Facebook + FriendFeed Feature = New FaceBook FriendFeed-like feature is intrusive
I was looking at what FaceBook is doing to turn their platform into something more and more core for Internet users, and I feel partly amazed and partly uneasy by new features this social platform is releasing. Partly amazed because they’re going in the right direction willing to become the hub of personal publication helping users to spead and share what they’re writing and finding interesting, thanks to the new import data feature they presented end of May, which helps you add your Del.icio.us/ Google Reader/ RSS Feed/ and other social media websites feed to your FaceBook Mini-Feed. That single evolution shows me Facebook is recovering from external apps and is starting over to build trustful applications (without any scam or email spamming) to become some kind of “what my friends are doing right now” feed reader, this leading to a more interesting social network platform than just a “run to more unknown FaceBook friends” competition. But what’s make me uneasy is the other FriendFeed copycat feature Facebook devs have released: the ability to comment the mini-feed (what I call history/ activity feed).
On FriendFeed, you can comment what other people are saying or what has been automatically added on the profile page through the RSS feed. That’s been the way of working of FriendFeed from the start. To the contrary, Facebook Mini-Feed is an activity feed (what people have done the time you weren’t around), which means it’s an automatic feed in front of which users are passive. It’s also some kind of voyeur tool (and it’s part of the addiction to Facebook and other social networks where you check other people profiles) but it hasn’t meant to become a personal feed you anyone can comment. It’s my way of thinking.
And giving right to your network to add comment about your activity is too much intrusive to me. The rules have been changing regarding that point, and it may be sort of an annoyance for people. Not that your FaceBook friends would comment every of your actions, but the fact FaceBook is giving rights to users to comment your own actions without explaining you why and how it’s interesting to you makes me a bit nervous. And as I was looking for that feature admin tool to disable it, I couldn’t find it. Which means I can’t administrate my page. And that fact makes me sick! Like when Facebook had to face a major issue regarding their terms of use.
And one last thing related to FaceBook kingdom is when I commented the release post presenting the comment feature, I received a message that makes me crazy:
We have received your comment. Thank you for your feedback!
Isn’t it written above the comment box: “add your comment”? Doesn’t it means you add a comment and not send a direct message to Facebook team? They make me feel FaceBook is a blackbox with which you can’t speak. Not much about socializing in it to me. Hope they change their methods of communication, they’re doing great things but there’s a lack of human voice and transparency in it too.
