Is Facebook Past Its Prime?
Is Facebook on its last legs? Is it going to pull a MySpace on us? Will Facebook be the Internet's hip site du jour one day, then suddenly lose the love and affection of most of its followers the next? We hope not. But various irritations associated with the site could contribute to its eventual demise.
Tue, July 07, 2009
PC World — Is Facebook on its last legs? Is it going to pull a MySpace on us? Will Facebook be the Internet's hip site du jour one day, then suddenly lose the love and affection of most of its followers the next? We hope not. But various irritations associated with the site could contribute to its eventual demise.
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Already, in the first quarter of this year, the "bounce rate"--the percentage of visits to Facebook.com that consist of a single page view and then a quick exit--has grown by 19 percent, according to Internet traffic research firm Alexa. Though that statistic hardly qualifies as conclusive proof of Facebook's imminent demise, it does raise the possibility that a large number of Facebookers are surfing over to the site, finding little there of interest, and promptly leaving.
Here are some reasons Facebook might be losing its grip on people's online networking lives.
1. Facebook Veterans Are Defecting to Twitter
People who delight in constant updates are the lifeblood of Facebook--but many of them are flocking to Twitter. When it comes to intense scrutiny of everyday trivialities, Twitter thoroughly out-Facebooks Facebook, where two or three status updates a day is the maximum before you start looking like a loser.
And even though you can update Facebook from your phone, Twitter feels more mobile. It gives the impression that you're out and about, simultaneously doing something important and tweeting about it, whereas updating your Facebook page implies that you're sitting by yourself at a computer with nothing better to do.
2. People Who Actually Have Lives Don't Use Facebook
If you're starring in a major motion picture or negotiating a trade agreement with Austria or training for next month's triathlon or competing for a spot on the Space Shuttle, chances are you're not spending much time on Facebook. And if you are doing any of these things and happen to have a Facebook page, you probably aren't maintaining it very diligently.
There's a growing sense among Facebook users that the amount of time a person spends on Facebook may be inversey proportionate to how much is going on in the person's (offline) life. Perhaps unfairly, you may get the impression that only bored and boring people have time to tell their friends that they love the new pita bread at Trader Joe's.
3. In the Real World, People Often Have Good Reasons for Losing Touch With Old Friends
