When Facebook first started it was all sweet and simple and for a keep-in-touch purposes, but now, now...it's a totally different animal, causing me endless frustration.
I am off course talking about these nonsense applications which flood the site.
When I first joined, its applications seemed pretty neat. The basic ones were photos, notes, events, groups…etc. All things that are functional and easy to use.
Then I blinked my eyes, and suddenly Facebook has about 16,000 something applications and I’m sure the flood is about to get deeper.
Take photos application as an example; how many photo applications are there in Facebook, and what purpose does each one have? Answering the first question, it’s about 700+ applications, and second, who knows what for!
Please, hide my face; I am starting to become Facebook Photophobic!
Anyway, let’s go in depth concerning these applications.
There is the good and the bad when it comes to these things, and I am not sure which to start with first. Since I am such a pessimist, I’ll start with the cons.
Con number one, you really like applications, and keep on adding them to your profile, but before doing such a simple task, you have to send an invitation to the first 20 people on your list.
If that wasn't bad enough, you have to send them, in the alphabetical order.
Now, the problem is that my name starts with the letter ‘A’, so that makes me the most eligible for receiving 100 Dr.Phil applications, which I definitely do not need for a personality psychoanalysis.
So basically I become a scapegoat because of my name, and because people are too lazy to ask their friend Zane if they love the 80s.
So please, next time you want to add an application, just ‘skip’ the part where you have to send an invitation, unless it was something pretty damn cool, and you know I or your friends would like it.
Con number two, the more applications you add…the messier your Facebook gets. It becomes tainted with applications all over the place, and people have to scroll up and down your profile, which is really annoying.
Con number three, you have so many applications to the point you can’t keep up with that application you have in your own Facebook. You end up being in a jungle of applications.
Con number four, people are creating groups complaining about Facebook applications, and they’re expressing their rage as to how Facebook is starting to look like Myspace.
So please, don’t shoot the messenger!
Oh, and the Web editor shares his hateful relationship with one of the applications by saying “Super Wall ate my life!” (Well...What is the point of the superwall? Was it designed solely for six people you vaguely know (because nine times out of 10 its the acquaintances who post things there) to post exactly the same ‘amusing’ video clip? Web Ed.)
Let’s get down with the pros of applications, and I think there is one really.
Mainly, you simply have the choice to choose what application you’d like to include in your Facebook.
Whether it was something you like, something that appeals to you, something that actually helps you keep track of something or the like.
In my case, I really like few applications. One of them is the Books applications, but I definitely do not need more than one application to fulfill my book-life!
I also like Free Gifts, but then again how many ‘free gifts’ applications are there? Doesn’t it get confusing when you have more than one application of the same type of application? Heck, I’m getting confused myself right now!
Basically, having too many applications can be troublesome to some of us, especially we, who come on the top of ‘send an invitation’ list. Sure, people can ‘skip’, but how many actually do so? We all want the easiest way out, which is click on ‘send’.
So, is it that I’m damned for having such a name starting with the letter ‘A’? Or is it Facebook applications that need to re-think the whole ‘send an invitation’ to your friends?
Your comments
Facebook definently needs a little clean of the application sections because quite frankly its quite ridiculous having so many similar applications being put up. I myself personally get annoyed by the overwhelming requests. I currently have over 200 invitations and that is just insane. My reason why applications should be reduced is the amount of loading time it takes to get to one person's profile.
Some good points brought out by Amna that I definently agree on.
Keep up the Facebook articles! We love them.
Mohammed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 28, 2008, 12:27
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