Why Facebook has never listened and why it definitely won’t start now

March 21, 2009 By

My former boss, Jim Fawcette, used to say that if you asked a group of Porsche owners what they wanted they’d tell you things like “smoother ride, more trunk space, more leg room, etc.” He’d then say “well, they just designed a Volvo.”

His words were meant to get us out of letting the customers run our business mode we often found ourselves falling into.

Today, over on Techmeme, I see that the latest uproar is over Facebook’s new design and how Mark Zuckerberg is telling people that he won’t listen to customers. Or something like that.

Before we get deeper into this, remember that Facebook has always pissed off its users. First, you’ve gotta realize that in Facebook’s life it will go through at least seven phases. We are moving from phase four to phase five right now. In each phase change people have gotten pissed off.

Here’s the phases of Facebook:

Phase 1. Harvard only.
Phase 2. Harvard+Colleges only.
Phase 3. Harvard+Colleges+Geeks only.
Phase 4. All those above+All People (in the social graph).
Phase 5. All those above+People and businesses in the social graph.
Phase 6. All those above+People, businesses, and well-known objects in the social graph.
Phase 7. All people, businesses, objects in the social graph.

Phase 5 is known as when Facebook is really going to find its business model. This is why Mark Zuckerberg is absolutely correct to say he can’t listen to people who wants Facebook to get stuck in Phase Four. It was a nice phase, yes, when Facebook only had people in the social graph, but those days are over.

Don’t get distracted by the current design that looks sort of like Twitter. Twitter showed that businesses can co-exist on the social graph along with people. Zuckerberg is smart. He saw that Twitter was going to make a crapload of money (that’s why he tried to buy Twitter) and instead of being depressed by being turned down by @ev he decided to phase shift Facebook.

Zuckerberg is a real leader because he doesn’t care what anyone thinks. He’s going to do what he thinks is best for his business. I wish Silicon Valley had more like him.

Anyway, all those who are saying the new design sucks should NOT be listened to. Yeah, I know a lot of people are going to get mad at me for saying that. After all, how can a blogger say to not listen to the masses? Easy: I’ve seen the advice the masses are giving and most of it isn’t very good for Facebook’s business interests.

When Zuckerberg announced these changes a couple of weeks ago I told him he was brilliant and that his moves this month would be remembered for decades. Decades.

Here’s why:

Let’s say you’re walking down University Ave. in Palo Alto, California in a couple of years (or, really, any street in the world) and you’re hungry.

You pull out your iPhone or Palm Pre or Android or Blackberry or Windows Mobile doohickey and click open the Facebook application. Then you type “sushi near me.”

It answers back “within walking distance are two sushi restaurants that more than 20 of your friends have liked.”

Wait a second. “Friends have liked?”

Sounds like friendfeed. But, because Facebook has the users (it is growing the size of Twitter every 15 days or so because Facebook has about 180 million users while Twitter only has about 10 million. Facebook, at this point, is growing 200,000 to 700,000 users per day. Twitter is growing by far fewer users per day (although its percentage growth is faster).

But don’t worry about the friendfeed copying. Zuckerberg is so close to a gold mine that his metal detectors must be going crazy. All he has to do is figure out how to keep those pesky users from leaving the service.

Oh, wait, they aren’t leaving! How do I know that?

Because my wife Maryam is totally addicted to Facebook. She hasn’t left. She hasn’t slowed down. She just told me she didn’t like the new design and made some noises that she was only going to use the iPhone version (not true in my observations). So, if Zuckerberg didn’t lose Maryam and her friends, he’s safe. He SHOULD NOT LISTEN to those who are saying the new design sucks. It will keep him from getting to the promised land where we mix businesses and people.

Here’s what really is hanging out there for Facebook if Zuckerberg doesn’t listen: billions. Maybe even trillions.

Look at what we just announced to the world:

Yes, we’re having another baby. But look at what did NOT happen on Twitter: not a single diaper company contacted us yet. Not a single maternity clothing company. Not a single car company (yes, we’re going to buy a new one soon). Not a single camera company (already bought a new one for this occassion). Not a single insurance company (I need more). Not a single bank (I need to start saving for another college student). Not a single stroller company (need a new one that can hold two). Not a single vitamin company (Maryam is going through her prenatal vitamins at a good clip). Not a single shoe company (Maryam needs new shoes for pregnancy, and Milan is growing fast too).

That will NOT last.

