Facebook Is Becoming Walmart

RT @thomaspower: Facebook becoming Walmart http://www.spinsucks.com/social-media/facebook-is-becoming-walmart/ #ecademy http://ff.im/-zyyhr

Facebook becoming Walmart http://www.spinsucks.com/social-media/facebook-is-becoming-walmart/ #ecademy http://ff.im/-zyyhr

Yeah, you'd think major corporations would have learned from Wal-Mart's example. That whole lifeless concrete box thing went so badly for Wal-Mart. They should have known that trying to be all things to all people would cause a backlash that would send their customers off to small independent retailers.

Oh, wait, what to do you mean Wal-Mart is still the largest retailer in the US? I never shop there so I assumed they'd just gone out of business. I guess this means that there'll still be several billion people on Facebook after the cool kids abandon it for the next big thing.

And now we have Facebook questions. So far, it's been fun to play with on a Friday afternoon, but it's already clogging my stream. I don't know how I feel about it yet, but it certainly takes Quora head on.

um i thought that was part of the plan. when you want to connect to the internet you won't open a browser, but open your standalone facebook application and thus would be your connection to "everything". questions, groups, deals, places, email@facebook.com, etc, etc... facebook wants to be to the internet, what Windows is to PCs. frankly, i'm not having any of it. makes me think this guy really thinks he knows what he's doing by taming the beast of the internet... but the citizens will revolt eventually...

It is funny and interesting how social media people and business leaders just assume every tool should be co-opted for business purposes. Facebook sucks for business, I think. People are too busy sharing photos, flirting with old friends, or connecting with family. The tools aren't that great either. One exception seems to be event-based communication, including deals, specials, concerts, etc. But "liking" the JCPenney page? No thanks. OK, argue with me!

Ahh but you're not the target Facebook user, Gini. You use Facebook to connect with the world, not limited to your family and close friends. You don't have less than 300 mutual friends. You have a page, too, which is not the target user either -- for a user needs a profile to have a page.

The evolution of Facebook since I joined the site in 2005 is sensical. The typical Facebook user is not a Twitter user nor has a blog. Those that do are using FB differently, and that's why opinions like yours are appealing and are why your comment field here is full of people on your bandwagon. They aren't the target FB user either.

Dominating a niche takes incredible focus and restraint which is why many people struggle at it.

Facebook doesn't have to be the best at anything to survive because they have millions upon millions upon millions of people using the service. If they do a bunch of things okay they will still maintain their current position.

It doesn't matter if they keep adding on because aside from us who can step out of the user shoes and think about the problem from 30,000 feet, the typical user will continue to use the platform as is.

It's like a LEGO. You take it out of the package, put it together and it works just fine. But LEGOS get way more fun when you make the thing on the outside of the package without the directions and by slapping on other pieces from other sets. But, if you have never done that before, just follow the directions and you get a simple to use final product.

You just had to go and mention France, didn't you. Now I'm procrastinating by checking out airfares.

Lisa, you're spot on. I feel like it's eroding the web. It's like it's just trying to annex everything out there. What next? Facebooks (an Amazon competitor) ? FaceDocs ?

Me no like.

"It will become a lifeless concrete box, losing its sense of community and identity."

In my opinion, it has already reached the point in numerous ways.

I went to a private Christian University that blocked MySpace 3 days into my freshman year (2005) because there was a bunch of questionable material that some kids were accessing. I know, I know, pretty crazy. But it was like kicking me in the face. I didn't do e-mail or instant message, I "Myspaced". My entire social network was gone.

But then Facebook came along. It was incredible. It was exclusive, it was simple, and wasn't slow and profile pages weren't annoyingly "busy" with glitter images and 40 YouTube videos. Also, no music played when I landed on a profile page. It was the perfect balance of simplicity and powerful functionality.

Not anymore, unfortunately. And honestly, it makes me kind of sad because as shallow as this may sound, Facebook was an "icon" of my college career. Now, I just don't like it for the exact reasons you laid out!

When facebook changed their format to separate the update streams to show me the ones I interact with on one list and the ones I don't on another list, it messed up my flow. Just because I'm not commenting doesn't mean I 'm not interested. That change resulted in me spending less time on the site - a lot less. I still love facebook, but maybe they should stop tinkering and leave well enough alone.

