Okay, it's official...... I've quit Facebook! The whole concept of QuitFacebookDay got me thinking about FB, not just the point of Privacy issues but also as a complete social networking site. And here's what I concluded: Facebook Sucks!People who know me well have heard me talk for hours at a stretch on how I hate FB, and prefer other social networking sites (Infact, I'm arguably the last surviving member of my species who still uses Orkut!). But just to get the points through: Here's a list of reasons why I'm leaving FB:
I'm leaving FB Because Of:
- Privacy Issues: Yes, it does concern me that Suckerberg thinks he can make all the data I trust his site with public. And no, I don't buy into the "If you don't want it broadcasted, don't put it online" philosophy. That is kinda like saying "Your car may catch fire. Walk to the store instead". No, I won't walk.... I'll build a better car instead! And that's what the web is all about. We're moving towards a world where everything is going to take place online (and already is to a large extent). And data safety is of prime importance, especially since it now can be given a monetary value.
- The Business End: Something I realised a few days ago. Who do you think the consumer of Facebook is? You? Me? That Sudanese kid you just accepted as your friend? No mate, sorry if this shocks you, but we're just cogs in the system.... just a resource! Facebook's real consumers are the advertisers, who pay FB to showcase their ads. And while selling my and your info to them may seem fine to some ("after all, it's just targetted advertising"
, or so they say), to me it's a breach of trust! Oh, and did I mention that Zucky thinks we're all Dumb F***s? - Ethicality: I read a great book called The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich a few months ago. The book tracks the story of the creation of Facebook, which is more scandalous than most hindi TV soaps! Suckerberg broke every rule in the book in his aim to create TheFacebook , right from stealing code, lying, breaching trust, to even stealing data. As a ambitious webtech guy myself, I frankly don't think it's ethically right for me to remain on a site built on a foundation of lies!
- This:
- formattingformattingfBTW this goes on for 3 more screen lengths!
- The Fotugraphers: I have tonnes of friends who're awesome photographers, and use sites like FB and Flickr to showcase their art. However, there has slowly emerged this new group of morons on FB, who seem to think that every pic they click is a gem. I hate seeing my timeline flooded with 22 pics of a cat's tail followed by 15 pics of a guy sitting on a chair (mind you, NOT even posing!). And that really gets on my nerves! I've been on Flickr for over a year, and have seen what photography can be! Infact some of my friends on FB, like Prasad Pankar, Sharafat Khan, and Suyash Kamat have some mindbogglingly brilliant pics in their albums! It's sad to see some people degrade the art of photography to such a low level! Thank you, but I don't want to see that unfocussed pic of a toothbrush in my timeline! Grr! Oh, yeah, and special mention needs to be made of the morons who upload a pic, and then send out "Comment on my pics" messages to everyone on FB!
- The Photo-Taggers: Another category of FB users are the
Photo-taggers. These are basically 4Chan trolls who seem to have moved onto Facebook. Every pic of theirs is tagged with a 100 names. Over the last month or so, I've been "tagged" as a tree, a road, a shoe, a bird, a cricket ball, and a monkey (can't really say anything about the last one! :) ). And it pisses me off having to untag myself each time this happens! Why not just disable tagging you ask? Well, because, along with these pics I've been tagged on some truly awesome pics as well. Pics from my school days, my farewell, even pics from my Kindergarten days!! - The Over-mature Kids: Kids in my age were just that, Kids! Yeah, I know I'm sounding old now, but frankly I can already see the generation gap! Kids on FB have gotten a whole lot more, how do I say this, Phil-hollow-sophical. They aim to show they're philosophical, but are actually as hollow as my skull! I hate stupid kids who invite me to "groups" discussing sensitive issues without even understanding the issue and making jackasses out of themselves there. Sorry mate, this ain't the Miss Universe Pageant. You want world peace? Get off your ass and do something other than creating a "Peace for Everyone" group on FB!
- The FraandSheepers: These are the asses who've brought down many Soc Net sites down with their moronic activities, and they've now come onto FB! Just before closing down my account, I was ignoring all these requests (Twitterers probably know that I've been having a Fraandsheep count since May 1), and took this screenshot after ignoring 7 requests:
I've (arguably) not added anyone myself since the first few days of FB! Just been accepting requests depending on whether I know the person or not! :) - Mafia Wars /Farmville/Zynga: enuf said!
