"we don't need facebook" follow-up
this is a follow-up to my previous blog post "we don't need facebook" (which got a lot of attention - thanks, bellas!) because i feel i have more to say on this matter.
in hindsight, when i was a kid first using facebook to keep up with family and friends, i had no idea that it would become... whatever it is now. what makes modern facebook so frustrating? i would argue, that posts can now be monetized. with this, now users are enticed by the prospect of making money from their outrageous posts, no matter how true they are... and money always changes people. what was once a site designed for horny college boys to rate pictures of girls (without their consent... ewww) became a place for family and friends to reconnect... and then became the outrage machine full of scammers, fake news and AI slop that we have today.
what got lost in the shuffle is that there are 2 "social" websites that have been with us since 1999; they're older than facebook! they are the forum/hangout site imood and blogging site diaryland. and the classic entertainment site newgrounds has been with us even longer, since 1995. through thick and thin, these 3 sites have always remained free spaces to connect, jot your thoughts down, share cool stuff, and make friends (or foes, if that's what you want...) with no monetization incentives whatsoever. and they still retain users today.
so yeah, facebook is now a wasteland, while 3 popular sites that are older than it have stuck with their principles. and i am confident that those 3 sites will still be with us long after mark zuckerburg's baby perishes. we don't need facebook.
and we never will.