What do you think will be the downfall of Facebook?

[grcorp]

So, I felt like being a conspiracy theorist today. Fabulous.

Every communication method has seen its downfall.

Postal mail. Fax machines. Bulletin board systems. Pagers. AIM. MSN messenger. Myspace. All things of the past.

It's even gotten to the point that email isn't used anymore by some. I'll never forget a conversation I had with a friend back in 2009, when the topic of sending someone an email came up. Her response was "wait... you mean like an 'email-email?'".

And, while Facebook picked up very quickly, since it, per Mark Zuckerberg's vision, sought to replicate the "entire college social experience" - and succeeded in doing so, I'm seeing a downfall for a few reasons...

- Fewer people are using it as it is "too easy" to socialize that way. I've seen many say things to the effect of "Deactivating facebook. If you really want to talk to me, call me."

- It's an invasion of peoples' privacy in three directions.

1. Other people - one of my friends claimed that a guy walked into her workplace the other day, asking for her by name, and didn't leave his name or anything about him. We're both convinced it's because her workplace is listed on her Facebook profile.

2. Advertisers - they seek to learn more and more about you to better target ads. Which makes many uncomfortable.

3. Government - I'm convinced that the US government has worked out some sort of deal with Facebook to share information on its users. It's too valuable. And the US government has the means to pay them much better money than they're making with ads.

- With increased usage and decreased revenues from ads (due to peoples' blindness to them), costs will run much too high to sustain the site as a business.

- It's a breeding ground for legal problems, ones which could cause devastating problems for the site, and ultimately make it not possible to keep it online.

So, whether it's from a lack of revenue, legal issues, or people simply not adopting it as a concept, what do you think might lead to Facebook's downfall, be it partial, or in the absolute?

I'm just tossing ideas out there, mind you. I'm not hoping for this to happen. I just see a likelihood of it and want to see what you guys think might lead to such a downfall.

 

[DN BROKER]

A Meteorite

View attachment meteor-hitting-earth.jpg

 

[Mark Talbot]

Facebooks inexplicable attitude towards users privacy. They chase the dollar with the users private info as a product,.. they have quite often come real close to crossing the line,...but one day they will really screw up in that regard and the people will revolt against it.

 

[grcorp]

Facebooks inexplicable attitude towards users privacy. They chase the dollar with the users private info as a product,.. they have quite often come real close to crossing the line,...but one day they will really screw up in that regard and the people will revolt against it.

Unfortunately, their urge to comment, like, stalk, and banter will overcome any conscousness they might have to behave in their own best interests (i.e. not share the information).

It's an addiction! Plain and simple.

 

[BostonDomainer]

Becoming too social and trying to be all things to all men.

 

[Biggie]

I'm just tossing ideas out there, mind you. I'm not hoping for this to happen. I just see a likelihood of it and want to see what you guys think might lead to such a downfall.

<begin rant>

never really liked fb personally and after i watched the social network movie for first time a few weeks ago, i would "unlike it more"...if there was a button to click.

i know it's just a movie, but if there is any truth to zuck's character or personality that was portrayed...then it's all about power and money, guided by one who is a poor judge of character.


folks at work spend all day on fb, check'n they 'friends'...while other legitimate sites get blocked by barracuda


then there's the big brother issue, gov'mnt, employers and school admins wanting to know your fb login or asking you to "friend' them so they'll have access to your profile and past.


then you got the g p s a p p s all hooked up to fb, so your pic, your phone, yo friends, fam and cuzo's, all of you can be tracked as you constantly "verify" it's you...by swiping your finger (print) cross that apple product.

sure, if your phone can read qr, it can read fingerprint.




now fb doesn't have to wait for new users to sign-up, to get your pics


they can just buy up co's like instagram and all those pics now are property of fbcorp


so, if you are not a fb'r now, and have pics, profiles out on the web...fb may buy that co, which means they just bought you.


plus, i think people are getting tired of seeing the f on everything, consultants, bloggers, advertisers telling you to get on f and go to f and find on us on f


that will be their downfall... that lack of choice when everyone is at one place

imo...

