+ R.I.P Facebook +
Facebook….We’re kinda over it..
Is Facebook era coming to an end?
Will facebook sadly be laying its head in the networking graveyard soon with the likes of Bebo and Myspace?
Some people have considered this 21st century marvel the 8th wonder of the world. Facebook has become a lifestlye practically a religion. People have lived their lives through Facebook over the past few years, people live, breath, sleep Facebook. It has also allowed us to record some of the most ridiculous facts about how this technological generation use social networking site, below is a link of 50 fascinating facts about Facebook and how we work it.
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/04/28/50-fascinating-facebook-facts-and-figures/
But is it now slowly losing its appeal and does it have the ability to live on in the future??
Today the biggest atraction for consumers is soley the word ‘New’ it stands out like a shooting star. We crave new, quirky, risky ideas to make our real and online world that bit more interesting. The problem that many companys face is keeping the consumer interested. Facebook is slowly becoming faced with this problem, as after 5 years of being on top they are faced with new competitors such as twitter for example, the use of twitter is not as obvious as Facebook but once users get the hang of it it becomes addictive, it encourages constant liking regardless of where you are in the world or who you know as fellow users have the option to follow you without the approval or a ‘friend request’ . Twitter also works as a search engine and is another way to find other people and gain access to content all over the net.
So why is facebook getting old?
Recently while sitting on my computer at home or accessing the facebook app ive realised im doing it much less frequently then i used to…I’m not longer checking up on ex’s statuses or friends ‘wild nights out’ pictures, I have even lost interest in tending to my facebook farm when feeding my turkeys, milking my cows and tending to my crops was such a huge deal before, as far as im concerned my turketys can get stuffed (no pun intended). Originally I and millions of other facebook fans accessed facebook to contact former highschool friends, distant relatives and as far as im concerned people you may have talked to on one or maybe even two occasions. At first it seemed fun to catch up on what everyone else or your insignificant others were doing but these days updates aren’t so frequent, people seem to be getting bored of facebooking ever minor event in there life. As a devoted fan I have a few theories as to why facebook is becoming a fad..
1) Privacy – Keeping track of facebook ever changing privacy policies is exchausting. Trying to constantly ensure that my ‘worst enemies’ cant gain access to my oh so private wall posts and my not so flattering but fun facebook pictures is a feat..God forbid your mom got access to your ‘I was so drunk I have no dignity left’ photos. Facebook are slowly losing their loyal followers because they cant ensure your profile wont be witnessed worldwide.
2. Value – As the months and years go by photo albums, wall posts and status updates become less of a novelty. The like button makes it very easy for people to show their passive entertainment from them but the new ‘like’ button restricts feedback and interaction.
3) A big issue with facebook and I is that it delays actual interation between me and my friends, why meet up for a coffee or wine when we can converse about the happenings of the past week even month over facebook chat. When did it become overrated to meet up with a friend face to face for a good old gossip…the answer my friends is.. since facebook chat.
Other apparent reasons for facebooks decline;
http://www.switched.com/2009/11/30/the-10-most-annoying-things-about-facebook/
After all of these superficial social problems with facebook we are faced with one more, the advantages and disadvantage of advertising on facebook, another reason as to why facebook is popular.
Advantages:
Reach and Increased Targeting – over 350 million customers are present on facebook, when and how could that ever be ignored. Facebook advertising reachs all of these people much more effectively then google can as peolpe are actively interacting on their facebook pages when they see the ads therefore are more likely to click on them then they would on Google. Facebook can immediately tell companies where their targeted market is through information given on Facebook, whether it be their date of birth or country of residence.
Disadvantage:
Unnecessary Clutter – Any advertising campaign can now make their way onto Facebook which can be off putting to facebookers. Facebook has been trying to crack down on it as it has a negative effect on the users. Giveaways, humor sites and reward program’s flood the system and result in the user paying less and less attention to the adverts in general. Advertising abilities are slowly causing clutter on Facebook which is not looked upon kindly.
Facebook is slowly losing in the battle to keep us adventure, fun, quirky hungry net-workers. The question is what can Facebook possibly do to keep us interested for long enough until they come up with an out of this world idea for their rebirth…Please feel free to comment your suggestions and if you could take 2 seconds of your time to kindly Vote in my super awesome significant for research poll.. 😉 Thanks..Peace and Love..Nomi
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