Picture of Mark Samuels, features editor, Computing
Samuels: if Facebook is more addictive than crack, I am pushing for reclassification of the drug to the equivalent of a cup of tea

Facebook is not all it was cracked up to be

My experiment proves that social networking sites are a waste of time, which does not bode well for their future, says Mark Samuels

Written by Mark Samuels

Nagged by colleagues and contacts, I signed up to several social networking systems last year. Several months on, what have I gained? Nothing.

Take Facebook, for example. Oh the excitement in 2007, as everyone rushed to find their primary school mates and add time-wasting applications.

Now in the cold light of 2008, the Facebook hype looks a bit silly. In fact, can I be the first to say Facebook is the new Friends Reunited: a rush to play with an exciting new internet toy that allows you to find old flames?

I now log in infrequently to Facebook to check I have not missed some life-changing message.

Which I haven’t ­ but you never know, do you? Because some people are still using Facebook alongside email and the phone.

Ah, yes ­ email and the phone. They were rubbish last year because everyone was social networking.

Now, however, users are beginning to recognise the inherent values of phone and email ­ and the flaws of social networking.

Unless everyone you have ever met is part of the network and can be contacted through the technology ­ as they can with the phone or email ­ people are excluded.

Many of my colleagues and contacts are not part of Facebook, so we cannot keep in touch.

Social networks are cool for Generation Newbie, the up-and-coming graduates who are already on Facebook. But for me and Generation Email, forget it.

And the same is true for LinkedIn. “Relationships matter,” says its tag line – ­ yeah, relationships do matter, but only if all your contacts can be contacted ­ and if half the business world is giving social networking the swerve, something is wrong.

Loved-up critics rushed to make statements last year about how Facebook was set to change the world and was more addictive than crack.

If crack is that bland, I am pushing for reclassification of the drug to the equivalent of a cup of tea.

But if a load of loved-up critics look crazy, what about Microsoft? It paid $240m (£122m) for a 1.6 per cent slice of Facebook, last year’s most popular social networking phenomenon ­ creating an implied valuation for the total business of $15bn (£7.6bn). Good luck and all that.

What do you think? Read the blog at: http://knowledge.computing.co.uk

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print this
  • Share

reader comments

related articles

Social networking costing UK dear

£6.5bn a year in lost productivity and extra bandwidth 22 Jan 2008

 

related whitepapers

today's top stories

Face facts: social media is the future

No organisation can afford to ignore the way business communications are changing 18 Mar 2010

Is the data watchdog about to pounce?

Experts believe the Information Commissioner’s Office is itching to use its new power to impose hefty fines for data breaches. Martin Courtney reports 18 Mar 2010

Lloyd’s of London gears up for regulation

CIO Peter Hambling tells Angelica Mari about how the insurance market has updated its IT infrastructure to comply with new regulations 18 Mar 2010

Protests greet new Digital Economy Bill amendment

ISPs, digital rights groups and Liberal Democrat supporters cry foul 05 Mar 2010

IT Leaders' Forum in association with IBM

A unique opportunity to hear from expert speakers and engage in a debate about the future of the CIO job function 29 Jan 2010

Advertisement

Keys to successful Service‐Oriented Architecture implementation

This white paper explores best practices and general design patterns for service oriented architecture (SOA).

The Roadmap to IT Maturity — Matching Strategy to Infrastructure for Business Success

This paper defines a roadmap for matching infrastructure strategy to business success.

Advertisement

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; ITHound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

More available - click 'submit' to view

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Jobs

Related jobs

Job of the week

Job alerts

Sign up here

Find your next job

IT Salary Checker

Check salary here

Advertisement

Latest poll

NHS centralised data

NHS centralised data

Do you think the NHS can be trusted to safely look after personal data electronically?

View poll results

Latest audio and video articles

Video

HP unveils S Series notebooks

'Prosumer' line overhauled 01 Mar 2010

Web Seminar Listings

Preparing for enterprise-scale Windows 7 migration

The web seminar on 18 Feb will discuss how Windows 7 migration can increase IT efficiency in large enterprises, freeing up budgetary and personnel resources to focus on business innovation. Our panel of experts will examine the strategies, tools and services IT leaders can use to migrate successfully and reap the rewards of increased efficiency. 19 Feb 2010

Latest in-depth articles

Smiths Group CIO Brian JonesAnalysis

Q&A: Brian Jones, CIO, Smiths Group

How should conglomerates be looking at the new IT technologies coming through? Brian Jones explains. 19 Mar 2010

Analysis

What security strategy should enterprises adopt after the recession?

Act now to put your your firm on higher growth path advise CISOs 19 Mar 2010

Primary Navigation