire let's hold 'em.
    Secure like DOS show the specs, programming, namers: Oh yeah, AT commands! Stay flaming, Lamers!

    B-b-but!
    This line noise hero's signal ain't stopped:

    +++
    ATH0
    CARRIER DROPPED

    1. Re:I need no Facebooks with free deface hooks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      (+6, Epic)

      If you just wrote that yourself, you need to record it. That's up there with MC Frontalot.

    2. Re:I need no Facebooks with free deface hooks. by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      Yep, and thanks for the rhyme compliment,
      but my rank's time is better spent
      busting cranks in the government
      pulling pranks with the taxes spent.

  46. Crack Kills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Researchers Claim Researchers Claiming Facebook Is 'Dead and Buried' To Many Young Users Is Smoke Crack

  47. 16 -18 year olds have never had a reason to use FB by physicsphairy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A Global Social Media Impact study of 16 to 18 year olds

    These are people whose social network consists of persons they see just about every day of their life, i.e., their classmates and family. It's not surprising they don't find facebook useful. What is surprising is that they find any other online social network particularly useful. I imagine twitter has more to do with keeping up with celebrities/bands and snapchat/whatsapp is really not a social network so much as it is an improved texting interface which probably works well for intercommunication between small high school cliques.

    The reason they use facebook to keep in touch with older relatives is because older relatives are the only people they have developed significant relationships with who are not immediately accessible. When these same students go out-of-state to various colleges, Facebook is going to be a much better way to keep track of each others lives, interact casually with new people (i.e. facebook can be very passive, it doesn't require as much direct activity as a chat program, can just go ahead and friend that guy/girl you maybe like), and keep track of clubs and related events.

    But I have seen some die off in facebook popularity. People still check it but they don't post nearly as much. I personally blame privacy issues and the 'like' feature. The latter because it's makes it a popularity contest. Some people are secure enough to not care, others are going to be put off when certain friends post and get 100 likes and they get 2, or even if they do get enough likes stress about keeping it up, or whatever. Best just not to post and avoid the stress of whether your post will be well-received by the community. Any contest is ultimately only going to be participated in by people who do well at the contest, assuming there is any choice in participating.

  48. I don't trust the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    16 to 18 year olds don't need Facebook because they have high school. They directly interact with pretty much everyone in their limited social circle in real life five days a week. I'd be willing to bet that the same high school kids who are "shunning" Facebook now will start using it more as soon as they go off to college, and even more after that. As they progress through their 20s, their casual social circle will continue to grow, while their free time to directly interact with this circle will diminish, causing Facebook to steadily become more and more attractive.

    The linked article seems to contradict itself as well. It tries to make a point by saying the supposed drop off in high school users is the opposite of Facebook's heyday when it was aimed at college age users. How does that even make sense? I think a better explanation is that Facebook was never made for high school kids in the first place, so of course they're not going to use it much or think it's "cool".

    Also, Facebook is never going to be replaced by apps like Snapchat and WhatsApp, as the article seems to imply. Facebook and instant messaging are two completely different types of tools. Facebook's strength is its ability to let you passively, and relatively effortlessly keep tabs on and share information with everyone in your casual social circle that you either don't have the time for or the desire to interact with actively. Instant messaging is for directly communicating with select individuals that sit much higher in your social circle. It's like claiming billboards are obsolete because the telephone was invented.

    Other social networking sites and apps, such as Twitter and Tumblr will potentially draw away users from Facebook, but it won't be because of the opinions of high school kids. If Twitter and Tumblr hurt Facebook, it will be because they provide better passive social tools than Facebook for the 20s, 30s, and 40s crowd.

  49. Gen Z more like Gen X by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    3
    I'm positive about generation Z. Can't be worse than Y. Already they seem like a nicer bunch and actually seem to be more like generation X.

    What did I just type. 0_o

    I'm still optimistic!

  50. Soon Snapchat will be old school by gelfling · · Score: 2

    SIX seconds? Are you kidding me? I've forgotten what I was doing after 3. A hundred and 40 chars? Get real. The next twitter will be 30 chars or less or just a weird sonar-like animal noise.

