Product (re)placement

Chris Carfi explains Facebook’s Beacon changes. One frame:

Bonus quote, from (at Facebook garage in London last week): “To be told that Facebook is a ‘social utility’ which exists purely as a space to attract advertising revenue was both a) a stark truth and b) deeply, deeply upsetting.”

By the way, I do have hope for Facebook. It’s a young company. Nothing they do now is the last thing they’ll do. My hope is that they’ll realize that the relationships that matter most are with users rather than advertisers, and that if they want to beat Google at its own game, they’ll work toward obsoleting advertising by helping demand find supply, rather than vice versa.



4 responses to “Product (re)placement”

  1. Let no one ever say you’re not an incorrigible optimist, Doc. My prediction is that facebook chooses the Dark Side. I hope I’m wrong and you are correct, but we’ll see.

  2. I recently set up a Facebook profile. I’m pleasantly surprised by how good it is. They got a lot of little things right, as well as a few big things. Like news feeds.

  3. […] Facebook is an advertising platform. […]

  4. […] My experience at London Facebook Garage in November 2007 was to be told by the Facebook UK Commercial Director that Facebook is a ’social utility’ which exists purely as a space to attract advertising revenue. (ref) […]

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