So… Facebook has announced it has passed ONE BILLION USERS.
Sounds like a reason for a huge celebration. What an amazingly awesome global community!
We should all rejoice together because we built it… together!
But unlike the supermarket that rewards its one millionth customer with balloons, gifts and plaques and everyone is so happy for the store, the only reaction to Facebook’s announcement is people commenting “Facebook sucks!” “Are they counting all 10 of my accounts including my dogs?” “I quit Facebook months ago.” etc. etc. etc.
Facebook has a problem and it’s one that it will not overcome.
Facebook is irrelevant.
Nobody cares about it anymore. There are no balloons, no cheers, no tears, just… meh.
Sure, people use it to post photos of drinking, of babies and bike riding for charity but we, the connected world, have moved past that boring old shit that used to be slightly cool.
I’m sure to that comment Facebook would say – “No, no, wait, you’re wrong, Jill – people also post funny sayings and signs that they find amusing.”
Indeed, they’re right. How am I supposed to know I should “have an awesome day” if I didn’t see it posted in the morning by one of my “friends”?
In the past, I have written that Facebook Is Worthless, Overvalued, and Must Be Stopped – but now, I just don’t care about it anymore.
I have become Facebook indifferent – it means absolutely nothing to me.
That’s not the way it was supposed to be.
The swagger and smirking of the executives and investors before the IPO made it seem like this was a company like no other on the planet – a truly game changing experience that would actually… change the world.
The world did not change because of Facebook.
We all have the same problems that generations before us had. Politicians still use the same rhetoric. American flags are still burned at overseas Embassies. Famine and hurricanes still occur.
The only positive thing Facebook ever did was allow us to see what our high school and college friends look like today. It doesn’t mean we’re going to have dinner with them or have an actual conversation. But we do get to see if they got fat. That’s it and I suppose that’s worth something.
During the first Presidential Debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney the social media winner of the night was… Twitter.
Nearly all the media outlets and pundits were talking about what happened on Twitter during the debates. Not Facebook. Not LinkedIn. Not Google Plus.
To be serious, I have no idea how they add their numbers to conclude that one billion people are on Facebook.
Perhaps they should say one billion accounts have been set by about 200 million people? We all know people who have multiple accounts (almost everyone) – accounts for dogs, literary characters and just plain fake names that we all use to hide from our “friends” and supposedly Facebook is cracking down on this practice. (By the way, you can “friend” me here.)
And that’s another reason the site sucks – who wants to be completely real on Facebook?
We’re not trying to get a job. We’re not running for office. We’re just trying to spend a few minutes out of our day looking at drunken babies and trying not to be monetized.
So congratulations, Facebook on one billion users – one billion bored, indifferent, and dissatisfied users.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
P.S. – I just thought of a way Facebook could be relevant… they could buy Twitter.
horrible uninformed analysis
Sorry spyrrho, I disagree. I think it’s spot on.
Love the fact that your analysis of Jill Kennedy’s analysis contains no analysis at all. Thanks for the effort, spyrrho!
I 100% agree with the writer. To be honest, in the FarmVille days, I made over 10 different accounts to give myself crap in the game. I could careless about Facebook, I am just here because this is were everyone is right now… just like we did with MySpace.
Really, when most people have an issue with facebook, wheres the first place they go and moan about facebook?… On their facebook wall.
If I had FB, I would liked this. But I don’t have, I didn’t have. And I will not have.
You are so correct. So true that it is amazing.
Thank you!
Keep up the amazing work.
I will start following you now.
Sincerely and truly yurs,
Mark
Give Zuckerberg some credit.He is just starting to monitize
LOL, irrelevant? 1/7th of the world’s population. A trillion interconnections. There’s nothing more relevant in the entirety of humanity than Facebook right now.
LOL nothing more relevant in the entirety of humanity than Facebook… right now?
