Top Ten Reasons Facebook Sucks

I agree with point 1 to the hilt. I get invitations to do really stupid schoolboy stuffs.

Imagine a middle age men exchanging silly nothings with those college kids, like scribbling on some virtual walls that they have created or answering some silly questions.

Sucks big time. Wondered how I got involved in the first place.

Given, I finally got around to this post b/c I’m particularly pissy today (sick, exhausted, and with about a million family events going on on top of work this month), but I still stand by the basic points. I hate fads. PR is littered with them (Facebook would be the worst if the social media press release didn’t exist).

Jenn — Socnets are getting a lot of attention right now and this over exposure is pretty frustrating.

But I have one simple reason for you to join Facebook…to make this post credible.

While I understand, and even agree, with some of your points, the fact that you have never been on Facebook makes this post more of a rant than a serious argument.

Someone could write a post similar to this one about MySpace or even MyRagan for that matter. The same reason MySpace works for you is the same reason Facebook works for others — audience.

I don’t need an account when my family, friends, clients, and colleagues are using them. I’ve seen far more than I need to to make my judgments more than just a casual rant, thanks. I’ve been logged into more social networks (including Facebook) than most people I know between helping clients and friends out. And when I’m working with artists or young webpreneurs who are marketing to a young audience, there’s nothing wrong with that. At the same time, those aren’t the types of clients who are on Facebook or any network due to the fad instigated by the larger marketing / PR hype.

And for the record, I did already concede in my original post that Facebook would be a fine tool if you happen to be targeting a market falling within their primary userbase. The fact of the matter is that most people touting its “PR benefits” and treating it as though it’s even remotely new, or worthwhile in a larger business sense, are not within that group.

Hi there Jenn. I agree with a lot of those points, especially point 6 (I am on a couple of other social network sites and all seem fruitless business wise), point 7 (privacy, what privacy, major investors are the CIA and US department for defence, so where is all that personal info going..?), point 1 (but it is fun to throw a plate of chips at someone). OK so Facebook is appalling for business, but it can be a bit of fun if you have some spare time….

As an early adopter, I’d have to disagree. I’m a 22 year old PR professional and I’ve been on Facebook since 2005 and still loving it. In fact, I think I love it more now than when I first started. It’s great for keeping in touch with people (which, um, is the whole point, really) and it’s great for finding out about new people you meet without having to do the boring 20 questions. Yes, I know far more about some of my colleagues than I’d want to, but most of them are young like me, so it works.

I wouldn’t call Facebook a fad, but I question how well it will be used by PR professionals in the long run. I personally don’t pay attention to marketing on Facebook because that’s not why I’m there - so that may be a fad, but Facebook as a whole isn’t a fad and I disagree that early adopters have come and gone. I don’t have a single friend (and I have over 400) that has dropped Facebook because they don’t use it anymore. Professionals may get tired of it, but I don’t think the people who genuinely use it for it’s traditional purpose will leave. And by traditional purpose I mean perpetuating an established social network (i.e. college friends, high school friends, hometown friends, online community friends, etc.).

Or maybe that isn’t what you meant, but I thought I’d share my opinion as a long-time Facebook user from an audience that might not typically comment.

Being a professional blog, this post has absolutely nothing to do with “real” social networking as in personal uses. Congrats to you for loving it for that. I’m happy for you. Nothing I’ve said in this post was in any way aimed at talking down the company for that particular use.

I would absolutely call Facebook a fad as it applies to PR, which again, being a PR blog is what this post was in reference to (sorry if that wasn’t clear enough). A lot of early adopters have come and gone. Given, with Facebook they’re a bit slower b/c of the market changes leading to sort of second wave than with other sites like Myspace.

So yes, that isn’t what I meant. I’m sure Facebook will be around a good long time for the teeny boppers, college kids, and those who started out that way and grew with the site on a personal use level.

Yes, I realize this is a professional blog, but since Facebook can be used for more than one purpose and you said you were never join Facebook ever, I wasn’t sure if that was a PR professional or just as a Facebook-hater in general. Thanks for explaining it. And thanks for being nice about it, too.

I wouldn’t join it for personal reasons either, but that’s because I still don’t like the juvenile qualities mentioned in my post, and frankly I don’t need multiple social networks for chit chat and connecting… there’s just not enough time in the day for that.

Well, I joined it a couple of weeks ago (trying everything) and my uni work colleagues are driving me insane, sending me crap. All I can see on it are a lot of teenagers with their tounges hanging out (what’s with this fad?). The ony “value” I see is that it seems like a good way to stay social with friends.