Imagine we’re on Facebook in a year. Now all of a sudden I can search for all these things and see which items and companies have gotten the most “likes.” Now do you get why Facebook is copying friendfeed?

Zuckerberg is not listening to you because you don’t get how Facebook is going to make billions.

Zuckerberg is right. He shouldn’t start listening to his users now.

Filed Under: technology industry Tagged With: Facebook

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Johnjohn

Mark Zuckerberg did not create Facebook as a business, he created it as a social networking website for Harvard students. I then grew to other colleges, when Investors started advertising on Facebook, he realized it could be a money making scheme, a.k.a. a business. Since then it has become populated with more and more ads, fake bothersome “users”, Applications, and whatnot. I personally joined Facebook as a social network BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT I WANTED!
At the very beginning of the article it poses the situation with the Porsche drivers who ask for slightly different things than the Porsche they bought offers, and suggests that they should have bought a Volvo. This is not the case with Facebook. I Joined Old Facebook wanting Old Facebook, and Mark Zuckerberg FORCED the change upon me. The Porsche drivers did not buy a Volvo and the car company forced the change upon them, they made a bad decision in deciding to get a car they did not want, not Porsche. I had the old Facebook and liked the old Facebook. I DID NOT MAKE A POOR DECISION, why do I suffer from his decisions?
The answer to the previous question is because it’s Mark Zuckerberg’s website and he can do whatever he wants with it. He’s a human and if he wants to make money off of his endeavours I can’t blame him, but I don’t have to like the changes.
Personally, I didn’t mind the new users, I can “be friends” with more of my family whom I don’t see much, but with that came the “friendship” of my parents on Facebook, something I could have done without. The advertisements botherd me a little bit more, but what keeps bothering me are the “invitations” for random stuff like “Pirates VS. Ninjas,” “causes” for random stuff like “save the evergreen trees in Vermont,” and most of all, FORMAT CHANGES! I can barely navigate through Facebook now because I no longer know where all the buttons I used went, and what the buttons I have do. And I don’t have a choice to change the format of my homepage, or the way I view other people’s pages.
Johnjohn

Mark Zuckerberg did not create Facebook as a business, he created it as a social networking website for Harvard students. I then grew to other colleges, when Investors started advertising on Facebook, he realized it could be a money making scheme, a.k.a. a business. Since then it has become populated with more and more ads, fake bothersome “users”, Applications, and whatnot. I personally joined Facebook as a social network BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT I WANTED!
At the very beginning of the article it poses the situation with the Porsche drivers who ask for slightly different things than the Porsche they bought offers, and suggests that they should have bought a Volvo. This is not the case with Facebook. I Joined Old Facebook wanting Old Facebook, and Mark Zuckerberg FORCED the change upon me. The Porsche drivers did not buy a Volvo and the car company forced the change upon them, they made a bad decision in deciding to get a car they did not want, not Porsche. I had the old Facebook and liked the old Facebook. I DID NOT MAKE A POOR DECISION, why do I suffer from his decisions?
The answer to the previous question is because it’s Mark Zuckerberg’s website and he can do whatever he wants with it. He’s a human and if he wants to make money off of his endeavours I can’t blame him, but I don’t have to like the changes.
Personally, I didn’t mind the new users, I can “be friends” with more of my family whom I don’t see much, but with that came the “friendship” of my parents on Facebook, something I could have done without. The advertisements botherd me a little bit more, but what keeps bothering me are the “invitations” for random stuff like “Pirates VS. Ninjas,” “causes” for random stuff like “save the evergreen trees in Vermont,” and most of all, FORMAT CHANGES! I can barely navigate through Facebook now because I no longer know where all the buttons I used went, and what the buttons I have do. And I don’t have a choice to change the format of my homepage, or the way I view other people’s pages.
http://coolthin.gs/ Dan “the Man”

I may be the only one but I have liked every change that facebook has gone through. Such consisted developlement that I like is so rare I don’t think I’ll ever leave facebook. And as a wannabe entrepreneur myself Mark is a idol for me.
http://coolthin.gs Dan “the Man”

I may be the only one but I have liked every change that facebook has gone through. Such consisted developlement that I like is so rare I don’t think I’ll ever leave facebook. And as a wannabe entrepreneur myself Mark is a idol for me.
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http://apps.facebook.com/i-crave/ Anand

Robert -

Agree with you on the potential commercial applications of the facebook platform. I think the genius of facebook is that it has created a trusted environment that is currently primary used for social interactions but will in future be used for business transactions.