  51. Passing fads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Teenagers are sheep. They have to follow whatever fad is cool this year. Facebook is so last year.

  52. It cant die so easily by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How ever down trend you see, because of volume it has, it cant die to easily.

    Thanks
    http://www.nextgenideas.com

  53. Re:Git Off My Lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why would anyone change VCS if GitHub shuts down? One of the main advantages with distributed version control is that anyone who has checked up the repo can set up a new "hub" or main server at any point. If GitHub shut down tomorrow, little would be lost (apart from metadata and their bug tracker I suppose), and the projects could easily create a new home on any of the other hosting sites such as gitorious, or set up their own. Spending a lot of time and effort to import the code to and for developers to learn a new VCS sounds a lot harder to me.

    (OP here). I was snarking, but VCS choice is subject to network effects. Today, GitHub is where most devs live, not only because it's a good way to host their projects, but because it provides visibility to one's peers. Having a public commit history there doesn't just look good on your resume/CV, it is your CV/resume. (Same way as your LinkedIn profile is your resume if you're a headhunter or salesweasel.) Switching VCSes is harder than switching from Myspace to Facebook, but in the end, you go to where your friends go, and you use the tools your friends are using. Anyone still using SCCS instead of RCS?

  54. Twitter != Social networking by Gonoff · · Score: 1

    Twitter is a souped up alternative to an XML feed.

    It used to be useful to keep track of interesting people and organisations. That is better done in Google Plus now.
    It is no use for sharing photographs unless you have accounts in othersystems - like facebook or even Flickr.
    I still have an account and it's useful for following some organisations that still use it only, They will either catch up or "go under".

    Its IM is less useful than even Facebooks. I am obviously because I consider email to be an even more useful tool.

    --
    I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
  55. FB has volume to survive by NextGenIdeas · · Score: 1

    FB has volume and some unique features...so, it can still survive untill some one comes up with a stunning Next Generation Idea

  56. SnapChat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Teenagers don't want their narcissistic selfies exposed (pun intended) for all time. I should start-up a social media company called Stupid Teenage/Twenty-something Girls. If I claimed to delete the images after seXonds (120-1200) but stored them in a non-publicly-accessible archive forever, I could lure millions of stupid girls into posting photographs of themselves. How to monetize? How to monetize?

  57. And nothing of value was lost? by TheGoodNamesWereGone · · Score: 1

    When I just wake up and read something that provokes me I really should get more awake before I post something snarky, but here goes... As far as my own experience on FB goes, if the kids leave, then fine. They don't have anything to say that interests me and in many cases they outright offend. It really makes me scared for the future of the human race sometimes. And as for FB itself and their revenues, what is the buying power of teenagers versus the buying power of their parents? That's right, not much (though they do spend what they have more freely). Now get off my lawn.

  58. Re:16 -18 year olds have never had a reason to use by gravis777 · · Score: 1

    Totally agree. Most of the under-20ish people I know use Facebook primaraly for games. The 20-40ish crowd may have accounts, but find themselves too busy nowadays to really use it.

    I find that the thing that really seems to have killed Facebook is the "share" feature - especially on photos and videos. Now all Facebook is is people sharing comics, 6-month-old newsstories, virus hoaxes, etc. I wish there was a way to block all "shared" content - but more than that, I wish Facebook would just remove the feature. At least, if a person wants to share a website, they need to copy and paste the URL - do away with the ability to share someone else's posts and pictures.

    Maybe then, Facebook may actually get back to being useful.

    I have actually been thinking of jumping the Facebook ship myself, mainly because of everything I have mentioned. The only reason I haven't yet is because there really is no good alternative. At least, not in the English-speaking world. I just want to know what my friends are up to, if they are in a relationship, and see pictures and videos of their kids (and maybe vacation photos). I don't care if you joined a new team in such-and-such game, I don't need 20 of my friends to share Uncle George's picture of the day, and I don't want to see inspirational posts unless I am on an imspirational page.

    Truthfully, I find Instagram to be much closer to what I am looking for in a social-networking site.

