Are social graphs (like Facebook's) doomed to "degenerate into noise"
From an article in the Economist on Facebook's plan to cash in on word-of-mouth advertising:
Yet another problem, says Paul Martino, an entrepreneur who launched Tribe, an early social network, is that the interpersonal connections (called the “social graph”) on such networks are also of low quality. Because few people dare to dump former friends or to reject unwanted friend requests from casual acquaintances, “social graphs degenerate to noise in all cases,” he says. If he is right, social-marketing campaigns will descend into visual clutter about the banal doings of increasingly random people, rather than being the next big thing in advertising.
The noise-to-signal ratio on Facebook has definitely gone up in the months since I've joined. I find that much of my Newsfeed is often taken up by "friends" I barely know who are especially obsessive about sharing videos, articles etc. Will I ever have the courage to dump them? Or will I just stop checking Facebook?
-
1
People like Facebook, but they are sick of being bothered by weirdos and leaches trying to be "friends". Sharing info with me does not mean that I will pay it any attention. The whole web advertising thing is going to hurt many companies who rush into it. But there will always be companies like Google who will know how to gain hefty profits from online ads.
-
2
As an anecdotal experience. About a year ago I created a myspace login to quickly test if I could use them for free file sharing for something I was doing (I couldn't). The login was a random string of a couple of characters. There is absolutely zero content or information on the profile. I haven't logged into it since about an hour after I created it. Yet, I regularly receive Friend Requests for the id. I'd say social networks are a few months from being the future's junk mail. Will we need to setup a 'Do Not Friend/Link/Poke Me' registry?
-
3
I signed up for Myspace when I was working on a column about social networking a few months ago, and got zinged with a bunch of friend requests from people (mostly with names like Bambi) who clearly weren't actual people. Those have stopped. I don't know if it's because Myspace got better at policing them or because my page is so obviously inactive. On Facebook it's all actual people, and I wouldn't really call the stuff on my Newsfeed junk. It's not spam, it's bacn. But there are limits to how much bacn I want to consume.
- TIME The road to World Cup glory | http://su.pr/4BIr6L - 10 hours ago
- TIME Twitter App Showdown: Echofon Pro vs Tweetie 2. There can be only one. (via @techland) | http://su.pr/2NRR4C - 13 hours ago
- TIME The National Zoo's panda is leaving. See pictures here | http://su.pr/1wUNuY - 14 hours ago
Most Popular »
- Tennessee Mayor Accuses Barack Obama Of Hating On Charlie Brown, Peanuts
- Wii Fit Plus Review
- Obama Shifts Date of Copenhagen Visit
- NV Sen Poll: Reid In Trouble
- The PlayStation Turns 15, We Reminisce
- 'Forgotten Man' II: Two-Thirds of Jobless Blue-Collar
- 135 Money-Saving Resources and Tips, Special Holiday Season Edition
- Twitter App Showdown: Echofon Pro vs Tweetie 2
- False Economy: Think You're Saving Money? Think Again
- Loving The Joke
- How Strong Is the Evidence Against Amanda Knox?
- Will Federal Spending Mistrust Mean the End of Obama's Audacity
- Amanda Knox, Convicted of Murder in Italy
- Nicolas Sarkozy: A French Paradox
- India, Pakistan and the Battle for Afghanistan
- Hate Your Job? Here's How to Reshape It
- Amanda Knox Testifies: The Murder Trial That Has Gripped Italy
- Helicopter Parents: The Backlash Against Overparenting
- Astronomers Spot Planet-Like Object GJ 758 B in Orbit
- Foxy Knoxy Case Still Roils Italy
Quotes of the Day »
RSS