I have so far managed to resist the temptation to join Facebook. Quite frankly I can’t see the point and think it is just another way for people to waste time at work. Its like a social competition - whos got the most friends? But as far as I’m concerned, if they are friends of mine, I will know what they are up to, who they are going out with, etc. without having to log on to my computer.

I’ve found out that Facebook recently kicked a woman off of Facebook, because she talked about breastfeeding her baby???

But, Facebook allow criminals, drug dealers & pedophiles to have Facebooks and they don’t delete them, why?

Yet, Facebook picked on this woman, for being the most important and most beautiful thing in the world…….a mother.

Pick on the weak and innocent why do you? Thats not America, thats not even Mexico, well Facebook picking on mothers is Anti-American, so you just made an enemy, Capt Wild Bill Kelso.

[…] but more and more of my friends are inviting me to Facebook, so for them i would recomend - Top Ten Reasons Facebook Sucks by Jennifer […]

As someone in the core demographic age that PR and marketing professional feel they are targeting by using social networking sites, I would like to add reason number 11: It makes you look desperate. There is nothing worse than the company who is trying to look young and hip by jumping onto every trend.

As people have mentioned Facebook is great for keeping in touch with friends. But, that doesn’t make it a good PR tool. Note to PR professionals, using social networking to promote a campaign, cause or product only makes me picture a stuffy old man in a corporate boardroom trying to figure out what the kids these days think is cool.

I only registered to browse the site and found it incredibly juvenile and difficult to navigate. I hate it and am about to delete my existence on there.

[…] get into the mood to bitch enough. I did however get a good bit of traffic to my post on why Facebook sucks, which amused me because I’d been itching to write it for ages. I’m sure I’ll be […]

I agree! Facebook is the shit! If you dont like it dont use it! And thats that. Quit being negative assholes and do what makes you happy and let us do what makes us happy. Fucking pessimists. Honestly, do you really feel that much better about it after ranting and raving like a whiny little girl? The fact is that Facebook is just as popular as myspace and many people find it is better than myspace, like myself. It’s not gonna die any sooner than myspace will. So suck it up and quit being a whiny bitch.

Tsk, tsk Mary. Now don’t go around being a hypocrite… if you want to tell people to simply not use something they don’t like instead of bitching about it, wouldn’t the smart thing be to take your own advice? Hmmmm….

It’s quite obvious you either didn’t read the post or couldn’t comprehend it, with your rambling about it on a personal level (I certainly hope that wasn’t on a business level). No one said it would die any sooner than Myspace or that Myspace is some wonderful tool that totally outweighs Facebook. The post was in reference to its use in a business / PR sense alone… obviously that was out of your grasp. As a matter of fact (again, if you’d bothered to actually read), I even gave it credit for its limited potential business use in a positive sense.

Do I need to start dumbing down posts around here?

You’re a freaking idiot. You sound jealous that Facebook wasn’t your idea. Proof that your reasoning sucks? The tens of millions of users. Go back to MySpace with the emos.

Maybe people should have to pass a reading test before reading this blog, b/c it’s pretty frustrating attracting nit-wits who can’t be bothered to know exactly what they’re reading before commenting. If anything, the audience this post has attracted does nothing but prove my point….

The funniest part is going to be when it folds up and the founders WISH they had taken the REAL cash buyout offers of the PAST!

I have to agree with a lot of your points. Some social websites (and the adult ones as well) require you to register to even check them out. You register and get on, and then realize that the “6 million members” are all just people like you who registered to check it out and then left. Their profile reads “Last visit: more than 90 days”.

I thought the “dot com” bubble burst a long time ago and we learned our lessons from that:

1. Profitibility is not a “thing of the past” and there is no “new paradigm”. The fundamental worth of Facebook, Google, or General Motors is the sum of its assets and its projected profitibility over the next X years. Period.

2. There are few, if any, barriers to entry in the online world. If all you have is a website, well, the other fellow can set up a competing website in a heartbeat and take all of your business.

3. Pioneers rarely last: In any business the guy who is first to market is often the one first to the dustbin. Competitors learn from the pioneer’s mistakes and then take a commanding lead. This is why GM became twice as large as Ford.

4. Hype is not a commodity. I can’t tell you how many “dot com” companies asked me to represent them in the 1990’s. The young entreprenurs were all excited and bouyant and talked long about “Sea Change” and the “New Paridigm of the Internet”. Damned if I could figure out their business model. And they wanted to pay me in stock options. No thanks. They also rubbed their noses a lot and exused themselves to the restroom a lot during meetings. Eventually, you have to come down. Most of these guys morphed into Real Estate investors in the 2000’s. Guess how that worked out?

