Poll: Are you on Facebook?
Today it is often assumed that everbody is on Facebook. However, there still are some who are not. Even HN users?
I don't see why, its a wonderful site.
Some notes on my usage, though:
All of my privacy options are on the lowest possible setting. I treat anything that occurs on the site as if it were public. I don't see why not, I'm not going to pretend that photos of myself or my wall postings are anywhere near interesting enough to hide. In fact I'm not sure why people who put things on facebook want privacy at all. I never worry that something I say might be picked up on by the wrong person because I'd never say anything that I wouldn't want the world to hear.
To a shy person, the usefulness of the site is just astronomical.
Among others I am friends with my boss, my mother, my little cousins. Facebook lets shy people like me keep in touch with a massive amount of people where I can write them the modern equivalent of letters very quickly and easily, as well as let them broadcast their life's updates to me. I can keep in touch with all manner of people.
Without facebook, I'd have no idea cousin X is having a baby, or that Y is having apartment trouble that I can help them with, or that Z got a new game we can play together. And so on.
If I meet someone at an event and really hit it off (romantically or not), I can go on facebook the next day and look them up by name and add them. No exchanging phone numbers or emails or anything like that. I just search for them and find them. In college it was enormously useful for making friends and I still find it useful now that I've graduated.
I made a page for my hometown. I broadcast events going on around the city (fireworks, beer festival, city meetings). In this way I help my community learn about the goings-on of the town.
I could go on, but this is probably enough to give those who don't use it an idea of why I enjoy it so much.
I think, however, that those who do not use it are well aware of the potential advantages of Facebook. The point is that to them, the well-known disadvantages, which you didn't mention, decisively outweigh the advantages.
One thing you have to realize, is that everything in the public is on the internet forever, all it takes is one mistake or slip of judgment to ruin something for you. People have lost jobs, or been rejected because of their lack of though into what is shared. Also do you really want people to judge you by the snippets of thoughts from Facebook. Its not only personal relationships but professional ones that are judging you. This is why I'm more private on Facebook rather than being shy.
While there might be more reasons about the mirrored case, i.e. you are registered but want to leave but have not already, I wonder what these are. It isn't really complicated to do. Maybe it is just more like 'I would leave if there would be a better alternative but otherwise I'll stay`? Or just 'I'm not sure yet'?
'Yes and I want to stay' of course does not mean that you don't know a single reason to leave. It means exactly what you are saying: That the pro-arguments outweigh the counter-arguments.
Think of it as lock-in.
They'll be sure to tell you.
Now have a band (read: marketing) profile.