    Facebook is turning off older users, and younger users don't have a need for it, and everyone in between just doesn't have time to sort through all the crap that is on Facebook now. As soon as a viable alternative comes up, people will jump ship. It happened to MySpace, which was thought to be unsinkable. It will happen to Facebook.

  59. How do you know the prostitute was a she? by MacAndrew · · Score: 1

    And some would argue marketing is prostitution. Seen Mad Men?

  60. Not news to me... by sstamps · · Score: 1

    But then Farcebork has been dead to me since its inception. Stillborn. Kaputski.

    That millions of people can be duped into giving up their private information and be tracked and mass-marketed to death is still amazing to me. Then, I think about why we have the government we do in the US, and it all makes sense.

    --
    -SS "Teach the ignorant, care for the dumb, and punish the stupid."
  61. Welcome to the Internet where popular apps die by Nyder · · Score: 1

    Internet seems to have a popular app life of about 5 years. Then something else comes along and steals peoples interest, takes a few years to get real popular (as in the media), explode with mass users, only to start declining a few years later and the youngsters & hipsters move on to the next "big app"

    And I say app, because in reality, that is all the webpages really are that become popular now.

    And when it comes down to it, the kids wants there own things, they don't want us older folks and parents hanging out, dampening their style. I know when I was a kid I wanted to be as far from my parents as possible in everything I did.

    --
    Be seeing you...
  62. Privacy as well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Exactly. I think the kids are tired of having every conversation being tracked and having to face consequences for any little message. Snapchat provides an illusion of privacy and freedom from a parent or school official sniffing on their kid's device to find messages and finding stuff.

  63. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  64. Restrictive EULAs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No different than if an engineering student felt they couldn't accept the EULA of Matlab.

    Actually, no. It is different. It isn't always the student's choice: Some EULAs (Facebook is one example) lock people out from the corporate end. Age, citizenship, listings with various government public shaming enterprises, and so forth. It's despicable of the EULAs, but attempts to force them to change have not yet worked their way through the courts (probably won't succeed anyway... terrorists and children, y'know.)

  65. Is Google+ image handling for you? by fyngyrz · · Score: 1

    For those interested in photography though, check [Google+] out. It is worth it.

    Better than flickr? How? Aside from the fact that Google's history is rife with services they've set up and then discontinued, and the whole Real Name thing...

    flickr's got some shortcomings too -- inability to really curate groups or favorites, and the limits of galleries, for instance -- but I've not yet heard of anyone really addressing those issues elsewhere. Perhaps Google+ has?

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  66. Just like email by SoftwareArtist · · Score: 1

    That's one I've been hearing for years - that young people don't use email anymore. That it's not cool. That it's just something older people use. But it hasn't had any effect on the daily flood in my inbox. People don't use email to be cool, they use it because it's a really useful tool that lots of people depend on every day.

    Facebook either will or won't survive in exactly the same way. If it's a valuable tool, people will keep using it and coolness will be irrelevant. If they decide other tools meet their needs better, they'll abandon it. Being cool is, at best, a short term way to bootstrap a service. It's not what matters long term.

    --
    "I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
  67. all facebook is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is a classmates.com v2.0

  68. millenials just might be the generation to save us by davydagger · · Score: 1

    I keep telling people millenials might be the generation to save us all.

    looks like it. This generation has more taste than mine

  69. calendar, calendar, calendar by nadamucho · · Score: 1

    Just wait for College to start. Of the social media tools available, there's nothing better for calendar and social event management.

    How do you quickly invite tens, dozens, hundreds of people to a party, rally, debate, play, show, election orsports event and keep them in the loop for time, location, theme updates? What tool do you use to maintain membership to a dozen groups, academic, social, or otherwise?

    There's a lot of fluff to Facebook, but for certain use cases, it is untouched.

  70. First year of WhatsApp free; then what? by ScienceMan · · Score: 1

    Has no one noticed in this thread that the revenue model of WhatsApp is to charge after the first year of use? It's not surprising that it would be popular while it is free, especially with no advertising. How many of these young users will start to pay after the first year of use?