5. Fads come and go. See #2 above. These services (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) become popular because of brand identity and marketing. However, if another brand comes along that is hipper and cooler than yours, you can find yourself bankrupt in a heartbeat.

6. There is no NEED for these services. You really don’t NEED Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn to survive or even thrive in business. I have a lame, old website with a message on it that reads “I have too many customers already! Please go away!” I have more work than I know what to do with. People who have to “market” themselves online I view with suspicion and distrust. If you are good, folks will find you. It’s that simple.

Or it can be that simple, if you want it to be.

FWIW.

I agree. Nowadays prospective employers will look at your profile before calling you for an iterview.

Facebook is so slow, its like trying to surf the net with a 2400bps Modem. Like someone commented, what u want to do with a lot of students online? Most are teenage of mentality, that’s in an annoying state of mind.. I am waiting for a proper network done by some reputable company that knows what the market needs!

Johan, I totally agree with you about facebook. It really is like going to a high school party looking for mature conversation. I think you should take a look at a network called RedCarpetSuperstar.com. I love the fact that I can raise money for my favorite charity. It’s worth a look-check it out.

I totally agree with everything listed in this top ten. Facebook is just lame. I actually got an account to see what all the hype, and quite frankly, its super lame. I find it stupid that they want your real name and birthdate. SORRY but maybe I dont want the whole world knowing my first and last name and birthdate. If I choose to hide it in my profile that should be my option. I am aware that you don’t have to be completely honest, but still I dont think that it is necessary to have that crap displayed on your profile.

I spent about 20 minutes on it, and all I see is that it is just another social network that is trying to beat out stuff like myspace. Well I think Myspace is far more effective for social networking. As a matter of fact, most bands and musicians, opt for making a myspace account to showcase thier music.

What it all boils down to is that facebook is lame and a waste of time.

Facebook is a fad. Facebook sucks. If you think facebook is exciting and fresh and new, me wiggling my pinky should also excite you.

“We have a WALL where my idiot friends can write on.” WoW. Last time I checked only 2 year olds squiggle on walls.

This little cyberthug, Zuckerman is fleecing the users and should rot in hell for irresponible behavior. What an asshole.

facebook violates privacy in ways we didnt think possible. one of the greatest values we have on earth is our privacy so dont give it up to some company run by or headed by the CIA.

I just watched the 60 minutes episode that profiled Facebook and its founder. What the hell was Billy Gates thinking when he invested nearly .25 Billion into this ‘business model’? I agree w/ Randy Wade and Bob’s take on this.

He (Zuckerberg) is crazy not to have taken the 1 Billion (yep that’s a ‘B’, not an ‘M’) dollars and retired at 21 years old (see Shawn Fanning of Napster fame). In business, it seems word of mouth still trumps advertising or ‘fake testimonials on Social Networking sites’. Seriously, who the hell knows if you (or your friends) are ‘planting’ glowing reviews of your service or product?

Furthermore, did Gates or anyone not learn anything from the dot com bust of the late 90’s? And the money that Google offered Zuckerman… where did that come from? Zealous investors of Google who have invested in… the most expensive Internet Search Engine ever (ok - so it’s a little more than a search engine… but at $700 a share of common stock - you’d think they were selling tickets to the fountain of youth)! OH THE INSANITY… oh well…

I guess I’ll avoid all of the Social Networking sites and actually go outside, take a walk around the neighborhood (remember those, kids?), and talk to some of my neighbors, FACE TO FACE (no FACE ‘BOOKS’ involved)! Great article, Jenn!

Woops - I wish I could edit my previous post… I meant Yahoo, not Google… but I hope my main point was nontheless, conveyed: investing in dot com pipe dreams such as Facebook is a quick way to bankruptcy, IMHO.

I agree 100, no 110% with this article. Facebook is unnecessary and stupid. If you’re trying to reach new customers, that is. If I need to contact someone I ALREADY KNOW, I’ll use the damn phone.

I’ve heard somewhere that they might have some kind of “micro-ad” thing running soon. THAT might be of some value to a smaller business, but that’s only if you’re trying to reach college kids.

Blah. Facebook is a cheap knockoff of MySpace, and THEY suck too. “Social networking” as a whole is pretty much for getting laid, not getting paid!

The other side of the coin: which social networking site do you recommend for PR purposes?

Alexander,

If anyone told you there was a one-size-fits-all answer, they’d be an idiot. If you want to use social networks for PR purposes, the key (like in anything else) is the audience.

