
Facebook to Turn Users Into Endorsers - amichail
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/business/06cnd-facebook.html
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blader
I love it. Just more evidence that Facebook really gets "people", while the
only thing Google seems to understand is "data", to their detriment.

When Facebook announced their platform, they talked about social graphs,
distribution, and virality. Google talked about "openness" and "platforms".
They still just don't get it.

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amichail
This is the difference between computer science (which is about
implementation) and web science (which is about people).

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cellis
indeed. I have oft-wondered what is the difference between the highly
respected Engineer and his lowly, unstructured counterpart, the developer.
Facebook appears to be a developer company, while (stating the obvious) Google
is an Engineer co. The two can coexist, but not peacefully.

~~~
jey
Bah, that's a totally artificial distinction. I think that the difference
between Google and Facebook has more to do with the company culture and the
people at the top of the company than the programmers themselves.

"Engineer" is what a suit calls you, "Developer" or "Programmer" is what you
call yourself, and "Hacker" is what other people call you.

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pg
A frighteningly good idea.

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amichail
The general idea behind Facebook is that the only way that you would care
about anything (apps, ads, events, etc.) is if your friends tell you about it.

Technically, this doesn't make much sense since your friends don't necessarily
share your interests.

But this isn't a technical achievement. It's a social achievement because it
appears to be working.

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DanielBMarkham
Do you think it has legs? That is, do I really want this many commercial
recommendations from people I barely know? At what point is the hassle more
than the gain?

I was never a huge FB fan. I guess I just don't get it. Sure I _might_ be
interested in whether Sue had the hives last Friday night or not, but hearing
about the coolest sports drink from the chick I met two years ago in a bar? It
just seems to fall apart after it gets stretched so thin, right?

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amichail
It's a bold experiment in human nature. Let's see what happens.

~~~
DanielBMarkham
Perhaps it's a question of "how much" it succeeds instead of whether it
succeeds or not. A young demographic is highly cohesive and peer-pressure-
sensitive, whereas an older group with far-flung contacts isn't going to be so
keen on the getting pitched so much. It's going to be a learning experience to
see how it plays out. Could be a massive home run, from the comments I'm
seeing.

~~~
amichail
I think it has a bit to do with whether you trust algorithms.

Would you trust a recommendation made by some obscure collaborative filtering
algorithm or one made by a friend whom you know well?

~~~
DanielBMarkham
So here's my take: I don't want recommendations for crap I'm not looking to
buy from anybody, friends included. In fact, if you want to stay my friend, be
careful how much stuff you tell me I should be buying.

I'm probably a minority. I know I have a couple of friends that will email
from time to time with stuff. Just today a friend emailed talking about a
45-disc James Bond DVD extravaganza. But one or two of those a week is about
my limit. If I started getting even one a day from any source, I'd do a
double-take.

But like I said, I'm not the demographic FB is pushing for. I've always heard
kids were supposed to be very anti-commercial once they moved into their 20s.
But heck, for all I know we should still be riding around in buggies and
chariots. I've just gotten where as soon as I see somebody trying to pitch me,
whether it's a google adword, TV commercial, YouTube ad or whatnot, I cringe.
It's not a positive experience for me. Why would I want my friends as part of
that? I dunno.

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pistoriusp
"In addition, Facebook will allow advertisers to tap into the vast stores of
data that its users provide...

initial roster of advertisers including Coca-Cola, Blockbuster, Verizon..."

Verizon? I thought that they already had that information?

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andreyf
That's dangerous turf they're treading on. Messing with people and their whims
is not a simple job - people grumbled a lot when facebook opened up outside
college. A lot of people I know had that "why the hell is my dad on facebook"?
moment.

Same thing when they introduced the "news feed" (or "stalker feed" as people
used call it). I'm sure they are keeping the comfort of their users in mind,
changing things a little at a time.