————————————
Attention: Shameless plug, below:
————————————

I want to draw you attention to a facebook app that could be the start of what you’re talking about: i-crave, which allows people to share gadgets they desire/own with their friends. There are a couple of goals for this app:

1. Some people are gadget freaks. They can’t wait to get their hands on the latest stuff and show it off to their friends…. So the idea was to create sub-communities around specific gadgets. You might have 100s of friends in your profile… and this would allow you to see which of your friends also shares your interest in specific gadgets (like iphones, kindles, etc). But it doesn’t have to be just electronic gadgets – it could also be specific books or appliances or whatever people want. For users, this could be one more app that provided useful info about your circle for friends. Just like you have apps that tell you places/music/movies your friends like.

2. Another use of this would be to help you make shopping decisions. Let’s say you want to buy a Kindle and put it on your ‘iCrave’ list. Your friends who already own it might have feedback about it and post it — or if you see that one of your friends already owns the device, you could ask him or her for their opinion.

3. The end goal is that, if we can get this to be adopted, we have a bunch of information about users that could be used to help them get the most out of facebook. For instance — someone has a book in their “crave” list and one of their friends has the same book in their “have” list. Maybe this app could make it easy for one to lend the book to another ad keep track of it. Another idea — someone says they have an iphone, we could use this to serve targeted ads to that user for iphone accessories.

Would welcome your thoughts/ideas.
http://apps.facebook.com/i-crave/ Anand

Robert -

Agree with you on the potential commercial applications of the facebook platform. I think the genius of facebook is that it has created a trusted environment that is currently primary used for social interactions but will in future be used for business transactions.

————————————
Attention: Shameless plug, below:
————————————

I want to draw you attention to a facebook app that could be the start of what you’re talking about: i-crave, which allows people to share gadgets they desire/own with their friends. There are a couple of goals for this app:

1. Some people are gadget freaks. They can’t wait to get their hands on the latest stuff and show it off to their friends…. So the idea was to create sub-communities around specific gadgets. You might have 100s of friends in your profile… and this would allow you to see which of your friends also shares your interest in specific gadgets (like iphones, kindles, etc). But it doesn’t have to be just electronic gadgets – it could also be specific books or appliances or whatever people want. For users, this could be one more app that provided useful info about your circle for friends. Just like you have apps that tell you places/music/movies your friends like.

2. Another use of this would be to help you make shopping decisions. Let’s say you want to buy a Kindle and put it on your ‘iCrave’ list. Your friends who already own it might have feedback about it and post it — or if you see that one of your friends already owns the device, you could ask him or her for their opinion.

3. The end goal is that, if we can get this to be adopted, we have a bunch of information about users that could be used to help them get the most out of facebook. For instance — someone has a book in their “crave” list and one of their friends has the same book in their “have” list. Maybe this app could make it easy for one to lend the book to another ad keep track of it. Another idea — someone says they have an iphone, we could use this to serve targeted ads to that user for iphone accessories.

Would welcome your thoughts/ideas.
http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/ Vic (Jane Austen’s World)

I just ignore the new features on facebook. I go straight to the features that matter to me. I use facebook for connecting to groups and don’t need it for socialization. I do the same with Twitter and Yammer and text messages and chat groups and email and yahoo groups and google notebook and zimbio and wikis and –sheez, I’d fritter my life away if I monitored all my groups minute by minute.

As for targeted ads – I delete them. There’s something foul about a machine or “system” tracking my preferences. Like Mr. Wolk, I’ll search for my own products, thank you, when it is necessary.
http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/ Vic (Jane Austen’s World)

I just ignore the new features on facebook. I go straight to the features that matter to me. I use facebook for connecting to groups and don’t need it for socialization. I do the same with Twitter and Yammer and text messages and chat groups and email and yahoo groups and google notebook and zimbio and wikis and –sheez, I’d fritter my life away if I monitored all my groups minute by minute.

As for targeted ads – I delete them. There’s something foul about a machine or “system” tracking my preferences. Like Mr. Wolk, I’ll search for my own products, thank you, when it is necessary.
stiab3

thanks goodness for GreaseMonkey. I don’t have to see anything I don’t want to see. So for all the useless news about groups in the ‘highlights’ pane, I don’t see it.

