I don't mean to sound like a jerk, or rant and rave about nothing, but Facebook is getting annoying.
Today someone tagged me on a note that was attached to a nasty photo of a dog - presumably one of Michael Vick's (who's to say?) - who's face had been so mangled, it looked like spaghetti. Seriously, I don't need or want to see this. Especially not on Facebook. I thought about sending the person a note explaining my disgust, but then decided I didn't want to hurt the person's feelings, and left it alone.
I'm gonna hitch off on a tangent here:
Come on people...the guy has paid his dues. OBVIOUSLY he screwed up...and he spent 18 months in prison. And frankly, who are we to say we shouldn't let the guy pursue life, liberty, and happiness, now that he's paid his dues? This is the United States of America. People get out of prison everyday. Some go on to be productive citizens, some don't. People have been convicted of manslaughter, and served less time. I'm not condoning the guy's actions - no way...but there are far more important issues we should be focused on.
And as far as Facebook goes...I don't want to be part of your "Mafia Wars crew", I'm probably not going to "support your cause", and I don't want anything to do with your "Sunshine Ranch"...I may have been your classmate, but I'm not into "Yearbook" - and I'm not going to "Send my friends a sunset", or a "full charm bracelet".
Come on people! Seriously...this is a huge drain on society. People who could be working on something productive, are instead quizzing themselves on "Who is your guardian angel", or "If I were a state, which one would I be?" or "How heartless are you?" Hahaha wow.
And a note to Mark Zuckerberg:
See MySpace. It could happen to you too.
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
9.02.2009
4.14.2009
How do you communicate?
Today I was reading an article/interview in Businessweek about Research In Motion (RIM), the makers of BlackBerry mobile devices. Basically, what I gleaned from the article (and what everyone seems to know already) is that the Apple iPhone seems to be the smartphone that every communication device maker tries to emulate. The iPhone has enjoyed enormous success - remarkable, since it's only supported by one wireless carrier (AT&T) and the BlackBerry is supported by several. I started wondering: why isn't RIM more of a competitor?
I realized that the whole idea of a BlackBerry revolves around mobile email access, and that the devices really aren't much more useful than a bare-bones wireless device. In fact, I recently discovered an application that essentially turned my bare-bones wireless phone into an email machine - it even alerts me when I have email - much like a BlackBerry.
So what's the problem?
I realized I hardly ever send email anymore. In fact, in the past week I've sent exactly 18 emails. Of those, five of them were to myself (I tend to use email when I need to remind myself of something to do later).
So in the past week, I've used email 13 times to communicate with other people. This got me thinking about my communication habits, and my curiosity got the best of me: in the same week I've sent 124 text messages, and used my phone 20 times to call people. I estimate that in the same time, I've posted 15 updates on Twitter, and the same on Facebook. I've probably used Facebook another 20-30 times to communicate directly with people.
I realized that in the age of Facebook, Twitter, and widespread wireless integration, it's possible that email and traditional voice calls have been largely replaced by more flexible, more interactive, or even more simple forms of communication. Twitter allows us to update or call out to people on a massive scale. Facebook allows us to be interactive - to use photos, songs, or event invitations to communicate. Texting allows us to get in touch with people on the fly.
So what's this mean? What it means to me is that if other people's communication habits are anything like my own, then the BlackBerry isn't really a competitor to the iPhone. The iPhone is designed to run applications - if you visit the iPhone App Store, you can find an application for just about anything, including email. The difference between the iPhone and the BlackBerry is that one device is marketed to those who use email, and one device is marketed to those who want flexibility in what their phone will do.
Only recently has RIM figured out what Apple has known for a long time, and they've opened their own application store: BlackBerry App World. I'm sure this will bring RIM more in step with what consumers want and need these days, but what about the bigger question: how are people's communications needs changing? What are the trends? Who are going to be the innovators who accurately predict how people will communicate in the future? Is this the end of communication innovation, or is something new going to evolve that takes us beyond the smartphone? And how will the effectiveness of our communications evolve or suffer as a byproduct of using the technology? (see concerns expressed in the anonymous comment in my voicemail post)
What do you think? What are your communication habits?
I realized that the whole idea of a BlackBerry revolves around mobile email access, and that the devices really aren't much more useful than a bare-bones wireless device. In fact, I recently discovered an application that essentially turned my bare-bones wireless phone into an email machine - it even alerts me when I have email - much like a BlackBerry.
So what's the problem?
I realized I hardly ever send email anymore. In fact, in the past week I've sent exactly 18 emails. Of those, five of them were to myself (I tend to use email when I need to remind myself of something to do later).
So in the past week, I've used email 13 times to communicate with other people. This got me thinking about my communication habits, and my curiosity got the best of me: in the same week I've sent 124 text messages, and used my phone 20 times to call people. I estimate that in the same time, I've posted 15 updates on Twitter, and the same on Facebook. I've probably used Facebook another 20-30 times to communicate directly with people.
I realized that in the age of Facebook, Twitter, and widespread wireless integration, it's possible that email and traditional voice calls have been largely replaced by more flexible, more interactive, or even more simple forms of communication. Twitter allows us to update or call out to people on a massive scale. Facebook allows us to be interactive - to use photos, songs, or event invitations to communicate. Texting allows us to get in touch with people on the fly.
So what's this mean? What it means to me is that if other people's communication habits are anything like my own, then the BlackBerry isn't really a competitor to the iPhone. The iPhone is designed to run applications - if you visit the iPhone App Store, you can find an application for just about anything, including email. The difference between the iPhone and the BlackBerry is that one device is marketed to those who use email, and one device is marketed to those who want flexibility in what their phone will do.
Only recently has RIM figured out what Apple has known for a long time, and they've opened their own application store: BlackBerry App World. I'm sure this will bring RIM more in step with what consumers want and need these days, but what about the bigger question: how are people's communications needs changing? What are the trends? Who are going to be the innovators who accurately predict how people will communicate in the future? Is this the end of communication innovation, or is something new going to evolve that takes us beyond the smartphone? And how will the effectiveness of our communications evolve or suffer as a byproduct of using the technology? (see concerns expressed in the anonymous comment in my voicemail post)
What do you think? What are your communication habits?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
