Facebook is really popular. It has over a billion accounts now. Everyone is using it. There are hunter-gatherer tribes posting selfies with the antelope they just killed for dinner. It’s everywhere. It’s unavoidable, like air and the ground.
And I still don’t get it.
This Wired article claims to explain the success: Why Facebook Is Killing It–Even When No One Else Is, but it doesn’t really explain much other than “it sells ads and bought companies with popular chat apps and is now featuring live video.” All that stuff is obviously contributing but for most people–and judging by what I observe on my commute on others’ mobile phones (it’s impossible to avoid, I swear) Facebook is still mainly about the News Feed, where friends and others post whatever they want but usually funny little stories or links or pictures of the antelope they killed for dinner.
Once you have more than a few friends who make more than a few posts the news feed can fill up quickly. You could spend most of your free time just scrolling through it, long before ever getting to the built-in apps, games, live chat and secret Facebook chambers.
But it’s all random stuff. There is no overall theme, no coherence. It’s logical that these things are absent, given that you are looking at what literally amounts to miscellaneous thoughts and commentary from a variety of people with varying tastes and interests. I just wonder what is supposed to compel me to read and perhaps contribute. The contribution thing for most is probably either a genuine desire to share (I saw something funny, other people will find it funny and be happy) or just ego-stroking/narcissism but now with the potential to reach millions instead of just those within earshot.
I don’t have a great urge to share. It’s why I make long rambling posts here and remain unconcerned that very few people will ever see them. Ego-stroking can be fun sometimes but too much puts hair on the palms of your hands.
I just don’t get it.
But dammit, I’m going to try. A co-worker recently added me as a friend and I promised I would post or something. It will all end in tears, I’m sure.
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