So… no religion… no Great Awakening… no American Revolution… no WWII… no Holocaust… no Dark Ages… no cradle of humanity and the creation of civilization…
No, you’re right. Graph search on a (semi) shitty networking site that just wants to take your personal data and monetize it is most definitely the most important development in the entirety of humanity.
/sarcasm.
^ ftw
LM AO! I know, right? The best response.
You seem to be mixing up relevant and important. They are not the same thing. The American Revolution was important, but it is hardly currently relevant.
Too true. On point. I use it like an email account, but to only use it as an email account means you hardly use it.. which makes you seem ‘unpopular’ to your ‘acquaintances’ who post thousands of pictures and have thousands of ‘friends’. The positives and negatives balance out and it just proves to be a site catering to narcissists and wannabe D list celebrities.
I was like you and only realized that I am not the target user….I am not a real FBker…The real users like my wife are well targeted. Talk to those people whose life is at least 45minutes a day checking fb, they have good adds on them. Some people even love them. This thing has legs…. Not sure when people will be fed but
I joined since I started investing and was shocked how much they show me stuff I like.. Scares me but can be efficient sometime.
Hate to admit it but was in the market for a car and suddenly car add started showing up, finally bought one and they are still showing.
This article is so misinformed. I actually use Facebook to communicate with friends and family in different states and in Europe. It is by far the most convenient form of communication to do that on a daily basis. Without FB we would not be so involved in each other’s lives. Plus, I use it for networking. I belong to countless FB groups that have yielded great resources and opportunities that I would not have stumbled upon had it not been for FB. I also am able to set up events and reach my target audience without having to break my budget on mailing invitations the traditional way. The events tool let’s me know on a daily basis just how many people are attending and what tgeirbthoughts are. I also have a page for my networking that people who are not my personal friends or family to obtain information about me and what I am up to and where they can see my show. I also have set up private writing groups to share content across the miles. In use it for school as well to reach my professors and classmates. It is easier to IM them than to send a traditional email. Plus I have coordinated several school project just over FB alone. A college club that I organize also use Facebook to coordinate meetings and fundraisers. I also use Facebook for my down time for gaming and just having fun. Sure I am on it a lot everyday but the benefits are vast. Where else can I talked to my aunt in Wales, see my cousin’s birthday photos fronm Texas, send in a homework assignment, invite people to a show, get feedback ony last performance, book an audition, play slots that earn me free hotel stays in Vegas, AND share everything I tweet, Instagram, yelp, tumbl, and pin? Only on Facebook. So those of you who think it is worthless, tired, and an invasion of your pricey are just behind on technology and haven’t really explored it enough to see what positives it can bring to your life. It has changed the way we as a society lives. And that is major. So don’t say it is overrated and useless. It is not. You are just scared and not open to change. If all you see when you log on is a platform for cat pictures and boring posts about what your former High school friends are currently eating, then you obviously are not using it as a tool but as a means to pass time, which is fine. But that does not make you an authority on its relevance in society.
Meh, it hasn’t changed the world any more than peanuts have.
Are you the vegetarian that posts on Eatocracy?
If Facebook is irrelevant, then the same can be said for social media as a whole. Twitter quite frankly has much bigger issues than Facebook, including a huge population of bots rather than actual users. I have both a Facebook and a Twitter account, but rarely if ever use my Twitter account for anything other than to test when I write a bot for a client.
You truly don’t understand what social media is. Just because all your friends and your interest show up on your timeline and a fluffy foofy garbage doesn’t mean some of the rest of the 1 billion users use if for things more relevant and intelligent. for example. I have my local police dept and neighboring towns so i get alerts of local things happening. also there is a group i follow local called all incidents whic let you know up to the minute traffic reports and fires in your area. I will leave you with one more relevant thing i use facebook. Online garage sales. local people post stuff to these pages where you can agree to meetup or pick up. so maybe facebook is relevant and your just out of touch with society. thanks for wasting my time with this lame article
Brendan, you nailed it. This person wrote a rant, not an article.
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