Hey Lisa! Great post. I'm definitely in the camp of keeping things separate. To me the social tools should augment a brand or products online identity by allowing navigation between all platforms...Facebook, Twitter, brand.com website, blog (if applicable), etc. Each platform has a purpose and trying to bring them all together doesn't make sense to me.

Facebook always reminds me of that lovely old saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket! They want to be everything to everyone and some folks are ok with them being everything and controlling everything. I think if it more like all of life's little indulgences....everything is good in moderation!

Facebook feels like it's becoming too commercial. It's not just about updating your status, it's about status, period. From making sure everyone knows what restaurants we frequent when we check-in to the Escape package just purchased on Living Social. What we share and what we like is becoming more company and product based than ever. Furthermore, it seems that people are updating their statuses less with their own words and relying on check-ins and likes and sharing to imply what they're doing. This takes away the personal element in using our own words to communicate, making Facebook the ultimate targeted mass-marketing vehicle. Facebookers are the ultimate salesman.

Although these small merchants are more expensive than larger supermarket chains for food, we still go there for our bread and cakes. Why?

It goes back to the discussion about buying for content. We don't care about the price if the product is unique and remarkable. We have a personal relation with the merchant who is selling his product.

What does this have to do with Facebook? You are right FB is like a big supermarket, tons of junk. Not to say Twitter doesn't have junk but I guess it's easier to control at 140 characters.

Both are tools, so depending on what your goal are, they need to be used independently not consolidated.

Merci for this post.

I completely agree that I have different networks on different sites. Facebook is much more personal for me and I only friend people that I've actually met or feel comfortable enough letting them in. Twitter is all out public for me and I like it that way.

And I completely agree that by trying to be everything to everyone, you always end up being nothing to no one. Big believer in this.

But I still see Facebook as a special case. This company/site/network/medium/phenomena/whatever you call it has become an integral part of the way we communicate. Like email. In fact, a lot of young people don't even use email. They use Facebook.

I always think back to almost a year ago. A friend of a family member (a friend I didn't really know at all) had some important information for me. To me, email (or the phone) is the way to communicate Def Con 1 information. For this person? It was Facebook. They messaged me on Facebook with extremely important information.

Of course, this person was in their very early 20s and Facebook is what they know. It's not just a social network to them. It's a communication medium, like the phone, email, or texting.

That's why I'm interested to see how Facebook's dipping into so much plays out. They're not just some website. They're a utility.

I'm very much a silo guy, trying to limit what gets shared where. I like Facebook. Its done wonders for me in building an on campus organization (groups is awesome). Is there a better tool for group communication? Probably. The trick for me would have been to get all of my members (30+ at this point) into that ap. They already check facebook though.

I don't buy into all the other services that facebook offers though. My places is foursquare, my deals are groupon, and my videos are youtube, and I'll keep it that way.

Not a fan of Facebook at all. I am though very interested in your opinions about implications that it is trying to have on commence. I am a commercial real estate broker and it has been fun lately. My opinion: Facebook is gone within 5 years!. Your thoughts?

I agree 100%, They keep adding everything while now doing really nothing great. They think having all these member means greatness. They are not Number 1 in any segment. Photos? Nope. Events? Nope. Communication? Nope. Places? nope. Deals? Nope. Being average in everything doesn't mean greatness in aggregate.

Bill Green on Adverve Podcast this week says Facebook is like the Post Office. They bring you Purpose and Spam at the same time.

I like SM silos; I have zero interest in knowing when a friend goes to a store or comments on a message, I'd simply like to know they're doing well and are happy.

"(...) when Facebook announced Places, I rolled my eyes. Facebook comments plugin was introduced a few weeks ago and now Facebook Deals is here. Facebook is becoming the Walmart of social media and it’s eroding the experience. I even wonder if it will become its downfall."

This comment nails it! I am aware it may become omnipresent at some point, and then become a lumbering and slow beast, full of junk. Be it through grass-roots organizing, or sending "They're so cute!" kitten photos via email, if FB chooses to become a commodity... it will eventually lead to a SM ghost town... who knows... we may just start (gasp!) dialing people on the phone, which wouldn't be such a bad thing, now would it?

Definitely a silo - at least the way you have defined it here. And I'm VERY careful, almost paranoid, about what I put on line. No matter what silo.