Thread

I’m off work for two weeks and stuck at home thanks to a little accident ( http://chrisjsmith.me.uk/images/ouch1.jpg ) and have nothing to do.  I’ve downloaded Ubuntu 7.10 and played with it, I’ve counted the ceiling tiles, I’ve read Slashdot, I’ve browsed the forums.

Completely lacking in any motivation or inspiration.  Can anyone share any?

Completely lacking in any motivation or inspiration.  Can anyone share any?

Try to figure out Facebook/Ning.  Does it really mean the end of spam as we know it?  Supposing corporate integration,  what about the work-life balance and productivity effects due to the silly aspects of it(gifts,  cards,  etc) that remind you to be human that day.  If true then given the advertising revenue potential of such a beast the 12 billion valuation can’t be exaggerated.  Discuss..

HTH,
-R

They both look like a pile of shite to be honest.  I just signed up for both and had a play. 

I can’t see them being sustainable as their value will rapidly decrease as it becomes fragmented and the signal to noise ration decreases.  I’m also not sure about the viability of the whole thing based on data protection.  I see no compliance statement (a requirement in the UK).

12 billion valuation is exaggerated as it is based on Microsoft’s stake in the project.

Advertising will kill it and there is no other viable model for shifting cash into the infrastructure.

I can’t see them being sustainable as their value will rapidly decrease as it becomes fragmented and the signal to noise ration decreases.  I’m also not sure about the viability of the whole thing based on data protection.  I see no compliance statement (a requirement in the UK).

How do you see fragmentation happening?  What about spam? 

Compliance?  Is that like Verizon deleting all my email when it feels like it? 

C’mon man…

Yeah most FB apps are buggy.

-R

I can’t see them being sustainable as their value will rapidly decrease as it becomes fragmented and the signal to noise ration decreases.  I’m also not sure about the viability of the whole thing based on data protection.  I see no compliance statement (a requirement in the UK).

How do you see fragmentation happening?  What about spam? 

Compliance?  Is that like Verizon deleting all my email when it feels like it? 

C’mon man…

Yeah most FB apps are buggy.

-R

Fragmentation will happen because the “groups” are so vast and so inaccurate.  It takes the user to do house keeping which is not something that users are any good at.  Take London for example - it has 1.36 million members.  Three of my friends I added this afternoon don’t live in London but are in it anyway.  The data is worthless if it’s not accurate and it’s their data that’s worth the money for 3rd parties.

Compliance: In the UK, people who hold your data have to define a data protection policy which outlines the storage of your data and gives contacts who you can write to and request what data they hold on you.  This does not exist on Facebook.  The EU will stomp it for this in a couple of years.

Spam: It’s a convenient system for distributing it.  It will be abused!

FB apps are horrific.  Their sign up process fell to bits a couple of times when I was signing up.

Download a security update for Vista?

Lol been there done that :(

I can’t see them being sustainable as their value will rapidly decrease as it becomes fragmented and the signal to noise ration decreases.  I’m also not sure about the viability of the whole thing based on data protection.  I see no compliance statement (a requirement in the UK).

How do you see fragmentation happening? 
What about spam? 
Compliance? 
...FB apps are buggy.

Fragmentation will happen because the “groups” are so vast and so inaccurate.  It takes the user to do house keeping which is not something that users are any good at.  Take London for example - it has 1.36 million members.  Three of my friends I added this afternoon don’t live in London but are in it anyway.  The data is worthless if it’s not accurate and it’s their data that’s worth the money for 3rd parties.

Compliance: In the UK, people who hold your data have to define a data protection policy which outlines the storage of your data and gives contacts who you can write to and request what data they hold on you.  This does not exist on Facebook.  The EU will stomp it for this in a couple of years.

Spam: It’s a convenient system for distributing it.  It will be abused!

FB apps are horrific.  Their sign up process fell to bits a couple of times when I was signing up.

I don’t pay too much attention to the geographical groups.  They haven’t been useful at all yet.  The ads I have seen are targeting someone 25 years younger than me with a lot of free time,  yes.

Compliance..it doesn’t sound like a memo and a policy would be that hard to implement when asked for it.  They may get stomped but how does that do them any damage?

Spam…how does spam get in?  The only way I could see it,  other than an exploit,  is the practice of allowing acquaintances to be on your network,  when those acquaintances have stored up vast amounts of spammage for release onto an acquaintance’s network.  I could see a more insidious practice of selling person to person.  Like “who let in the encyclopedia saleman”?  Apparently this person could get a list of all the people on a network and use that list for spammer activities.  But you should be able to remove a person from your friends list and they’re gone.  They have no way to get to your inbox. There is no address.  The system as a whole may be a convenient way to distribute spam,  but it’s your “friends” who are the spammers to you,  in various ways “so and so is reading this book which you should also buy” etc.,  but nothing about c1al1s,  for example. 

“Fell to bits”...hmm,  yeah,  like most portal software,  there may be an art to it,  and you have to want it to succeed,  just a little…

FB apps are the responsibility of the app builder to test and host well enough,  from what I’ve gathered so far.  For example,  Advanced Wall truncates all posts over a certain length,  but Facebook isn’t to blame, it’s the writer of advanced wall,  who may not test well enough.

I’ve used many apps where the entire system just seemed to fall to bits.  I agree it seems like that,  and it can be disorienting.  But the truth is with all the silliness (cards,  books,  gifts, who’s doing what, holiday and birthday reminders etc) it has a humanizing effect when compared with corporate email,  FB/Ning changes the spam game significantly, and therefore seems to still have potential.

-R

Chris - download JTaby and tell me what you think 😛 alternatively, you could try a new JS system and tell me which one is better, or you can just watch movies