We're Finished (Almost) Facebook!

We’re Finished (Almost) Facebook!

You know that awkward feeling when you’re dating someone, and the romance starts to fade? You suddenly become less available to go out (“Yeah, I’m having dinner with my parents that night…and the next night I’m washing my hair”) and you make sure to check your call-display before answering the phone.

I feel that way about Facebook these days.

At first, the romance was hot and heavy. I wanted Facebook and bad, and was keen to get as many friends as possible. I was obsessed with checking Facebook every hour, and enthusiastically pursued new applications. It was a lusty, unhealthy affair that made me crazy but you know how lust consumes you.

A few months later and I’m now doing my best to avoid Facebook. Maybe I’ll check in once a day but I’m ignoring a vast majority of the requests to try the latest applications (Can everyone stop trying to get me try the movie test, please?) and have un-joined many of the groups that once fascinated me.

Truth be told, I’ve found someone else – younger, sexier, more streamlined: Twitter. Yet, I’m not as enraptured with Twitter as I once was with Facebook, which is a good sign.

It was nice while it lasted Facebook but it’s time we both moved on. Come now, no tears, okay?!

Links: Jean Burgess is also moving on from Facebook, and lists five reasons for the end of the relationship, while the New York Times has a story on how difficult it can be to really leave Facebook (they keep you’re information even if you delete your account).

Update: According to the Wall St. Journal, Bill Gates has walked away from Facebook – not a great sign given Microsoft spend $240-million to get a 1.6% stake in Facebook. Apparently, Gates quit Facebook because he was getting 8,000 friend requests a day, and started to see “weird fans sites about him”.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Twitter

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Geoff

I’ve had the exact experience that you describe. Down to once a week on Facebook. Resisted the Twitter fad for a long time, but finally gave up to see what all the hype was about. If someone were to ask me to explain the attraction of Twitter, I’d have a really hard time putting words to it. It’s far more engaging than Facebook, though I’ve only been using it for about a week.

Mark – what’s your twitter ID?
http://www.ragobeer.com Chris Ragobeer

I really only use Facebook for business networking these days. Never tried twitter. My aim is to have my social network on my blog.
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http://www.alibytes.com/ Ali

I wonder if it comes down to being visual versus verbal. I use Facebook for keeping track of what’s going on in my friends’ lives mostly by looking at their pictures. Twitter seems better for the blogger community because they’re perhaps naturally more inclined to express themselves in words.
http://pacificIT.ca Robert Sanzalone

Understand what you mean Mark but there is a “game” with Fb. It’s called app blocking. I very rarely get those invitations which have really turned you off from Fb.. because they CAN’T get through to me. I’m still picky about connection requests and am pleased Fb is one of the only places where people question if you connect with them… other places like Plaxo and even LinkedIn are often simple name harvesting with no value in the connection.

While Twitter has it’s purpose (I’m a big FAN), it’s not really an either or thing. It’s an as well. It’s like saying “I don’t use e-mail anymore because I now blog and it has comments”. Ya, ah, ok.

I’m still going to continue seeing Fb because there’s still value in the relationship. But don’t you worry. We’re just friends.
http://sparkplug9.com John Koetsier

While I was never infatuated with Facebook, I have gotten extremely annoyed lately at the never-ending flood of requests, updates, and trivial trivia.

The result? I’ve put Facebook on automatic pilot:
http://sparkplug9.com/2008/02/09/hate-facebook-hate-facebook-hate-facebook/
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We’re Finished (Almost) Facebook!