My Thoughts On The Usefulness (Or Not) Of Facebook

I've been using Facebook for, oh, about a month now. I've got, at this moment, something like just under 40 friends listed, with perhaps another 10 or so requests outstanding that I haven't heard back about.

While Facebook is a cut above what I've seen other social networking systems do... it's hardly the world-changer I expected. It's been useful to reconnect with some folks, and it's nice for one thing, that once you establish friends, you have a reliable way to reach them. But... I've gotafewgripes.

1) There's no way to give a capsule description of yourself, which is really useful for those that are trying to search for the "right" you. You can only see affiliations, hometown, etc. - CANNED queries and answers that may or may not be germane.

2) Once you've sent a Add A Friend Request, you can't see the status of it - who you've sent one to, or whether they've declined it or ignored it. The only result you see is if they add you as a Friend.

3) You can't create your own networks, and the ones that exist are, at times, pretty lame.

4) You should be able to narrow a search down in relation to your friends - do a search, and the first results should those names that have something, say, within three degrees of your current Friends. I can't see that kind of functionality at all.

5) You don't seem to be able to discriminate in "degrees" of friendship - close personal friends, personal acquaintances, work colleagues, etc. and the corresponding degree of information that you share.

There's a long way to go in the evolution of social networks, and there's still ample room for improvement, so keep innovating out there. I saw mention of Ning, and the ability to create your own social network makes a hell of a lot of sense - your bowling team, your PTA, your extended family, etc.

By Steve Stroh

This article is Copyright © 2007 by Steve Stroh. Excerpts and links are expressly permitted (and encouraged).