</end rant>

 

[urlurl]

i agree with you - it drives me crazy when they say follow us on FB

as for the users, there has been a drop off in younger users (the ones that spend the most) because their parents and corporations have taken over. its not cool anymore. as for me, i like my privacy and i haven't given into the temptation of plastering my life on the internet. I would only considering using it for business purposes.

 

[Tia Wood]

I believe the downfall of Facebook will simply be: boredom.

Over-sharing, lack of privacy, lack of real socialization will get boring for most people especially when the next-big-thing comes out.

 

[Theo]

DownfallOfFacebook.com is actually registered. I'm sure it will expire long before Facebook becomes yet another fad.

 

[katherine]

Never been on facebook. What's so special about it actually ?

 

[Gee]

facebook has achieved enormous success , it will be written in the history of most middle east countries

we are talking about before facebook era and after facebook era

I think it will stay for years .... may be decades before it fades

 

[Theo]

You can share things like this on Facebook

 

[sashas]

Eventually, Facebook will become uncool.

Facebook's worth is directly tied to its perceived 'coolness'. This was the place college kids hung out on before it was opened to the masses at large. It was cooler than MySpace because it had an older audience and wasn't yet overrun with 15 year old girls and the 60 year old creeps stalking them.

It already had all the cool kids when it swung its doors for soccer moms and mid-life crisis middle aged men.

I've been on Facebook since 2006. I've seen my friends list get populated more and more with annoying teenage cousins and annoying older aunts and uncles over the years. I hesitate to post publicly on FB and obsessively control my privacy settings lest older (and younger) relatives catch a glimpse of my unsavory recently-graduated bachelor's lifestyle.

I've seen Facebook become less and less cool over the past two years. It was a little amusing when my dad (who is nearing 70) added me on Facebook. It's annoying now when my entire family, ranging from father to third aunt, are on my friends list.

I guess this is a problem only younger guys will have who aren't that comfortable sharing their lifestyle and private details with their family. They'll also be the first ones to leave the site (NYT even ran an article recently about college kids ditching Facebook). And since parents only care about knowing what their kids are doing, they'll follow the kids to whichever new site they join.

End of Facebook.


TL;DR: Facebook's end will be brought on by parents

 

[Charles Sweeney]

I had an account with them for a short while. Didn't like it, so deleted it. Didn't like the company. Never used Twitter fwiw.

I don't think it's inevitable that they will fall, but they might. Agree with others, right now it's new, cool and still a fad, as mySpace was just before it...so I guess it's days as the top dog could be numbered.

Either that or the weirdo that owns it (personally kills everything he eats) will implode.

 

[katherine]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook
It's actually not comprehensive yet but it's a start

 

[hugegrowth]

I don't think there will be a downfall, it will be around for a 'long' time just like Amazon and Ebay. Other sites can do what amazon and ebay do, but they do it well and they had 'first mover' advantage. While nothing is guaranteed, i think Facebook is well entrenched at this point for the same reasons. Lessons were learned from MySpace and Friendster on what not to do.

 

[Onward]

Not learning from AOL's mistakes.

 

[draggar]

Facebook's downfall will come from the top - many of the changes they make annoy their users but not to the point of leaving plus it is becoming harder and harder to be private with them, it's like they're trying to open up everyone's account - maybe for their advertisers to make it more lucrative for them?

There will be a time when they make a change, or a series of changes, that annoys most people and they'll leave.

There is also the massive concern over moderating Facebook, some moderating abuse towards some groups while others are ignored. I'm already in some groups that are in the process of leaving (mainly for off-Facebook forums). Privacy (again) is the main concern.

 

[ImageAuthors]

Q: What will bring about the downfall of Facebook?

A: Cyborg-like telepathic brain implants, which will render irrelevant not only Facebook but the entire internet, including -- alas! -- domain names.

I'd get mine installed tomorrow except that, when you're the first and only mind reader to plug in, there's little in the way of conversation.

 

[cbk]

Boredom, annoying changes, spam, Google and some bad publicity in the news from breach of security.

My social network is still my websites, emails and Paypal