Hacker News Reader

Comment by aaroniba | Hacker News Reader

Facebook is a utility, not just a frivolous form of entertainment. Users depend on the service to manage contacts, share photos, and meet new people. A lot of important information flows through the facebook social graph.

The posts here remind me of the guy who loves to brag about how he doesn't have a TV in his house. To each his own, but television has had a huge impact on business and culture world-wide.

So even if you don't personally want to be a Facebook user, you might think about how it is transforming the way a whole generation of people interact socially, recognize the business and cultural impact, and conclude that you should care about it anyway.

View on HN

That's a good point. There is a big distinction lost on a lot of people between "importance because I like it" and "importance because others like it". The DJ who plays the Electric Slide at your wedding because he like it is the typical example of a guy who can't see outside his own opinions of the world.

I'm not sure how I feel about facebook either (from a technical standpoint, I feel the same way every developer I know feels: "[homer voice] doh! I could have done that in a weekend!"). But given the way its become the sharing medium for a whole generation of college students, it deserves a lot of respect and attention no matter how you feel.

I don't get it either. For people you already know, there are plenty of existing channels to communicate. As for meeting new people, come on, is there anyone who really made any meaningful relationship through facebook or something similar?

For me personally, it's less about meeting random people through Facebook and more about getting to know people I randomly meet in real life.

For instance, if I meet someone (hopefully a cute girl) at a party, then using Facebook I can strengthen that relationship via inviting her to parties, writing on her wall, and so on. So I use Facebook to enhance existing relationships, not to develop new ones.

Also, I will never friend someone I haven't meet in real life. That's what Myspace is for.

If you search through enough junkyards you might find enough parts to build a nice car, but it'll be unpleasant and you'll get really dirty and smelly. Stupid and probably irritated is how I feel after watching CNN, which is exactly what they were going for. They're trolls (http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/troller.htm) slowly cashing out a huge pile of respect that took them years to learn.

Most of my friends hardly watch any TV. They're too busy living life. I'm not sure that's the best analogy.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com