This is what people do. They use filters to block advertising.
stiab3

thanks goodness for GreaseMonkey. I don’t have to see anything I don’t want to see. So for all the useless news about groups in the ‘highlights’ pane, I don’t see it.

This is what people do. They use filters to block advertising.
shagadelic

I’m just not buying that you shouldn’t listen to your customers. Your Porsche anecdote may actually prove my point. If Porsche owners really did say they wanted something more like a Volvo, I think you could read that as, “I love my Porsche but I’d love to have one that I could haul my family in too.” Maybe it’s not worth it to Porsche to pursue that demographic since there are plenty of car makers doing that already but that’s a different business decision than not listening to your customers.

Here’s a possibility that’s different from your projection. If FB improves communication between friends and something better than FB comes along, would FB actually hasten its own undoing by allowing lots of people to inform others about better options?
shagadelic

I’m just not buying that you shouldn’t listen to your customers. Your Porsche anecdote may actually prove my point. If Porsche owners really did say they wanted something more like a Volvo, I think you could read that as, “I love my Porsche but I’d love to have one that I could haul my family in too.” Maybe it’s not worth it to Porsche to pursue that demographic since there are plenty of car makers doing that already but that’s a different business decision than not listening to your customers.

Here’s a possibility that’s different from your projection. If FB improves communication between friends and something better than FB comes along, would FB actually hasten its own undoing by allowing lots of people to inform others about better options?
http://ils.sont.la/ Julien

For the big picture on social network, please read the science fiction short story:

Maneki nekko by Bruce Sterling

Wrote 10 years ago. Best utopian prediction on what will be going on 10 years from now I ever read.
http://ils.sont.la Julien

For the big picture on social network, please read the science fiction short story:

Maneki nekko by Bruce Sterling

Wrote 10 years ago. Best utopian prediction on what will be going on 10 years from now I ever read.
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buzzlinks

There’s one thing no one has questioned here

Schobleizer, You have proven being a paid blogger might pay your soup, but one thing I dont get is, are you paid for the extra comments you have to answer?. Common feed the fans of your business model.
buzzlinks

There’s one thing no one has questioned here

Schobleizer, You have proven being a paid blogger might pay your soup, but one thing I dont get is, are you paid for the extra comments you have to answer?. Common feed the fans of your business model.
David A. Fenton

…ok I buy the argument…

…what about the other issue where branded pages (some of whom paid for advertising) show up hidden by default for the most of the users who opted in.

Tell me how that’s good for business.
David A. Fenton

…ok I buy the argument…

…what about the other issue where branded pages (some of whom paid for advertising) show up hidden by default for the most of the users who opted in.

Tell me how that’s good for business.
retrograde15

I completely agree with this. Facebook is, in essence, a business. A money-making business. Whereas Twitter was created for fun, much like Dailybooth or anything else, and that’s why Facebook will last!
retrograde15

I completely agree with this. Facebook is, in essence, a business. A money-making business. Whereas Twitter was created for fun, much like Dailybooth or anything else, and that’s why Facebook will last!
Masa

Now tell me why I should care about Facebook getting rich? As far as twitter is concerned, I didn’t like the format of twitter, so guess what? I don’t use twitter. I’ve significantly lessened the time going on Facebook because I hate the style. I simply log in, see if there’s the red thing with numbers (I usually ignore it because it’s never related to me anyway) and then log out. If Facebook annoys it’s users it’ll turn a lot of people off and I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but facebook is a bunch of people. I guess it wouldn’t be enough people to hurt it. It’s a people program, and yeah, if he wants to piss people off and get rich then good for him, but what about the users. We’re not getting rich in the process, so why the Hell should we care?
Masa

Now tell me why I should care about Facebook getting rich? As far as twitter is concerned, I didn’t like the format of twitter, so guess what? I don’t use twitter. I’ve significantly lessened the time going on Facebook because I hate the style. I simply log in, see if there’s the red thing with numbers (I usually ignore it because it’s never related to me anyway) and then log out. If Facebook annoys it’s users it’ll turn a lot of people off and I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but facebook is a bunch of people. I guess it wouldn’t be enough people to hurt it. It’s a people program, and yeah, if he wants to piss people off and get rich then good for him, but what about the users. We’re not getting rich in the process, so why the Hell should we care?
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kevinsm

This post makes some interesting points about not necessarily listening to the first reactions of your customers. What I want to know is what, specifically, the new home page design has to do with this vision of targeted advertising. I have no problem with the new layout and think people are overreacting, but I don’t see what the visual redesign has to do with the phase shift.
kevinsm

