Facebook is Getting Old
dailydot.com
dailydot.com
http://www.dailydot.com/authors/kevin-morris/
And the problem with that graph/article is that it fails to consider the size of the user bases. Facebook is so huge that its demographic breakdown mirrors that of the real world. Whilst all the other sites have a fraction of the user base so obviously their graph will skew more towards the type of site they have.
Maybe there should be a graph of how many 0-20 year olds there are on Facebook versus the other sites.
There were many things I've said to people through Facebook that I actually wouldn't like to have data-mined (no matter who's doing it, Facebook, AdAgencyX, or the NSA).
While my Google searches, email, and other "free" services are still used in a similar capacity - I'm also working to switch off of those.
Leaving Facebook has been the best thing I've done so far. I feel lighter and less heavy with the urge to check it ALL the time.
Consider Disney.com. Nothing new or hip about it. I'd bet >80% of the users are under 30.
I think this is a fairly incorrect assumption, and it feels like it's being used to justify an opinion about Facebook here by undermining how "cool" and "hip" it is.
Just come out and say what you want to say. Facebook sucks, and there's definitely nothing new about it anymore. I'll do you a favor and not try to trick you into agreeing with my opinion by making misleading correlations between it and objective data. If you disagree with me, awesome, you've found something of value in Facebook. That's great for you. I hate it. We're different! :)
The reason it really doesn't hold at all, in general, is because many websites (and particularly their contents, not necessarily the sites themselves) cater to different interests, and it's really not a surprise that people in different age groups have different interests. It's also certainly not surprising that Reddit caters to the interests of younger people more than Facebook does.
So if one wanted to create something to rival facebook, create a place that suits the needs of the younger generation better than facebook does, the rest will eventually follow.
Even reddit seems to have a healthy following amongst "older" people.
Four year old children aren't signing up for Facebook accounts - they are, however, watching Disney on TV. Because the core Disney brand (versus the Disney conglomerate) is so heavily focused around childhood it engenders goodwill across most ages. People in their twenties and thirties respond to Disney because it reminds them of their own childhoods.
But Facebook doesn't have this luxury. Tweens and teenagers are typically brand sensitive, and coolness does matter. Your brand can be old (Nike, Apple, Adidas, etc), but it must have credibility with its target audience.
What I'm trying to say is that Disney doesn't need to be cool, because the brand is indoctrinated at an age where coolness doesn't matter. Facebook, on the other hand, targets brand and culture-aware tweens/teens. It's all about cool.
According to the latest poll, most people are between 21 and 35. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5536734
About Facebook: it's a website where you build your network, especially with family and close friends. Although I don't visit it anymore, I know my friends and family use it solely to follow each other's lives ('What have you been up to?'), while sharing theirs as well. It's not a one-time visit. You follow the evolution of your relations' lives, especially the major events of a lifetime: marriage and children. Facebook is the network where people go to develop and share their real identity (whether it's a good decision or not). The more you use it, the more you feel connected to it (and compelled to make a contribution). That's why most Facebook users who joined it at the age of 25-35 are now in their mid-life, because Facebook is the only online network they're part of.
If you weighted it based on artist popularity you might get a different picture.
Soon email will become like the telephone. These days I don't call anybody unless I need an ambulance.
Facebook's mission isn't to be a "cool hangout" place, it's to make the world more open and connected. If they developed their product in such a way that it was only used by younger folk then they'd be excluding 75% of the population which is not connecting the world.
I'm really sick of these articles.
Of course, that was a long time ago, so this article is obviously far too late. That all changed the day they allowed non-college-students in.
People usually refer to network effects as positive, but eventually it becomes negative. Facebook, Eternal September, etc.
Which one are you? ;0)
FB is also full of maybe 200M+ fake accounts (if we're saying 1.1B total) - I created a few accounts for testing purposes, research, etc. and added well over 100 users per account = 99% fake.
What's strange is how FB is still the premier social network when the life cycle of these things is usually shorter... They have a big user base so that helps, but something is just around the corner. They'll still be around, but teens, kids, etc. will transition. Such as the state of the Internets
Source?
Double or triple that number for reality, plus add a year since that report. Also common sense when you have 10 accounts with 100 users each, all fake :)
Edit: It's closer to 12-18% of all accounts (incl. 5-6% duplicate accounts)
He's worth following, particularly if you're interested in Things Media, and you like his stream-of-consciousness style.