Privacy, Shmivacy: Facebook Is Doomed

Unwanted interactions killing social networking

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 27, 2007 10:05 AM CST

(Newser) – Aggressive new advertising tactics make Facebook look more evil by the day, but don’t worry, InformationWeek columnist Cory Doctorow writes, because it’s doomed anyway. Sure social networks are “pure crack” for some, but sooner or later everyone gets friended by someone they’d rather avoid, and eventually that awkwardness is too much to bear.

"For every long-lost chum who reaches out to me on Facebook, there's a guy who beat me up on a weekly basis through the whole seventh grade but now wants to be my buddy," Doctorow writes. Sooner or later, the boss and co-worker requests will overwhelm users, and Facebook will join SixDegrees, Friendster, et al. in irrelevance.

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks to press and advertising partners at a Facebook announcement in New York, Monday, November 6, 2007. Author and columnist Cory Doctorow suggests that Facebook's... (Associated Press)

Laura Handyside, clockwise from left, of Duluth, Peter Sparby, of North Oaks, Minn., and Kadian Hofstad, of Pine City, Minn., laugh while using a laptop to check Facebook web pages of their friends. An... (KRT Photos)

Journalist and author Corey Doctorow believes Facebook can be felled by an inherent flaw rooted in the convenience of contact from unwanted parties. (Wikimedia Commons)

(Shutterstock.com)

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Privacy, Shmivacy: Facebook Is Doomed

Unwanted interactions killing social networking

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MySpace Creator: We Had Video Chat Years Ago

People weren't ready for it then, but they are now: Tom Anderson

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Lack of privacy can be a good thing for investigators

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It's now all about entertainment, not social networking

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Racy pics, suicide threats get would-be cops dumped

MySpace's New Look Mimics Facebook

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