This post makes some interesting points about not necessarily listening to the first reactions of your customers. What I want to know is what, specifically, the new home page design has to do with this vision of targeted advertising. I have no problem with the new layout and think people are overreacting, but I don’t see what the visual redesign has to do with the phase shift.
http://www.breaklinemarketing.com/ Costa Rica SEO

Excellent post. Refreshing to hear about a true leader staying the course in spite of what the masses want.
http://www.breaklinemarketing.com Costa Rica SEO

Excellent post. Refreshing to hear about a true leader staying the course in spite of what the masses want.
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http://hubbub.typepad.com/ giovanni rodriguez

There’s a big difference between listening and following. I am sure that FB is listening — of course they are. That’s how they — and lots of other smart companies — have always figured out what’s missing.
http://hubbub.typepad.com giovanni rodriguez

There’s a big difference between listening and following. I am sure that FB is listening — of course they are. That’s how they — and lots of other smart companies — have always figured out what’s missing.
Isa

I used to use iLike. Bit by bit the commercial side of it got more and more commercial till in the end one day i just thought: enough.

People stay with something for a while, even after it has started to irritate/disappoint them, because of the investment they have in it (Friends made, posts posted, etc) and because of the expenditure of time and energy needed to up sticks and go elsewhere.

But with each increment of irritation they get closer and closer to the tipping point, the point where they will act – and in today’s world there is always someone waiting to catch them, some new idea.

I have only just joined up – because i thought some people i was trying to get in touch with were on it. Turns out they’ve gone and so have various friends, mostly to Twitter. In all cases because it’s perceived as simpler, a more genuine interaction and less intrusive.

Anyway, my main beef is that FB has a poor Help section, many of the apps are buggy and it’s rather a lot of work for what you get back out of it. I was expecting to be impressed and to be honest i’m not. I’ll give it a month or two and see if i gel with it but i’m already starting to get the feeling that’s not going to happen.
Isa

I used to use iLike. Bit by bit the commercial side of it got more and more commercial till in the end one day i just thought: enough.

People stay with something for a while, even after it has started to irritate/disappoint them, because of the investment they have in it (Friends made, posts posted, etc) and because of the expenditure of time and energy needed to up sticks and go elsewhere.

But with each increment of irritation they get closer and closer to the tipping point, the point where they will act – and in today’s world there is always someone waiting to catch them, some new idea.

I have only just joined up – because i thought some people i was trying to get in touch with were on it. Turns out they’ve gone and so have various friends, mostly to Twitter. In all cases because it’s perceived as simpler, a more genuine interaction and less intrusive.

Anyway, my main beef is that FB has a poor Help section, many of the apps are buggy and it’s rather a lot of work for what you get back out of it. I was expecting to be impressed and to be honest i’m not. I’ll give it a month or two and see if i gel with it but i’m already starting to get the feeling that’s not going to happen.
http://andreas.com/ Andreas Ramos

Facebook redesigned its site to be like Twitter? Twitter has 0.03% of daily web traffic. FB has 16%. Why is FB so concerned about Twitter? It’s Twitter that should copy FB. This doesn’t make sense.
http://andreas.com Andreas Ramos

Facebook redesigned its site to be like Twitter? Twitter has 0.03% of daily web traffic. FB has 16%. Why is FB so concerned about Twitter? It’s Twitter that should copy FB. This doesn’t make sense.
http://www.briansexton.com/ Brian Sexton

Very insightful, Robert. I agree that Mark Zuckerberg seems right to forge ahead despite complaints, seeing the big picture when many do not.

As Giovanni Rodriguez pointed out, there is a difference between listening to complaints and responding in the particular way someone wants you to. I think that’s a good thing to keep in mind, much like the difference between welcomed advertising and spam.

Not everyone realizes it, but a lot of people love relevant, interesting, useful, or even just amusing advertising. One need only look to movie trailers, Superbowl advertising, or Apple advertising to see that. These are things people not only accept, but request by going to pages full of ads and either streaming them or downloading them for repeated viewing.
http://www.briansexton.com/ Brian Sexton

Very insightful, Robert. I agree that Mark Zuckerberg seems right to forge ahead despite complaints, seeing the big picture when many do not.

As Giovanni Rodriguez pointed out, there is a difference between listening to complaints and responding in the particular way someone wants you to. I think that’s a good thing to keep in mind, much like the difference between welcomed advertising and spam.

