Reading people like an open Facebook

[rpm]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Columns/945.html

 

[Sapphiron]

I agree, Facebook does more harm than good in business!!!

It's a great site to socialize, but you don't invite all you friends to work and expect that you productivity won't be affected.

 

[nictron]

I will be blocking this site during working hours and only allow it during Lunch and after 16:30.

In our case they should be Auditing and not reading Facebook.

I agree there are more and more distractions, but the popularity of these sites are showing some kind of social withdrawl, maybe people are working too much and have lost out on the after hour social life, because they are spending more and more time at the office and in traffic. Or maybe it is some kind of escape for the introverted and they find there place in sites like Facebook.

Who knows I do not use it, and agree with the article I so not see the fuss, but thats just me.

Good article!

 

[Shake&Bake]

It always amazes me how the author here seems to find these kind of things to write about....after someone else has already. Face it (excuse the pun), but safety issues concerning Facebook is brought up at DefCon, broadcasted all over the web and then this guy comes along and - "Oh here is something that is worthy of my drivel."

Maybe I just got it wrong or don't agree with his writing style or the way he comes across, but reading the into and 1st few paragraphs just have me weezing and my stomach churning.

Find something on your own and not just copy and paste the news and then put your twist on it for the sake of "Thats something I can do".And perhaps then it would be an interesting read.

mmm I'm bordering on that journalist from the Times that had a stab at bloggers a while back...

 

[PPJ]

Agree

I agree with the comments so far - all of them. I am not a face book user, but have recieved some invites.

I think part of the success of the facility is that it can be - and is - virual and that alot of the info provided by the participants are not necessaraly true..... It is like a game, a make believe real time soapy. I have not even seen the site, but I remember the days of "chat" on BelTel. You also created a virtual person per chat session. Not constructive in any way in mostly a way to kill time. This "Facebook" seems like a serial virtual "chat" session that can keep people "glued" to the screen for the next bit of useless ( and not necessaraly true ) happening. Far more advanced than a simple text chat session!!! And ten time more accessable that what waas previously possible.

I do not know..... maybe I must find out for my self................

 

[PDonut]

Ya ya ya, its easy to look at something you havnt tried and point out all the flaws (social, moral, whatever...) I did before i tried it. The point is its an easy way you can interact with A LOT of friends, particularly ones outside your usual circle.

You would chat on the phone all day with your friends at work if u had the chance wouldn't you? Its just not discrete as facebook or msn....
True, if you're running a company you should be worried about the impact on productivity but as an individual to look at yourself and say "I'd rather spend my time working" that sounds a bit crazy. Sure, dont neglect other things just for the sake of facebooking for hours.

Trust me, the only reason you're not on facebook yet is because you havn't tried it.

 

[Syndyre]

I agree with the comments so far - all of them. I am not a face book user, but have recieved some invites.

I think part of the success of the facility is that it can be - and is - virual and that alot of the info provided by the participants are not necessaraly true..... It is like a game, a make believe real time soapy. I have not even seen the site, but I remember the days of "chat" on BelTel. You also created a virtual person per chat session. Not constructive in any way in mostly a way to kill time. This "Facebook" seems like a serial virtual "chat" session that can keep people "glued" to the screen for the next bit of useless ( and not necessaraly true ) happening. Far more advanced than a simple text chat session!!! And ten time more accessable that what waas previously possible.

Facebook is nothing like chatting on MSN, IRC, whatever. Personally I only use it to interact with people I already know, not random people that I've never met. Its a great way to keep in touch with people and reconnect with people you've lost touch with or haven't seen in a while.

Ya ya ya, its easy to look at something you havnt tried and point out all the flaws (social, moral, whatever...) I did before i tried it. The point is its an easy way you can interact with A LOT of friends, particularly ones outside your usual circle.

You would chat on the phone all day with your friends at work if u had the chance wouldn't you? Its just not discrete as facebook or msn....
True, if you're running a company you should be worried about the impact on productivity but as an individual to look at yourself and say "I'd rather spend my time working" that sounds a bit crazy. Sure, dont neglect other things just for the sake of facebooking for hours.

Trust me, the only reason you're not on facebook yet is because you havn't tried it.

I was the same, thought it was stupid and didn't know how people could waste their time on it, but its great once you get into it. Why does the author begrudge it so much? Nobody works 24/7, if I spend 20 mins on facebook how is that "worse" than spending 20 mins on the phone talking to friends?

 

[SuPeRCoW]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/866.html

 

[Syndyre]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/866.html

Point being?

 

[JK8]

Facebooks impersonal.

 

[Ekhaatvensters]

How many Facebook articles do we need on the front page? Maybe this coming week we can try have at least 2 per day.

Oh, and try find lamer puns with the word face or book, thanks.

 

[Syndyre]

How many Facebook articles do we need on the front page? Maybe this coming week we can try have at least 2 per day.

Oh, and try find lamer puns with the word face or book, thanks.

