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Like, Facebook is so over, dude

Started by mathewi · 1 year ago

What are we to make of the reports that Facebook’s user base declined in Britain in January, as the BBC breathlessly reported? Well, obviously it means that the social-networking site is over, and we should move on to the next big thing. Or does it? While Facebook’s ... Continue reading »

8 comments

  • Sebastien Provencher

    1 year ago

    I think "grown-ups" who jumped on Facebook in the last few months and industry pundits (like you and me) who "discovered" Facebook last summer are coming to the realization that Facebook is really just a place to have fun and re-connect with old friends. That's not a bad thing as it's teaching social media etiquette to a whole generation of online users but it's not (yet?) a killer must-use site. I explored that concept in a recent blog post called "Facebook is just a game".

    And like you, I find myself using Twitter more and more as a business tool.
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  • Mark Dykeman

    1 year ago

    I think that Rory Cellan-Jones (and Sebastien Provencher here in the comment section) are probably right in that it's Generation X and older generations who are the cause for the drop in Facebook usage (assuming seasonality isn't a factor). I know that my Facebook usage is a fraction of what it used to be since I migrated out of the exploratory phase.

    On the other hand, I'm using Twitter more and more.

    In short, Facebook's core market will be the cohort that's been using it since their teenage years and I'm sure that will continue to grow over time as younger kids hit the age when they'd be interested in using it.
    reply
  • antje wilsch

    1 year ago

    It will level off, it has to. Most people I know who are not involved heavily in technology (mostly outside the valley) can't or don't use facebook at work, and a lot of the parents I know are on it simply to monitor their kids.
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  • allen

    1 year ago

    Mathew - I believe it is seasonal as well.
    http://www.centernetworks.com/facebook-dip-seas...
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  • Mr. List

    1 year ago

    reply
  • JoeDuck

    1 year ago

    it’s a bit much to ring the bell of doom based on one downtick

    Yes, it is. However it's interesting to look at the way many online game sites - in some ways the precursors to social networking - graph in terms of traffic. They usually show rapid increases as people become interested in the game and play it obsessively, followed by decline. More importantly, as developers get around to doing the architecture right and we see seamless internet surfing using open social tools where the social network=the internet, I'm wondering how Facebook and Myspace will play more than a mildly supportive role in things.
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  • mathewi

    1 year ago

    I would agree, Joe -- I think OpenSocial and DiSo and movements like
    that are one of the biggest threats to Facebook as a platform, to the
    extent that they allow people to create their own social networks
    through their blogs or websites or whatever.


    On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 4:57 PM, Disqus
    reply
  • antje wilsch

    1 year ago

    I think at the end of the day, since these sites are all ad supported, it doesn't matter so long as wherever the data is being pulled from can show ads to the users. That'll be the challenge - if everything is open, determining where the user will see the ad and whoever controls that - wins.
    reply

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