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1. Facebook is a communication technology first,
The Internet is a communication technology. Facebook is a corporation that currently manages a portion of the Internet on the server side. The rest of your breathless prose about speed and universality describes the Internet, which already fulfilled these functions long before FB. The question is whether Facebook adds anything to the Internet. FB is one server, one platform, and shapes all content according to a single template, for the sole dedicated purpose of FB Inc. profit. (All other purposes are incidental.) In the rich ecosystem of the Internet, FB is the agribusiness monoculture.
2. What about the marketing?
I suspect you've fallen for it. Your mistake on this point is to think that the pervasiveness of marketing is an argument for it being either good or bad. No actual substance to this argument.
3. What about the silly shit on FB, like people's breakfasts and their stupid whiny breakups?
Indeed, who cares. Very selective view of what's supposedly wrong with FB. What about the IPO fraud? What about the primary business model of FB as a voluntary surveillance platform with user data delivered to buyers?
You are not the user of FB. You are the product delivered to the paying customers. The paying customers are the users.
4. Due to the near-instantaneous, global sharing of thoughts, feelings, images, sounds, and video, Facebook has become, in my own opinion, one of the most democratic tools of debate ever known.
No. It's a parasite on top of the former Internet, already one of the most democratic tools of debate ever known, etc. etc. (continue identical rhapsody).
5. While there may be cause for concern for the handling of certain issues by Facebook, the exponential sharing and assimilation of information through this network is astounding.
This is the "shiny things" gambit. ("While there may be cause for concern - look! Over there! Shiny things!"
Yes, we're all very impressed by the size of FB's servers. They must be at least 1/20th of Google's. So totally not the point.
C+ for effort.
.
The Internet is a communication technology. Facebook is a corporation that currently manages a portion of the Internet on the server side. The rest of your breathless prose about speed and universality describes the Internet, which already fulfilled these functions long before FB. The question is whether Facebook adds anything to the Internet. FB is one server, one platform, and shapes all content according to a single template, for the sole dedicated purpose of FB Inc. profit. (All other purposes are incidental.) In the rich ecosystem of the Internet, FB is the agribusiness monoculture.
2. What about the marketing?
I suspect you've fallen for it. Your mistake on this point is to think that the pervasiveness of marketing is an argument for it being either good or bad. No actual substance to this argument.
3. What about the silly shit on FB, like people's breakfasts and their stupid whiny breakups?
Indeed, who cares. Very selective view of what's supposedly wrong with FB. What about the IPO fraud? What about the primary business model of FB as a voluntary surveillance platform with user data delivered to buyers?
You are not the user of FB. You are the product delivered to the paying customers. The paying customers are the users.
4. Due to the near-instantaneous, global sharing of thoughts, feelings, images, sounds, and video, Facebook has become, in my own opinion, one of the most democratic tools of debate ever known.
No. It's a parasite on top of the former Internet, already one of the most democratic tools of debate ever known, etc. etc. (continue identical rhapsody).
5. While there may be cause for concern for the handling of certain issues by Facebook, the exponential sharing and assimilation of information through this network is astounding.
This is the "shiny things" gambit. ("While there may be cause for concern - look! Over there! Shiny things!"
Yes, we're all very impressed by the size of FB's servers. They must be at least 1/20th of Google's. So totally not the point.
C+ for effort.
.
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