Holiday traffic is slow traffic for most blogs but there is an overall trend that’s beginning to appear. Facebook has been experiencing a slight decrease in buzz over the past month. After the Beacon fiasco, there was little news until the Facebook payment system was confirmed. News of a Facebook payment system should have been big news but apparently not much buzz was generated. Justin Thorp is wondering where the Facebook killer application is.
I’ve been wondering the same thing and I posted about it recently. A few commenters replied that it has only been six months but I’m still a bit skeptical. I have worked with a number of clients who are successfully generating buzz on Facebook but for the majority of users, applications are becoming annoying. Two nights ago I was speaking with my good friend’s younger brother who said that he is really annoyed by them. At the same time he has installed a number of applications.
Yes, it is the holidays. Yes, there can’t be a ton of buzz about Facebook everyday. But there is definitely a lull in the amount of good content on Facebook. There are only so many posts you can write about applications, only so many that you can write about Facebook for business and only so many things you can write about Facebook etiquette. My guess is that the buzz will reignite next year but for now, all things are quiet in Facebook town.
This is not to say that I plan on stopping the continuous coverage of Facebook. This is just a reminder that people get tired of hearing the same thing over and over without much change. Yet again, somehow there are countless blogs dedicated to the art of blogging so maybe this is in fact just a temporary down time for Facebook. It may be good to take some of the heat off their back and turn our attention towards other things for a little. Do you think the buzz is dying down?
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I think aps have killed facebook… personally I despise them and have for a long time. I think a MAJORITY of people think aps take away more from FB than they add… but because a lot of these people will add one or two aps each, but all different ones, it creates an effect where it makes it easier for the somewhat high percentage of people who LOVE applications to add a whole pile. Personally I'm a purist and don't have any aps on my profile. I realise that FB will probably never take them away even though I would love it. I'd love see them make them more managable, namely making 3 changes:1) Including applications in the preference metres section. That way if you don't want to hear about them, you can put that metre down to the very bottom. They are SORT OF doing this with the ability to "x" out items you don't like on your news page… but they can do more.2) I can't stress this one enough… all applications should be BELOW the wall!!! It's a common beef with people that they have to scan 5 miles to see someone's wall after they sort through all the aps. It's ridiculous.3) There should be a "reject all" button so you don't have to individually reject all application requests.I'd say there's a growing resentment against applications on facebook, and apps are probably the reason the buzz is dying down a bit. People are probably spending more time on facebook than they were pre-applications, but they are spending LESS time doing things that cause them to interact with other people. There's less wall-writing, less note writing, less photo posting, photo tagging, etc…
Comment by Patrick McNeil — December 26, 2007 @ 9:30 pm
Nick,I think some of the HOT BUZZ is slowing down for sure. But I will say that there is an insane amount of content that has yet to be covered regarding facebook. Many bloggers will move on to other topics; which is what I would fully expect.The HOT NEWS will come but in slower bursts. The rate of innovation at facebook has hardly slowed. The rate of new apps on the platform has only increased.I think there is not enough time in the day to cover everything regarding facebook. Publishing deep thoughts and value added content regarding facebook is no easy task as you well know.Hope you had a good holiday buddy!Rodney Rumford
Comment by Rodney Rumford — December 26, 2007 @ 9:48 pm
I think aps have killed facebook… personally I despise them and have for a long time.
I think a MAJORITY of people think aps take away more from FB than they add… but because a lot of these people will add one or two aps each, but all different ones, it creates an effect where it makes it easier for the somewhat high percentage of people who LOVE applications to add a whole pile.
Personally I'm a purist and don't have any aps on my profile. I realise that FB will probably never take them away even though I would love it. I'd love see them make them more managable, namely making 3 changes:
1) Including applications in the preference metres section. That way if you don't want to hear about them, you can put that metre down to the very bottom. They are SORT OF doing this with the ability to "x" out items you don't like on your news page… but they can do more.
2) I can't stress this one enough… all applications should be BELOW the wall!!! It's a common beef with people that they have to scan 5 miles to see someone's wall after they sort through all the aps. It's ridiculous.
3) There should be a "reject all" button so you don't have to individually reject all application requests.
I'd say there's a growing resentment against applications on facebook, and apps are probably the reason the buzz is dying down a bit. People are probably spending more time on facebook than they were pre-applications, but they are spending LESS time doing things that cause them to interact with other people. There's less wall-writing, less note writing, less photo posting, photo tagging, etc…
Comment by Patrick McNeil — December 26, 2007 @ 10:30 pm
Nick,
I think some of the HOT BUZZ is slowing down for sure. But I will say that there is an insane amount of content that has yet to be covered regarding facebook. Many bloggers will move on to other topics; which is what I would fully expect.
The HOT NEWS will come but in slower bursts. The rate of innovation at facebook has hardly slowed. The rate of new apps on the platform has only increased.
