Some Facebook.com users awoke this morning asking themselves, ’has Facebook gone too far’? Facebook had earlier installed a new application tool, called Feed, interpreted by many users as the perfect ’stalker tool.’ HMG chooses not to comment on this new application other than to say we agree with Mark that it is a very cool new piece of technology - let the users decide its fate.
However, HMG is more interested in the root cause of these new changes. New technologies are always great to implement, but in our opinion there may be an additional reason for this radical Facebook change“ identity theft. Actually what we mean to say is that Facebook may currently be undergoing an ’identity crisis.’
Explanation: In the opinion of HMG, the trouble with Facebook.com is that it is torn between doing what it does best“ appealing to college students who want to connect with each other - and becoming the new MySpace.com. In our opinion, Facebook’s latest innovations (newest features such as Feed) are an attempt to appeal to users in part to extend the use of Facebook services past graduation. Feed’s purpose may not be so much of a great new product as it is a differentiator from MySpace.
It would be interesting to know the extent to which Facebook usage trails off following graduation. Surely there is a block of time (the years between undergraduate education, graduate school and the first 3-4 years of real world work) where Facebook is still in demand. However, following this time period usage likely declines, perhaps replaced by use of other services such as MySpace.com or Friendster.com.
Thus we must ask ourselves: will Facebook remain true to its origins, or does it seek world domination?