Not everyone realizes it, but a lot of people love relevant, interesting, useful, or even just amusing advertising. One need only look to movie trailers, Superbowl advertising, or Apple advertising to see that. These are things people not only accept, but request by going to pages full of ads and either streaming them or downloading them for repeated viewing.
http://stinginthetail.wordpress.com/ stinginthetail

sheesh – i’m just not with the next wave of commercial netsploitation – i couldn’t stand facebook (joined it and myspace, and don’t use either of them), yet i’m enjoying Twitter
http://stinginthetail.wordpress.com stinginthetail

sheesh – i’m just not with the next wave of commercial netsploitation – i couldn’t stand facebook (joined it and myspace, and don’t use either of them), yet i’m enjoying Twitter
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http://themasterstable.wordpress.com/ Clark Bunch

If Facebook is not listening to the people that use it, why should that result in billion dollar profits for its owners? It should go out of business. That what businesses do according to laws of consumer soverignty. You know, supply and demand, Adam Smith, capitalsim; ring any bells?

When I announce that my wife is having a baby (which she is) I don’t want to be contacted by a diaper company, a formula company, a business selling cars seats, etc. WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU???? Why do you think they invented SPAM filters, pop-up blockers, and the such like?

Companies not listening to the people who use their products is how we wound up Windows Vista. Gone are the days that Microsoft can TELL their customers what they want.
http://themasterstable.wordpress.com Clark Bunch

If Facebook is not listening to the people that use it, why should that result in billion dollar profits for its owners? It should go out of business. That what businesses do according to laws of consumer soverignty. You know, supply and demand, Adam Smith, capitalsim; ring any bells?

When I announce that my wife is having a baby (which she is) I don’t want to be contacted by a diaper company, a formula company, a business selling cars seats, etc. WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU???? Why do you think they invented SPAM filters, pop-up blockers, and the such like?

Companies not listening to the people who use their products is how we wound up Windows Vista. Gone are the days that Microsoft can TELL their customers what they want.
http://www.greydove.org/ Stephanie

I have no problem with the direction FB is going in.. it’s a smart plan. But there is such thing as good design, and what they have going on is contrived Web 2.0. End of story.
http://www.greydove.org Stephanie

I have no problem with the direction FB is going in.. it’s a smart plan. But there is such thing as good design, and what they have going on is contrived Web 2.0. End of story.
Garance Drosehn

This article is reasonably thought out, but I disagree with one key premise. Several people have replied that the new facebook isn’t “about spam — it’s about targetted advertising!”. The problem is, spam is defined by the person receiving the ad, not the person who is doing the “targeting”. I’ve been in a number of social networks for many years now, and every one of them (starting with usenet) had members who claimed that *their* ad was targeted to people who wanted that ad. And they were all wrong.

I’m saying the new format is “spamy”, because *MY* home page is now cluttered up with crap that I do not want. You may want a new camera when you have a new kid, but not everyone with a new kid will need to buy a new camera.

Let me also note that I don’t really think that facebook needs to go back to the exact layout they had before all these changes. But the current layout is in fact causing me to spend less time on facebook. And all the advertisers yelling “Targeted Ads!” are not going to change my opinion.
Garance Drosehn

This article is reasonably thought out, but I disagree with one key premise. Several people have replied that the new facebook isn’t “about spam — it’s about targetted advertising!”. The problem is, spam is defined by the person receiving the ad, not the person who is doing the “targeting”. I’ve been in a number of social networks for many years now, and every one of them (starting with usenet) had members who claimed that *their* ad was targeted to people who wanted that ad. And they were all wrong.

I’m saying the new format is “spamy”, because *MY* home page is now cluttered up with crap that I do not want. You may want a new camera when you have a new kid, but not everyone with a new kid will need to buy a new camera.

Let me also note that I don’t really think that facebook needs to go back to the exact layout they had before all these changes. But the current layout is in fact causing me to spend less time on facebook. And all the advertisers yelling “Targeted Ads!” are not going to change my opinion.
Garance Drosehn

disclaimer: there was supposed to be a “*cough*” before the word “usenet”, as I realize it’s something of a stretch to call that a social network, but it got dropped in the formatting…
Garance Drosehn

disclaimer: there was supposed to be a “*cough*” before the word “usenet”, as I realize it’s something of a stretch to call that a social network, but it got dropped in the formatting…

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