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Is There Life After Facebook?
Topics: Technology | 2 CommentsBy admin | May 29, 2009
And are you tragically un-hip if you keep using it? Don’t worry. We have ideas for you.
Well, apparently not, if you’re over 55. However, there are some interesting things going on out there. For one, Microsoft is launching Bing, their new “Decision Engine”. Make sure you understand the distinction, they’re worried that you’ll think it’s just another search engine. Nope, this one will make decisions for you. Finally. I’ve been waiting for something that does that. Although it’s easy to hate Microsoft, I’m personally looking forward to trying it. Google, for all its warm, fuzzy, Googliness, has become the bane of my existence when it comes to search. And what about Twitter? Well I and many people who are smarter than I am feel it’s already peaking. Which means, in a way, that it has a lot of life left in it, but some users will stay on board, many stop using it quickly, and most importantly, the hip people leave when the masses move in. Maybe the ability to search Tweets with tools like Topsy will broaden the interest. My bet? Back to the awesome Googliness. One of the main things that draws people and retains them with Facebook is the multitude of methods to interact easily. Unfortunately, Facebook fails rather miserably with things like chat functionality and a more versatile “inbox”, both of which should have been a no-brainer, in my opinion. A strong possible contender here is Google Wave, which, if they can bundle it all together flexibly with tools like Google Voice or PhoneVite would be a real winner. I would be ecstatic if a networking tool like Facebook allowed me to easily switch from a chat or inbox dialog to a cellphone voice or text dialog. So the questions arise. Am I pathetically uncool if I keep using Facebook? Where are you going after Facebook?
Posted by Hava on 05.29.09 8:55 am
I think I might use it more, when it’s not so “hip” anymore! I’ve been part of some social network for over 10 years now…and I don’t know that its possible for one to be everything for everyone. I do agree with you that there mailbox feature is too primitive, and their attempt to simplify the interface made it less user friendly, but personally for me the draw is the people that I am connected to…not the features. So as long as I can interact with my friends I don’t care what the next big thing is. God knows I don’t want to be on chat or phone all day long…
Posted by Sue on 05.29.09 10:45 am
Some of us, especially the e-uncool, are not necessarily drawn to the next big thing. The beauty of FB is that you can control who you interact with to a large extent (I did get yelled at for the first time on FB by someone I don’t know over an opinion on Prop 8)and you can do so on a more intimate level than programs like Twitter. It seems to me the more open venues are filled with too many haters and intolerant ranters.