  71. Wah wah your fault not ours by Xman73x · · Score: 0

    We are bored of FB especially generation X etc FB became a spam a lot annoying website with what's this!? Invasion of privacy the list goes on! So riddle me this? You don't get your pictures back!? Nice one FB the Younger Generation just don't get! Stay off our turf you punks.

    1. Re: Wah wah your fault not ours by Xman73x · · Score: 0

      So what does this mean for FB in the future? Will they change it into a more social network by going back the old way? Or stay the same way you see today with stupid ideas gone to the wasteland!? I think FB needs to hire more smart people at there headquarters in California and go after that 29 year old moron! He became seems like a control freak and he got greedy as the president of FB! Sorry my friend but you can't tell people what they say or do!

  72. Maybe, maybe not by MisterMonday · · Score: 1

    It took some backtracking, but I think what the Telegraph article was referring to was this: http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/social-networking/2013/11/24/what-will-we-learn-from-the-fall-of-facebook/

    For starters, unless I'm mistaken about which article they're talking about, the study wasn't conducted in 8 countries, but one: namely, the UK.

    I don't know about the rest of the world, but in the small bubble where I live, my friends and I still regularly use Facebook as a means of interaction (I'm currently 16). Sure, we also use Instagram and Tumblr and Snapchat - those are all there (but for the life of me I have yet to figure out why Snapchat is as popular as it is...). But Facebook is still the primary method of chatting, sharing information, posting pictures, whatever. And yeah, we have Twitter accounts, but Twitter is more for public broadcasting, whereas Facebook has the ability for targeted posting... kind of. In any case, I wouldn't say Facebook is DEAD. My friends all across the country (US) do say that they use Facebook more than other methods of communication out of sheer ease of use.

  73. The death of FB is greatly exaggerated - again by MooseMiester · · Score: 1

    Whether you like it or not. most of the public Internet is about marketing. Love these posters comparing marketing to used car salesmen and lawyers. How, I wonder, did they decide to drive X brand of car, or drink Z brand of soda pop, or choose one computer over another... They consumed marketing. To those who believe that all business is inherently evil, please don't reply.

    The most coveted demographic is not teenagers - it's people in their early twenties. At that point in their lives, they are making brand decisions that will remain unchanged for most of their lives. Yes, there are exceptions, but for the most part once people develop brand affinity in their early twenties they don't switch horses.

    Given the proliferation of aggressive endless marketing techniques when they were growing up, most of these folks are completely immune to traditional advertising. They Tivo/DVR. They listen to downloaded/streaming music on their mobile devices, not FM radio. When they surf the web, 60% of them are mobile, and they ignore the ads at the bottom of the screen, hardly noticing them. So if you're selling ANYTHING how do you reach these people? Any way you can, that's how.

    To those of us that make a living building this stuff, Twitter offers nothing, Tumblr will keep a slicer busy for a week but that's it, Instagram and pInterest are simple API's, similar to Twitter just a little more buggy and unstable... Whereas Facebook is a fairly decent platform to build apps on (after years of instability and an utter lack of Q/A) - and it offers remarkable demographics on the participants compared to everyone else.

    So once again we read the story about the death of Facebook, and laugh. Because the clients who write the checks keep spending money there. And the contests, given a halfway decent acquisition strategy, return large numbers of engaged brand fans who stay engaged after the contest is over. Conversions (that's sales to you non Digital Interactive Folks) can be measured from Facebook outbound click traffic and married with the customer's key demographics. That's golden, nobody else has that.

    --
    Murphy was an optimist
  74. Re: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why are you so jaded? If email works, then stick to it.

    The problem is that it takes two to tango. If I email anyone, ooh, under the age of 25, I rarely get a reply because their communication is concentrated on social media. Or if I email someone who only accesses the Internet on their mobile telephone, I get a response which is no longer than a text message and equally abbreviated. The proportion of people able to communicate effectively via email has become alarmingly low.

  75. Re: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are quite a few differences between the EULA of Matlab and the EULA of Twitter. Firstly, I assume that the EULA for a piece of software is static. Whereas, the EULA for use of a website may be subject to constant revision. Who knows what will appear or disappear from the EULA of a website seeking revenue? Although it is possible to terminate a Twitter account, that could change in the future.