Where does your very specific audience hang out? Are they the type of audience that’s going to have an issue with you invading their “personal” space in a social networking environment with business crap? Are there other ways to spend your time that would reach a larger segment of your audience (keeping in mind that most people still don’t use social networks overall, and a lot of those “member numbers” you see thrown around aren’t actually listing “active” accounts - many are set up for nothing but promotional purposes, and those people don’t give a rat’s ass about anyone else’s message). If there’s a niche social network that many members of your audience participate in, it may be worthwhile. General networks rarely reach more than a small segment of your audience, and to most there what you say is nothing but noise. That’s not to say there aren’t exceptions. For example, if you’re trying to interact with independent musicians, you still can’t beat Myspace. If you’re targeting college kids, Facebook may still be an option.

So there is no right answer to your question. You have to go where most of your audience is, whether that’s a social network or not (and in most cases, it’s not).

I really like your point about invading their space.

It is the same as local networking events. They suck when all people want to do is peddle their services. They are great when you get to meet real people with interests beyond business.

So I guess social networking sites only work with a long-term focus of building valuable relationships, rather than short term PR stunts.

While I’m no Facebook loyalist, I think the point you (and many of the other commentators here) risk missing is that human beings crave connection. Person-to-person is best, but in an increasingly global/mobile world it’s simply not practical. Facebook (and MySpace and Twitter and all the others) fills a deeply human need. Even if social networking is indeed a fad (and I’d argue it’s not), the need will persist - and will simply be filled by some other entity when and if Facebook fades away.

Individuals and organizations that fail to understand that we’re moving from a centralized to a distributed model of communication risk missing the boat altogether. Facebook is simply the current “face” of this much larger cultural evolution - which will continue to impact both people and profits for many years to come.

——-
Leyla Farah
Cause+Effect
Public Relations with a Purpose

www.cause-pr.com
www.causepr.blogspot.com

I don’t really think I’m missing anything. I never said there was a problem with using Facebook for “social” purposes (what it was designed for). My issue is with businesses coming in from a PR, marketing, or other perspective, manipulating the tool to reach (in many cases) just a small fraction of their total target audience because it’s shiny and new. If you want to use it to chit chat with your buddies or even colleagues, that’s one thing. If you’re using it for larger PR purposes without heavily targeting your audience (which essentially amounts to spamming people who didn’t sign up to hear about you or your company), you’ll flop in the long run, and would deserve to.

Well, I have to agree with you in every way. I have many friends who beg me to join Facebook, but I see that it is just a stupid fad. The only point of it is to stay in contact with friends and, frankly, that is what phones, cars, bikes, skateboards, roller skates and, um, LEGS were made for.

If you are spending more time on Facebook than actually being with your friends, I’m sorry, but you need to get a life.

I registered 2 years ago with a Fake name , all my friends were bitchin about it , so i told em do you really think i’m that stupid to post my real name on a site with my birthday/status etc? u kidding me. now i ignore it . Is there a way i can delete “myself” from the Book? or do i have to start swearing at zuckerberg? thanks

It absolutely astounds me that people put the sort of things they do on facebook. Sure its just your “Friends”. But it’s also a corporation that aggregates your information and sells it to 3rd parties.

[…] Professionals think it's a fad, so it must be […]

The site sucks as a social networking site, I use Face Book to play scrabble….if Scrabble goes, then Face book is useless to me…I am not into marketing or targeting any particular audience…recently the ads have become extremely annoying and in some cases intolerable..I predict this site goes in the same direction other commercially based networks go…

Firstly, i have to agree with this that facebook sucks bigtime……i dont see any reason whatsoever of joining it…..it is no where as interactive as orkut and those applications, which are just a kids fantasy types, really suck even more. i hate it, and plz dont join it if u r looking for an orkutish experience….

Agreed! Facebook, for any purpose, is a waste of my time and annoying to boot with all those mindless invitations to this and that crappy thing. I deleted my account due to sheer numbers of those idiot invitations.

Finally someone who hasnt jumped on the face book bandwagon! Thank you for makeing it so clear to your readers why facebook sucks. Sending fake presents, I really dont get it and the horrible thing is you have to pay $$ for theses “virtual gifts,” you have to pay real money for a fake gift? I think its insane… I hope your posting helps others realize that this “trend” won’t be around forever!

[…] Jennifer Mattern - Top Ten Reasons Facebook Sucks […]

It’s not cool to ruin a social community for financial gain. I don’t care about advertisements ever. They’re an impediment to social advancement.

Just joined facebook to get involved with a group, my friend told me it would be easier to organize. I was really against putting all my info out there so my profile is pretty basic. The group networks is what I’m more interested in. So far I haven’t met any new friends on Facebook but I do find it easier to find groups of people easier with the same interests as you.

