Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Finally Facebook Lets Me Reach Out To Non Friends

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...Image via CrunchBaseI have never, never, never have had any kind of a privacy issue with Facebook, like never, never, never. I have photo albums that I have shared with only a few people. That's my idea of privacy. Other than that I have long wanted a way to share with anyone and everyone, anyone who might be interested. And now looks like I can. Finally.

It is opt in. That is important. It is not by default. Or that might freak people out. Most people might not even get the news on this. Many might simply pass. This is not for everyone. But it works for me.

Facebook has such a beautiful interface. Twitter does not have it. Google Plus does not have it. I have a thing for the Facebook design.

Facebook: Introducing the Subscribe Button
ReadWriteWeb: Does Facebook's Subscribe Button Betray What the Company Was Built On?
TechCrunch: Facebook Launches Twitter-Like ‘Subscriptions’, Lets You Share With Unlimited Users
Mashable: Facebook Launches Subscribe Button for Following Anyone’s Public Updates

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A Facebook For Strangers

Twitter logo initialImage via WikipediaFred Wilson: Turntable
The Color Social Graph Might Work Better For Books, Movies, Music

My current Facebook is my second Facebook account. They booted me out the first time because I was oh so busy saying hello to strangers.

I like Twitter a lot, because on Twitter everyone has a phone number. And if someone is not on Twitter, that person is not relevant, at least not relevant to the world of tech. And the transparency and the 140 character limit makes managing communication easy. It is scalable.

The first phase of web social has been about connecting with people you already know. The far phase has to be about strangers. Utter, complete strangers, people you have absolutely no hopes of meeting in person.