I think there is not enough time in the day to cover everything regarding facebook. Publishing deep thoughts and value added content regarding facebook is no easy task as you well know.
Hope you had a good holiday buddy!
Rodney Rumford
Comment by Rodney Rumford — December 26, 2007 @ 10:48 pm
Publishing deep thoughts and value added content regarding facebook is no easy task as you well know.yes, rodney, everyone knows what "deep thinkers" you and nick are.
Comment by Mark — December 26, 2007 @ 11:05 pm
The Facebook dev team just need a break over Xmas and NY – and they're the guys who craft all the buzz-tastic features. In fact, they really should be receiving an award for their great work over the past 18 months; newsfeed, mini-feed, platform and Beacon (the later may not have been a hit, but from a technical standpoint it's pretty cool, and I'm sure a lot of work went in to it). Nick, you'll have more to write about in the New Year, I'm sure of it.
Comment by Neil — December 26, 2007 @ 11:31 pm
Publishing deep thoughts and value added content regarding facebook is no easy task as you well know.
yes, rodney, everyone knows what "deep thinkers" you and nick are.
Comment by Mark — December 27, 2007 @ 12:05 am
At the Facebook Dev Garage, we mentioned the annoying apps and they said "oh its just too early. it takes longer then 3 months to get out a good app." Well yeah it's been 6 months. I'm waiting.But I guess in general, they need developers to keep pushing the envelope. If they don't, the non-early adopter developers won't see the fullest potential of what the FB platform can do.
Comment by Justin Thorp — December 27, 2007 @ 4:15 am
The Facebook dev team just need a break over Xmas and NY – and they’re the guys who craft all the buzz-tastic features. In fact, they really should be receiving an award for their great work over the past 18 months; newsfeed, mini-feed, platform and Beacon (the later may not have been a hit, but from a technical standpoint it’s pretty cool, and I’m sure a lot of work went in to it). Nick, you’ll have more to write about in the New Year, I’m sure of it.
Comment by Neil — December 27, 2007 @ 3:31 am
At the Facebook Dev Garage, we mentioned the annoying apps and they said "oh its just too early. it takes longer then 3 months to get out a good app." Well yeah it's been 6 months. I'm waiting.
But I guess in general, they need developers to keep pushing the envelope. If they don't, the non-early adopter developers won't see the fullest potential of what the FB platform can do.
Comment by Justin Thorp — December 27, 2007 @ 5:15 am
Perhaps as with Amazon, the early hype has burned hot, but the substance will quietly grow and validate itself, ie produce solid earnings, down the road.> Two nights ago I was speaking with my good friend’s younger brother who said that he is really annoyed by them.I am uninstalling applications left and right, particularly the ones aggregated by Slide or RockYou. Their communications are no better than spam, and continue even when you through options not to receive them. If there is anything in the ecosystem that may not live up to the hype, it is the valuation of some of the hotter FB app makers.
Comment by Minger — December 27, 2007 @ 8:04 am
Perhaps as with Amazon, the early hype has burned hot, but the substance will quietly grow and validate itself, ie produce solid earnings, down the road.
> Two nights ago I was speaking with my good friend’s younger brother who said that he is really annoyed by them.
I am uninstalling applications left and right, particularly the ones aggregated by Slide or RockYou. Their communications are no better than spam, and continue even when you through options not to receive them. If there is anything in the ecosystem that may not live up to the hype, it is the valuation of some of the hotter FB app makers.
Comment by Minger — December 27, 2007 @ 9:04 am
Facebook Fatigue?per http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid53420.aspxwhich quoted Corey Doctorow predicting FB's imposition of socially obligated 'friendships' would hasten its demise.
Comment by Intercon — December 28, 2007 @ 3:08 am
Facebook Fatigue?
per http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid53420.aspx
which quoted Corey Doctorow predicting FB's imposition of socially obligated 'friendships' would hasten its demise.
Comment by Intercon — December 28, 2007 @ 4:08 am
With all new major technology introductions, it is overhyped in the short term and underhyped in the long term. This is exactly where Facebook is heading. I think the impact long term is still going to be profound, but we are all just getting used to concept now and the ideas don't seem as buzzworthy. However, they are still very radical concepts to the general public.
Comment by Joe J — December 28, 2007 @ 7:38 am
With all new major technology introductions, it is overhyped in the short term and underhyped in the long term. This is exactly where Facebook is heading. I think the impact long term is still going to be profound, but we are all just getting used to concept now and the ideas don’t seem as buzzworthy. However, they are still very radical concepts to the general public.
Comment by Joe J — December 28, 2007 @ 11:38 am
Yes, it will be interesting to see what happens with Facebook in 2008 in terms of payments and business.
But to close off the holiday season, here's "Happy New Year 2008!"
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Select a greeting to send to your friends, or create your own.
Comment by John Fan — December 28, 2007 @ 4:50 pm