26 Mar 09 Dear Facebook

Today I am very honoured to feature a guest post by kate on a topic which seems to be on a lot of people’s minds lately.

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Dear Facebook,

We’ve become very close over the last couple of years, I would even go as far as saying I love you, just a little. In that time we’ve had some fun, shared the highs of discovering how to import external content, and lows of my abysmal track record at your wide variety of 3rd party word games. Through it all, we’ve stuck together. I even supported you during the furore surrounding the infamous 2008 makeover. However, I fear things are no longer the same. You’ve changed, and not for the better.

I can understand your desire to make some money. I admire your quest to adapt and improve. But really, did you have to become so aloof, so impenetrable? Why must I now click 2, even 3 times to find what you used to share so openly? Why do you insult my intelligence by assuming I want to know when one of my friends has sent virtual flowers to fifteen of her friends? You seem to think I do because you serve up the message fifteen times. At first I assumed this was a joke because the Facebook I know and love would never seriously believe it was a good idea, then I discovered your bizarre notion of highlights.

Your interpretation of the word highlight seems somewhat loose. So loose in fact, I suspect you may have been hitting the bottle, and in a drunken state got it mixed up with another word. Hmm, now which word was it? Oh yes, trivial. Far from highlights, what I see in the right sidebar is a list of stuff I have no interest in. I don’t recall ever mentioning a liking for tongue piercing, motor sport or reality tv. Just because my friends like something it doesn’t mean I do too. We are not one homogeneous mass; we are not the Borg. Why don’t you see me as an individual, am I just another member to you? Even worse, these so called highlights are embarrassing. What if someone peers over my shoulder and discovers I know people who are fans of Jeremy Clarkson?! Did you ever pause to consider my feelings?

I think I should come clean with you Facebook. I know you’ve had your suspicions about my dalliance with Twitter. In fact, I believe you’ve tried to turn yourself into a copy of him in some desperate attempt to compete, but it will never work; you are simply a pale imitation. I’m sorry, he is not the only one, someone else has caught my eye, Friendfeed. He may not be as popular as you, but he is appealingly uncomplicated. Friendfeed shares with me. I go to my home page and everything I want to see is laid out before my eyes. He will even auto-update the content if I ask. You used to do that! Now it’s just too much trouble isn’t it? Typical!

It seems to me, your amazing success has gone to your head. You are no longer lovable Facebook who was all about users. You’ve become cold, distant and less functional. But, it’s not too late! You can still change. Why not give the live feed back to me, and offer a way to make the ‘highlights’ into something useful? We could then put all this behind us, and I’d love you a little bit more.

Kate x

Kate lives in the north of England and usually blogs here.

Tags: Facebook, facebook new layout, Frienfeed, makeover, twitter