I’m hooked on Facebook. In various ways, it replaces Twitter, Digg, Bluedot, plaxo and LinkedIn. And there’s a chance that it will replace my spam-laden email box, at least for messages from people I care about.
I’m too invested in flickr to replace it with Facebook’s photo tools, but with Facebook’s platform I don’t need to.
Facebook is mobile, too. I managed to fill my layover in Cincinnati catching up on the latest from my friends.
The key to a social network is who’s on it. I’ve been impressed by the number of people I know who are on it and their level of activity — it’s not just another service they signed up for and don’t use. My network on Facebook has grown much faster than my LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter networks.
Recommended reading: Danah Boyd, an ethnographer at UC-Berkley, has a thought-provoking piece on her blog analyzing class division through Facebook and MySpace. Danah has spent years studying MySpace and teens.
It’s kind of scary how effective a tool like Facebook is. About 6 months ago I was trying to hunt down a friend who I lost touch with. I signed up for MySpace so I could search to see if they were listed. I didn’t find them and canceled my account. I did the same with Facebook, but forgot to cancel my account. About 3 weeks ago I received my first “Friend” invite and now I’m neck deep into the service.
This sort of service has never really interested me, but the ease of use and the amazing number of past acquaintances registered makes getting hooked dead simple. I spend so much time online already that I’m actually looking for ways to avoid it, but Facebook has built a service that works perfect for what it is. I’m with you.
Comment by Clint Pidlubny — June 28, 2007 @ 1:42 pm
[...] Facebook. A revolutionary platform for social connectivity. [...]
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