

Leaving Facebookistan - tremblanc
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/05/leaving-facebookistan.html

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rblion
Facebook is a double-edged sword. I use it because it's the simplest way to
keep in touch with all my social circles and also for the mild dopamine-kick
that it gives (I'll be honest). Also, because most of them dont use Google+
yet. However, I feel an uneasiness about it because everything I read, like,
comment, or try is shared over and over again with people that probably dont
care. Everything I log-in I see how they combine a friend liking something and
an ad for the thing they liked, it's subtle but ANNOYING. I dont care about
McDonald's that much!

I can sense that we are not people to them, we are a commodity. Our value to
them is data, this seems to me why the ethical issues keep resurfacing and
people keep getting outraged. It has an unshakable Big Brother feeling to it,
almost everyone I know feels better about their life because of Facebook yet
dont realize how they are the product.

I respect the company and Mark overall, I don't hate them. But...I do feel
like it's becoming more and more like the Death Star of startups. Any startup
that builds a great feature/app that challenges FB's existing is acqui-hired
and now a part of their empire. I can see where this is going, it'll be the
Microsoft of the web. Anyone who tries to build a better social network is
attempting a herculean task akin to blowing up the Death Star.

I'll stop now.

~~~
naner
_Also, because most of them dont use Google+ yet._

Why would Google+ be any better?

~~~
rblion
I see Google as a science experiment on the biggest scale imaginable. I know
they have their faults too, but I feel more comfortable with Google's vision
of the future than Facebook.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

~~~
oscargrouch
Google its not a "Death Star" too?

They are also eating every microbe that could grow and become a stone in their
way.. but this is not just Google, or Facebook.. using the words of google ex-
ceo : "this is called capitalism".. they do not invent it, they are using it
the same way all others (capitalistic) endeavors before and after them.

Big fish eat small fish

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telent
The article is from May 2012, perhaps the thread title could be updated to say
so?

~~~
pbateman
To be fair most of these articles could be kept current simply by updating the
date and the outrage to latest version.

Sure, facebook is creepy and annoying and provides little value to me but
until average people start deleting their accounts it doesn't matter at all.

~~~
markyc
the fact that the act of deleting one's fb profile is considered newsworthy
means fb is here to stay for now

~~~
jdechko
Only if you write for the New Yorker and don't have anything better to write
about.

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11185d
I didn't really glean any new information from this article. essentially it
was not the best use of my time.

~~~
sillysaurus
Could you give an example of an article you feel was a good use of time? I'm
curious.

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tokenadult
[May 2012] The previous submission of this article

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4018856>

received just a few upvotes, and no comments. Meanwhile, I have engaged in
hundreds of interesting conversations on other topics both here on Hacker News
and on Facebook. I was amused to see how much Facebook's stock price has
tanked since the IPO, but that is an investor's problem, not my problem. I use
Facebook while its investors suffer, the same way I used AOL for a while
during the 1990s. When Facebook fades away (the same way that AOL still
exists, but is no longer a big name in the industry), I'm sure I'll still be
able to connect with my friends through some new channel.

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tgrass
addlepate, you appear to be hellbanned.

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alyx
Deactivated my Facebook account this morning and deleted my Twitter account
too.

Ironic to see this popup on the front page almost as an affirmation.