Valid points but you miss the main point for facebook.. it is essentially a tool to get laid… end of story.

I think you missed the main point of this post - the fact that it’s targeting professionals (most specifically about the PR use of Facebook).

your such a fat lil bitch

your gonna choke on a twinkie

Awwww. Well I love you too David.

Always nice to see the Facebook fans coming out to “prove me wrong” on the immaturity of Facebook front, isn’t it? I can handle the potty mouth in some of these comments… but I do think I’ll have to insist on being able to spell for future comments - if this post has taught me anything it’s that I should probably institute an official comment policy. Well, that and the fact that people are pretty damned amusing when they have nothing intelligent to say to back up their views. Lovely.

[…] not the first person to notice this deterioration, granted. Jennifer Mattern got there before me. And so did on-again/off-again Facebook devotee, […]

I never used Facebook and always considered it as trash network. I really enjoyed reading this rant

I completely agree. I am a “recent” college graduate in the field of Computer Science (2004), so I thought I would chip in my two cents, from a developer wanna-be-garage-entrepeneur perspective.

As a college student and young human being with raging hormones, I was often too busy studying to socialize; Most of the time I was in front of a computer hacking out epic volumes of code. In the limited free time I had left over, I would actually interact with my friends face-to-face… a riveting three dimensional experience with surround sound. So I was kinda late in getting into the “social networking” scene, as I didn’t bother to get involved until recently… that is, until after I graduated.

Now as a college graduate and an aspiring future tycoon of the internet (modestly speaking), I was actually excited about “social networking”. My like-minded colleagues were constantly raving about all sorts of ideas and possibilities for taking interactivity “to the next level” and guys like Mark Zuckerberg were featured articles in financial and geeky magazines as if social networking was brand new oil field just waiting to be tapped. The fact that Facebook (and maybe others) provided developer-friendly frameworks to encourage people like us to build these kinds of applications on top of THEIR network was like icing on the cake.

By the way, to satisfy your FAD angle hunger from our perspective, take a peek at Mark Zuckerberg making his rockstar-like entrance to his keynote address to “800 developers at the San Francisco Design Center about Facebook Platform, why we built it, and the applications it enables people to build.” Go here:

http://developers.facebook.com/videos.php

and watch as Zuckerberg subliminally brainwashes 800 (semi-)intelligent developers into salivating over this “movement” in the industry. Zuckerberg thinks so much of Facebook that its like he has his head so far up his ass that it comes back out where it started. He creates a false sense of clout by treading on a fine line between speaking condescendingly and kissing our ass with statements like “We don’t want any of your new applications to be second class citizens in our environment.” and “We’re gonna LET you make money … you get to KEEP ALL of your revenue … that’s YOUR revenue … so you can build a REAL business …” which is followed by a large applause. I was waiting for him to start talking to us like dogs… “that’s YOUR kibbles… that’s right… you like that, don’t you, don’t you… that’s a good DOG… you’re a GOOD dog… yes, you are… yes, you are…”

So yeah, back to shortly after graduation when I decided to start focusing my interests on this little thing called “social networking” I heard about and sign up for a Facebook account.

Man, what a big disappointment. The mother of all disappointments. I signed up for an account, confirmed my email address and it was all downhill from there. I was willing to cut Facebook some slack early on because I have seen some terrible products evolve into great ones in the past. But their general policy of opt-out rather than opt-in sucks! It doesn’t take a genius to realize that social networking without a sound privacy policy is a nightmare. I am shocked that they have been able to get away with operating that way. The more I explored Facebook, the less I trusted the website and felt more stupid about how all the hype sucked me in like a sheep in the first place.

And somehow, in all the hype (both in the social world as well as the technical world), I realized an essential thing was missing from the whole concept of Facebook. Is there a particular benefit that can only be found specifically in “social networking” that didn’t already exist before this phrase was coined?

Its really nothing more than a forum. You can search for people based on education or employment and add them to a list called “Friends”. Like trophies dedicated to how awesome your social life is. “Look, I have 193 people associated with me. I’m awesome! You only have one and its your cousin. What a loser. LOL”

Facebook is a glorified bulletin board for people with too much time on their hands peddled by Mark Zuckerberg and his money grubbing developers as a “movement”.

[…] them worth the time and blog space for a rant to begin with. Twitter sucks (about as much as Facebook sucks). I’m only sharing my thoughts because of the “special request.” Let’s get […]

[…] a comment was left on my post, Top Ten Reasons Facebook Sucks, that I thought was intelligent enough as well as amusing enough to highlight in its own post (you […]