    Secondly, using Matlab doesn't require the disclosure of any personal information. Nor is it likely that typing anything offensive into Matlab will result in arrest and/or loss of employment.

    Finally, I don't know of anyone who has been abused through a copy of Matlab. Maybe they've been abused for using Matlab but they haven't been abused via Matlab.

  76. Re: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What happened to the Facebook phone? It should have been out by now.

  77. Re: Who would believe it? My Sentiments Exactly by bbsalem · · Score: 1

    Well put. And why does the conversation lead to the profitability of some business? Who cares? If Social Media is a Marketing tool and what people use it for is incidental for marketers to spy on them as the business model for the corporations, Google, Facebook, etc. etc. in the business. then why should we care that that business model succeeds? I argue that it would be good for it to fail and the lot of them to go out of business. The reason is that to get that Big data application they have crippled communication and stiefled conversation in favor of shallow ephemera and fads. And I hardly care that marketers need fads, what they need is push back and criticism and to be challenged for being stupid and fallaceous, so does the whole industry.

    Nothing will discredit tech more than this, because when the 80% of people see that their livelihoods have been threatened by a digital revolution whose visibility to them is fraud by banks allowed to speculate in markets, and marketing fraud in social media, they will begin to doubt the idea that tech was meant to benefit everyone, and they will begin to seek restrictions on the applications computers are being used for. If they will simply not use or will boycott abusive technology or seek direct remedies in the courts against companies, I do not know, but I think that the reputations of tech companies and tech people is now tarnished in a way that we have never seen before.

  78. ChiefHuntingBear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Twitter is dead to 70x more sixteen to eighteen-year olds than Facebook where every account-holder is an actual human being because it's not a Ponzi Scheme.

  79. :_) Are we going to get the Internet back ? by Optali · · Score: 1

    OMFG! Can't believe it!
    Can you imagine?

    The times when the internet was ours, when all the stuff was nerdy and interesting, when we used mailing lists, IRC and newsgroups....

    I think I'm going to install Xirc right now! And script the fuck out of it!!!

    %F YEAH MATES!!!! %F

    --
    -- 29A the number of the Beast
  80. Slightly Exaggerated by VanDuong · · Score: 1

    The article wasn't written by Daniel Miller, rather a journalist that rewrote it to make it seem more interesting. If you want to see what he really wrote, and his thoughts about the whole thing, here: http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/social-networking/2013/12/30/scholarship-integrity-and-going-viral/

  81. H-1b scabs at Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One simple reason: Facebook hires no Americans, only coding coolie scabs. So they know nothing about American kids.

  82. BRIGHTER SIDE of Facebook by raomap · · Score: 1

    Facebook greatly helped scientific research and scientists in better communicating each other. We have formed a team of over 900 scientists in interacting over the Latest Physics Discoveries in 2013 in X-ray Physics, Nuclear Physics, Atomic Spectroscopy, Solar Physics and Special Theory of Relativity etc. And the strength of our team is rapidly growing because of encouragement from Facebook team. Google's Page Rank is 9 for M.A.Padmanabha Rao's Six Fundamental Physics - Facebook Path: /BharatRadiation/timeline http://www.webstatschecker.net/stats/keyword/six_fundamental_physics_discoveries On searching for "Physics Dscoveries" in Google Search Window, Facebook also projects the following in first 10-20: M.A.Padmanabha Rao's Six Fundamental Physics Discoveries ... https://www.facebook.com/BharatRadiation M.A.Padmanabha Rao's Six Fundamental Physics Discoveries. 42 likes. Two more emissions from radioisotopes and XRF sources reported in 2010 .. Facebook project the following pages: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002083039913 https://www.facebook.com/NewSolarEmission?ref=hl https://www.facebook.com/SuperluminaVvelocities?ref=hl https://www.facebook.com/pages/Research-Papers-on-Physics-Discoveries-by-MA-Padmanabha-Rao/397232083690288?ref=hl https://www.facebook.com/pages/Latest-Indian-Physics-Discoveries-Press-Reports/490532954303217?ref=hl M.A.Padmanabha Rao, PhD (AIIMS)