The unofficial evolution of Facebook
The evolution of Facebook from the eyes of a spectator.
Facebook (and Instagram) have received a lot of love and hate over its short life span. There was a time I used to log into Facebook every single day but I no longer have an account over there.
As a total outsider, let’s look at the evolution of Facebook from both the Facebook HQ and a layman on a sofa.
The 6 stages of Fb evolution from Facebook HQ
Stage 1: Let’s solve a very real problem of disconnect from family and friends. Let’s create a way in which we can stay in touch with our loved ones.
Stage 2: Wow, people are loving our platform. Let’s collect information about them and learn more about our audiences.
Stage 3: We have so much data! Let’s use this to predict user behaviours, likes, dislikes and show posts that will really like.
Stage 4: Advertisements are a great source of income. We want to keep the platform free, we know the innermost wishes of our users, so naturally we can use super specific targeted ads and gain revenue.
Stage 5: Man, data is valuable. Corporations are willing to pay millions of dollars for this. It is just a few pieces of information that people willingly gave to a free platform. They won’t mind us selling it for sure.
Stage 6: Staying in touch with family and friends is no longer a concern for us. We want to sell products, push advertisements and monetize human attention.
The 6 stages of Fb evolution from a layman on a sofa
Stage 1: A platform where I can stay in touch with my friends and family? Awesome!
Stage 2: Oh so many fun games to play here. I am crushing these levels. Wait, let me also take a quiz to see what kind of burger I am.
Stage 3: All the people on my feed have such amazing, extra ordinary lives. Why does nothing fancy ever happen to me? People are getting married, having kids, buying cars, getting promotions and I am just… a waste of space.
Stage 4: Are they spying on me? How did they know that I was searching for shoes? Wait, why am I seeing advertisements for maternity wear? I was browsing to find gifts for my friends baby shower!!!
Stage 5: Everyone in the world thinks exactly like I think. I must be absolutely right in my political, personal, and professional opinions. Anyone who disagrees is an idiot.
Stage 6: This is taking too much of a toll on my mental health. This is simply not worth it. I am logging out forever. So long!
And then there are business users. You know, the ones that have layman accounts but are actually businesses, aka “influencers”. I am not entirely sure how to feel about that yet.
Newsflash: Tech companies do not care about us. With time there are going to be more and more products that seem to help us but are actually only helping themselves. I am not sure if we have any real tactic to protect ourselves but a good rule of thumb that I follow is: “If it makes you feel guilty/bad/some negative feeling on scrolling, please quit that product.”
