Why I'm Quitting Facebook

I'm not quitting Facebook because of privacy; I'm quitting Facebook because of value. Despite what you've heard, all social networks are not created equal. And if you think they are, you're definitely doing it wrong. Sharing is what makes social networks, well, social, but it's the connection infrastructure that drives the content, that assigns the site its value.

"The value of a social network is not only defined by who's on it, but by who's excluded from it", says Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley forecaster.

Social Value vs. Informational Value 

Facebook is an example of a social network that offers social value. It allows users to organize and maintain connections while building a digital representation of, "This is who I know". The internet is full of interesting, intelligent people, but you'd never know it being on Facebook. I'm not saying that your family, friends and co-workers are boring, but since these connections already exist the content that's expected to be shared tends to reflect the more trivial aspects of everyday life.

Other social networks offer informational value, allowing users to connect with people, they may or may not know, based on common interests, while building a digital representation of, "This is what I like". 

Alex Leavitt sums it up best:

A simple distinction between these two values might be illustrated like this:

Status update reflecting social value: "I ate a hamburger today at lunch with Mary."

Status update reflecting informational value: "I ate lunch today at Five Guys, and it was really good! [link to website]"

I think the majority of social networks will naturally fall into one value or the other. Trying to integrate both values (aka graphs) is already happening and will be the determining factor in how social media networks are valued in the future.

Too Little, Too Late Zuckerberg

I know it sounds crazy to leave a social network where I have hundreds of connections for one with just 68, but G+ users are highly engaged individuals who like to talk tech. The conversations that are happening, the content that's shared and the tools that are available are way more valuable to me than posts about obscenely high scores on bejeweled blitz, invitations to attend events in cities I no longer live in, or that millionth newborn baby picture.

Plus, if you know anything about the technology lifecycle you know that over 800 million active users means Facebook has pretty much jumped the shark, but, that's for another blog post.

Bye, bye Facebook. Your services will not be missed.

[Photo Credit]


sources: 1, 2, 3