Make sure they're badly written and have no substance as well, seems to be the pattern so far.

 

[Globetrotter]

Find something on your own and not just copy and paste the news and then put your twist on it for the sake of "Thats something I can do".And perhaps then it would be an interesting read.

Well said. Everything the author pointed out about Facebook has been covered by other journos in recent weeks anyway. I am however quite paranoid about my privacy as well so in essence I agree with the author's sentiments. I don't see the point of joining Facebook myself if it means sharing any personal info about myself (online) in any way. That's just me. But if a few million others enjoy doing that, so be it.

 

[rorz0r]

Jeez yet another facebook thread. Rule #1: If you aren't on facebook your opinion of it counts for absolutely 0.

I do agree that companies should block it though. It is somewhat addictive although it seems it's almost "old news" now. Some of my friends check it like every day, some only a few times a month.

Rule #2: If you don't want just anyone viewing your info don't put it on there. Don't write down your most private stuff and then whine when people see it. Click on the "privacy" link right at the top of the page and adjust your settings to your hearts content. For the conspiracy theorists don't put anything on you don't want the CIA or whoever to get. (just in case, i doubt they care).

Facebook is a great social tool for keeping in touch with people elsewhere in the world or even outside your normal social circle. It's also great for finding out "interconnections" etc in your extended social circle. As a platform is probably the best database of people and their "friends"/"associates" there is, no govt or marketing company could have put something like this together. It also makes it the greatest platform there is for creating any social applications.

Anyway, just a few thoughts...

 

[Debbie]

No offence to Rodney Weidemann, cos I generally like his articles, but this article has a complete lack of original research. His opinions are akin to me writing a performance review of a car I've never even driven. If one going to write an opinion on a product, one should at least try to have a somewhat informed understanding of what they are writing about. You cannot understand facebook unless you are on it, full stop.

It is simplistic to imply that facebookers aren't bothered 'one bit' by privacy concerns. A great many people don't include their phone number, email address or hometown on their profile. Some people choose to list their political and religious beliefs, but many do not. The author would know these things had he done a little bit of first-hand research.

While it is true that a lot of people waste huge amounts of time doing unproductive things on facebook, this is not true of all people who are on facebook. In fact from what I've seen it appears that it's a minority of facebookers who spend excessive time on their profile... these people are certainly NOT representative of the majority of facebookers.

 

[kolakidd]

Facebook is introducing more South Africans to the internet than I have seen any site ever do, and I think we should be thankful for this.

I've encountered this kind of cyber snobbery before and it's really just pathetic, and raising the issue of pedophiles on the net again is actually just nauseating, the journalist should no better. Yes it's true they're out there, but they're also in malls and outside schools.

You wouldn't send your kid running out into a park without checking it out first, so why let them run wild on a website without checking it out first.

Here's a question for you about facebook, and one that is glossed over in this article: How much is that database worth? Everyone has a price, and judging from the banners on Facebook Mark Zuckerbergs price ain't that high.

 

[rorz0r]

Kolakidd you are right about that one. I've heard quite a few older people ask me about "this facebook thing", people that are kind of only just able to check their email because there's a shortcut on the desktop.

As for how much the database is worth, they turned down an offer from Google because their projected earnings are $1billion/yr and the offer was I think just under a $1billion. As for the banners, the advertisers do not have access to the database at all. It's completely different to selling your info. If you click the "advertisers" link at the bottom there are some prices etc. You can target ads fairly well because of all the info facebook has, but it will cost you (And you still don't actually get anyones info).

As for the article which I admittedly read only after my last post, that's the first time I've ever heard of "poking someone to get them to be your friend". I think one of the reason facebook is so popular is because it's not just myspace BS. Generally the info shared on the site is pretty "real" unlike some other social media.

 

[Highflyer_GP]

People have the ability to hide their profiles from searches, as well as only making it visible to people who they voluntarily accept as friends. So I don't get why people keep bitching on and on about privacy. Just let the issue die already - if you haven't used it, then you have no idea about it's capabilities or shortcomings, and should therefore stfu because you aren't entitled to an opinion about something if you don't know how it works.

 

[semiautomatix]

I will be blocking this site during working hours and only allow it during Lunch and after 16:30.

In our case they should be Auditing and not reading Facebook.

I agree there are more and more distractions, but the popularity of these sites are showing some kind of social withdrawl, maybe people are working too much and have lost out on the after hour social life, because they are spending more and more time at the office and in traffic. Or maybe it is some kind of escape for the introverted and they find there place in sites like Facebook.

In my opinion: a happy employee will be a productive employee. But you do sometimes need to watchdog. Good compromise!

 

[semiautomatix]

I think part of the success of the facility is that it can be - and is - virual and that alot of the info provided by the participants are not necessaraly true..... It is like a game, a make believe real time soapy.

LOL, one of our alter egos is a beer we enjoy drinking. We hooked up in 2004 and have been going steady ever since, etc, etc, etc. Good luck to any government organisation intent on catching "him" in the act!