- Social "NotWorking": Well, this whole premise that FB is built on is the concept of
Social Networking. And with a friend's suggestion in mind, I decided to investigate this. I took a short trip down memory lane right upto my first FB update and here's what dawned upon me: I have barely networked at all. Most of my FB usage has been Playing stupid games/ answering lameass quizzes/ linking FB with Flickr/Random rants. Come to think of it, I've networked more on IRC than on FB (which is kinda shocking, considering my stats show ~300 friends on FB). The people with whom I've spoken most on FB are the people who I meet everyday, and the people I want to meet on FB, are almost never online! So frankly the whole concept of SocNetting takes a beating there! - The Family Conundrum: It's official, my whole family is now on FB. And I'm talking about my extended family here. Right from my parents to my uncles and aunties to my cousins, everyone is on FB. And that brings in a new problem. I generally rant about issues that I'm thinking about and tend to use quite a bit of foul language. Now I definitely don't want my 70 yr old uncle to read my "update" telling my OOPD teacher to Sod off. And I definitely don't want my 7 year old cousin to see the results of the "Which Angelina Jolie tit are you" quiz I'd taken a few hours ago (left, incase you're wondering! :P ). It's not that I don't like these people... it's just that it isn't right for them to know everything I do online! And changing privacy settings isn't really worth it because who knows when Suckerberg decides to change rules again?
So to all the morons who don't get the idea of social networking, right from Suckerberg and his minions to most of my "friends", here is a humble gesture of my love:
And to the 2% of my friends who I actually networked with on FB:
And am I going gaga over other soc net sites (read: Diaspora)? 
Naah, not yet atleast. Because there's one thing I don't understand: Why the hell are people posting alternative solutions to Facebook, when the only solution is to quit living your life in a computer and stop being so self absorbed. Sorry, I hate to break this to you, but you are not THAT important. If you belong to a social networking site and you can't seem to stay away from it, then you're addicted and you have a problem. You're in denial and guess what? It's time for therapy to get you back on your feet again and turn you back into a whole, complete person.I'll leave you with this amazing comic by The Oatmeal: How To Suck At Facebook (trust me, I had dozens of each type!)
So long FB, thou shalt not be missed!
8 comments :
lovely post!!! too gud. now if somebody gives me these reasons, i think they r genuinely leaving it for a cause. i stil don't agree wit d 1st para on privacy.(debate later).but rest of the reasons r genuine.Facebook is frivolous at the end of the day. but i'll stick wit it for some tym. u enjoy ur freedom.
PS. my brother's gonna b really hppy to read his name
Which Angie J tit are you? Roffles!
What on earth is QuitFBDay?
@Deepak Check out http://quitfacebookday.com ! :)
nice post. I jumped on the QFD bandwagon after hearing that Jason Calacanis, who's my hero, announced he was doing the same! YOu might want to read his article on the issue.It's a little technical, but a nice read: http://calacanis.com/2010/05/21/im-deleting-my-facebook-page-today/
I'd told you right at the start that FB is not a site for people like you and me, who actually believe in the concept of networking on a social networking site! Gr8 to see tht yu've finally realised this and quit!
Wow, the vituperation is very evident. However, barring the privacy issues, FB has a lot to offer. Just think of a whole bunch of people on a single platform who can share much knowledge with you.
I often thin slice and pick my material on FB. Like most networking sites, including blogs etc... the weeds are conspicuous. You will just have to learn to pick what you want and leave the rest.
I often find tonnes of articles and materials on FB that have helped me quite a lot. Chuck the pictures. Chuck the ridiculous games. Chuck the puerile quizzes.
If you can see beyond the muck, there lies tremendous potential.
After all, if you do happen to meet an interesting person, pat comes the question, "Are you on FB"? You don't want to sound like a socially recluse person when that happens ;)
U said u networked on IRC. IRC is nice i feel. y dont u join IRC again? wat kinda networks on IRC did u go to?
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