The Facebook Backlash Summarized
A few people have asked for my comment on Facebook opening Feed and mini-feed to its users this week. I was around when they were developing and talking about the product. In theory it is an amazing product. It is like Amazon.com’s recommendation system for your life. You can find out the things going on around you without even moving or doing anything. A few of the problems with the system:
1- It encourages people to do less on the site. Facebook is great at just making the user experience better regardless if it reduces page views or what. However, now I can just go to the home page and see everything happening.
2- It wakes people up. SHIT, people know what I am doing on the site. Most of the time people use Facebook voyeuristicly. They want to see others without that person knowing what they are doing.
There is so much criticism on the blog world about the changes:
Facebook Redesign Angers Students
Mashable talks of the Facebook Backlash
TheOldFacebook.com
Tons of comments, criticisms and opinions on the Digg site
People wanting September 12th to be a day without Facebook
look at the growth in members of the anti-Facebook group.
33,000+ signatures on the anti-Feed petition
People are trying to SaveFacebook
Fred chimes in on the backlash
Zuck wrote an online response but its a little condescending in my opinion. “Calm down. Breathe,” just sounds a little rude to me.
I will be interested in seeing Facebook’s response to this criticism.
