A plea to Facebook… Stop the decline… You’ve forgotten about making friends

Has anyone noticed that their friends aren’t using Facebook as much now? I don’t know if it’s just me, but the number of messages with update I get from friends has dropped dramatically. When you log in and check, the updates they’ve been making has dropped dramatically too.

It’s a strange phenomena. The theory behind Facebook is superb. Let you and your friends share everything. Put photos up, let them and their friends know they’re in it. Set up events and groups that they might be interested in. Bring them all together in one place. Send your friends messages and videos from sources such as YouTube.

And the way the user interface has been built is a true demonstration of form and function giving you the best user experience of almost any site. The User interface is so polished and simple. It does what it needs to do, and it does it well. There’s no excessive Ajax calls. You see what you need, when you need it, and it’s quick and clean. The essence of Web 2.0.

You can find groups about just about anything. People that walk slowly, how cute cats are, my favourite drink, bring back Firefly. All valid groups and all things we might be interested in. We should be subscribing to them and sharing our opinions.

Then there’s a the Facebook Applications. A brilliant idea! Open up your service to keen people, let them share their ideas and their passion. Bring the people who love similar things together. Let them take quizzes and see which character from the Simpsons or Family Guy you are. All great fun.

I know there was a time when I was very active on Facebook, joining groups left right and centre. Installing applications for fun. But then, recently, I suddenly decided to remove all those applications. Un-subscribe from those groups. But why? I couldn’t figure it out initially.

Then I started looking and talking to other people, and they’ve done the same. Then I started thinking about why. Why did I feel the need to remove all those Applications that once interested me? Because, to be honest, they were fun once, and the fact that every time one of my friends uses the Application, I get told - repeatedly.

I haven’t removed all of the Applications though. Some are still there, like the places I’ve been one, and Wiliam’s RSS feed reader. They seem genuinely useful to me, and something my friends can use to find out useful things about me and keep in touch with me.

So what am I trying to say? Facebook, please, please, please, don’t ruin the brilliant idea you’ve built! Focus on what it did so well originally! Connecting friends and people with similar interests, and not watering down the experience.

It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what’s gone wrong, but if it’s not fixed soon, one of the best websites of recent years will lose the people that it most appealed to originally and end up like MySpace.

Bookmark and Share

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks

Ask backflip blinklist BlogBookmark Bloglines BlogMarks Blogsvine BuddyMarks BUMPzee! CiteULike co.mments Connotea del.icio.us

Digg diigo DotNetKicks DropJack dzone Facebook Fark Faves Feed Me Links Friendsite folkd.com Furl Google

Hugg Jamespot Jeqq Kaboodle kirtsy linkaGoGo LinksMarker Ma.gnolia Mister Wong Mixx MySpace MyWeb Netvouz

Newsvine oneview OnlyWire PlugIM Propeller Reddit Rojo Segnalo Shoutwire Simpy Slashdot Sphere Sphinn

Spurl Squidoo StumbleUpon Technorati ThisNext Twitter Webride Windows Live Yahoo!

Email This to a Friend

Copy HTML: 

 If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

More »

Powered by Bookmarkify™