Hacker News Reader

Comment by FraaJad | Hacker News Reader

The problem with facebook is it does not produce any value unlike Microsoft and Apple.

Both Apple and Microsoft's product help people create stuff, get things done, entertain themselves. Facebook does a tiny bit of entertaining and socializing, it is no where near MSFT or AAPL in terms of having a tangible impact on people's lives.

View on HN

> Facebook does a tiny bit of entertaining and socializing,

Many people have had countless friendships reconnected and met other new people as a direct result of Facebook being as linked up as it is. Whether "tangible" or not, this is at least as valuable as an iPod to many.

We are social creatures, so products which aid that do have value.

I'll bet facebook has more impact than Apple. Apple makes your iPod, that let's me listen to music. Facebook creates your social life (for a lot of people it does).

I disagree. For me, the only way Facebook helps me socially is as a sort of phone book and with events. Catching up over Facebook seems a useless event compared to conversing IRL. Besides, an inordinate amount of people use it as a game system with a leaderboard. Facebook's value isn't really social at all. It's pseudosocial.

It's the same to me, catching up over FB is crap. But there are a lot of RL social stuff that if FB wasn't there a lot of people would be missing.

You don't personally use it to socialize so you say they don't provide value for the tens of millions who do and apparently get enjoyment from it. ... OK.

Facebook will get you laid.

Having an iPod.... nope.

An iphone might have done it about 2 years ago.

> Facebook will get you laid.

How does Facebook accomplish that? I'd rather count sitting behind your computer as a counterproductive.

Even if that were true, I give money to Apple and I don't give any money to facebook. Apple extracts thousands of dollars directly from my wallet, while facebook just sells my wandering eyeballs.

This thought occured to me the other day as I wondered in the Apple store to just look and walked out with my wallet $1500 lighter. In less than 45 minutes Apple extracted more money from me than Facebook ever did during the five years I used that site. Despite eyeballs, large numbers of users, and other assorted impressive metrics, there's still something to be said for functional (physical) products that solve problems and a solid product line.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com