Facebook's Facelifts

I have to rant about Facebook. Just to make myself feel better.

Mark Zuckerberg is a genius, what with creating Facebook and all, but he seriously needs to relax. Facebook is getting too much plastic surgery for one who is only 7 years old. It's had, oh I don't know, 4 to 5 facelifts now. That's just too much, even for an adult.

OK folks, seriously, Facebook is changing too much. Yes, change is good. Esther Dyson (whoever she is) said, "Change means that what was before wasn't perfect. People want things to be better," and she's right. In fact, change is vital for the survival of any social network in this ever changing, ever growing world of cyber space, but, c'mon, don't you think changing the layout 3 times in about as many months is just too much change? (Notice how many times I used the word 'change' or some form of it? It's a literary device called alliteration, or some form of it la) ("La." That's another one, it's called using colloquialisms).

I created my own Facebook profile about 2 years ago. I was super excited. Here was a new social networking site that I could enter in without lying about my age and reconnect with people who I went to kindergarden with. It was a cyber space miracle, an entity of major proportions.

It was great, and it still is. More and more people started using Facebook and I began to climb the all-new social ladder of "who's got more 'friends'". There were games that I could waste my time on like Farmville and arcade-type games my mother is still addicted to. I can just log in (using my ultra childish and embarrassing, but secretly cool, email that my mother created for me when I was 11) and I'm instantly connected to the rest of the world! Everything I post, like pictures and status updates, are out there for the world to see. Now, even creepy, anti social, stalker-type, cyber punks half-way around the world will know that the chocolate I just had was "sooooo goood!!!!!!!." It's every parent's nightmare.

Anyway, Mr. Zuckerberg, then, introduced new security settings. Great, just what the police ordered. Now, I can make sure that only my friends are informed about the astounding goodness of the chocolate I just had. That's pretty harmless. The most they would do is come knocking on my door, demanding for a piece of that awesome chocolate. But, we're veering of course here. The more secure settings were an awesome addition. Parents, now, didn't have to worry too much. Everyone felt more protected and cyber space was a safer place.

However, the change kept on coming. Our 'walls', then, received a new design. The layout was different. Not exactly better but we got used to it and everyone survived, almost unscathed. You would have thought they were smart enough to stop there after getting dozens of messages about how terrible the new design was but we'd put up with it anyway because the service was invaluable (much more valuable than MySpace or Friendster, at any rate). But no, they didn't. They went on to adding groups, where people can share information with just a select group. Also, lists, where.. I don't exactly know what for. They even changed the chat box. It was now sleek and inadvertently connected to your message inbox (I still don't understand that). There were now dozens of notifications to be dealt with and more privacy settings to be readjusted. Everything every one does, every 'like', every 'comment', every friend made and every game played was plastered on your wall. It gives a whole new meaning to "Spam." Whenever I log in, which is quite frequently, I'm greeted by a mountain-high pile (cyber-ly speaking) of notifications and "recent news".

Now, do I really have time to scroll through 300+ recent news updates from people I rarely talk to? Well, yes, I do. And so, I sit there on my terribly comfortable, plastic-on-wheels, Ikea chair, looking through what everyone had been doing since I last logged off. If that doesn't already sound stalker-ish, then keep reading. If it does, well, keep reading la! :)

After going through those updates, I'm now pressured by society to post something of my own. Being me, I ignore that pressure and keep doing what I do; keep cyber silence and post what I wish, when I wish it. After all these major upgrades, I thought that Mr. Zuckerberg and his team of technical geniuses would take a break. Maybe go on a year long tour of the Amazon Jungle or something (I'm sure they could afford it).

Once again, I'm wrong. Those technophiles (new word I learnt) kept right on rollin'. Now, after a graceful few months of allowing the general public to, finally, get used to this new 'Face' of Facebook, we are awarded with another big bang. A facelift! This time, we can 'subscribe' to people. It's not enough that we can 'Like' various things such as TV shows, movies, jokes, phrases and even celebrities, now, we can also subscribe to people. I pity the famous. They don't stand a chance against this.

With this new subscription scheme, comes a little box on the top right corner of your screen. This box's sole duty is to give you a constant stream of updates depending on whom and what you are subscribed to. For example, I can subscribe to be constantly updated on friends' life activities, games they play, statuses, photos and videos. Who needs a wall with news feeds when I have this. One of my friend very bluntly posted this on her page, "Facebook, Stalking you always." Apt, exceedingly so, if you ask me. (And still, we stick to Facebook with every ounce of binary strength that we possess because, to be honest, it's totally useful. Also, we're all secretly dependent on this whole being-connected thing)

I understand the need for Facebook to be current and sophisticated. It's competing in a global market of social networking sites. It can fall just as quickly as it took down MySpace. What I don't get is this: Facebook was initially invented to connect people from a university with their families, via the internet. It started off on the right track. Connecting people and bringing old friends together is what it does. Now, however, everyone is turned into a cyber-stalker, whether you like it or not. Your privacy is no longer completely in your hands. You can opt not to subscribe to someone's every move, but you cannot opt to stop people from subscribing to you. That's a whole lot of privacy violations right there. It's like people have placed CCTV's in your room, without your permission.

Change is good, but there is a line. There is always a line. It cannot be crossed. The line will gradually move farther away, in which case, more change is required. This weird too-closely-timed change notwithstanding, I think Mark Zuckerberg and his team have done quite well. What they need to learn is that "All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward." So says Ms. Ellen Glasgow (whoever she is)

Time for a KitKat, guys. A hiatus might be in order. Why not give us some time to get acquainted and maybe even comfortable with this new "Face" before going under the knife again.

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I did some research:

Esther Dyson - A 60 year old Swiss journalist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Ellen Glasgow - Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist who lived till 72 years of age, telling the story of the changing south.