My Guardian column this week tries to dissect the genius of Facebook:
At Davos this year, a powerful newspaper publisher beseeched Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder of the hugely successful social network Facebook, for advice on how he could build and own his community. The famously laconic Zuckerberg replied “You can’t.”
Zuckerberg went on to explain that communities already exist and the question these magnates should ask instead is how they can help them to do what they want to do. Zuckerberg’s prescription was “elegant organisation”. That is what he brought to Harvard’s community when he started Facebook, then to more colleges, high schools and companies (including half the BBC, which has 10,000 friends, says its director of global news Richard Sambrook). And now it is open to the rest of us.
I finally joined Facebook and have become obsessed with Zuckerberg’s creation. Until last autumn, one could join only with a university “edu” address. As a professor, I finally got that. Once inside, though, it felt terribly lonely; I had no friends. But since Facebook opened up, a flood of fellow old cronies have joined. So I spent a weekend morning inviting people I knew to be my Facebook friends – which would mean that we could see each other’s pages and follow each other’s actions in the service – and what floored me was the speed with which they replied. In a day I had 150 friends. What’s notable about that is not that I’m liked but that these 150 people were on Facebook within a weekend. They, too, were addicted.
What is Facebook’s secret sauce? I think it starts with identity. On the otherwise anonymous and pseudonymous internet, this is a place where real identity matters: I use my name and I associate with people whom I actually know. Soon after I started, I got invitations from strangers and asked my blog readers about the etiquette of responding. I was told that, in school, one accepts all invitations, because you are all in the same institution and it’s rather like an arms race; school is, after all, a popularity contest. But we newcomer adults already seem to be developing a rule (borrowed from the similar business site LinkedIn) that we should befriend only those we know; it is an endorsement. So we are the masters of of our identities and our communities, which establishes trust. I think internet users have been yearning for such control.
Next, Facebook introduced what it calls a newsfeed, filled with simple updates about what your friends have done on the service: one posted a photo, another a video, two more befriended the same person, four others started using a feature. This was controversial when introduced – mainly because users were surprised by the change – but now it is popular, even essential. Zuckerberg says it is not news as we know it, but it has news value: if four friends I respect start using a program, that’s good enough reason for me to look at it. As one blogger said, this isn’t the wisdom of crowds but the wisdom of my crowd. It is like the talk around the cracker barrel in a frontier general store: the protonews of my small society.
Finally, a few weeks ago, Facebook turned itself into a platform. That is, it enables anyone to create applications on top of the service. Already there are scores of aps hooking up users’ information with other services such as calendars, maps, chat, music, news, shopping, and much more. Every media, entertainment and web company needs to figure out how Facebook can help their communities. It is not just about widgetising content – the latest web 2.0 fad – but about people doing things together.
Zuckerberg’s ambition for Facebook -which he has so far refused to sell, even though it is said he has been offered more than $1bn – is nothing less than for it to become the social operating system of the web, the Google of people. If the service opens up yet more – if it becomes the twine to tie together my lives online in my blog, my work, my town, YouTube, Flickr, Del.icio.us, Amazon, eBay, Twitter, and more – then his ambition may be attainable. That would be elegant organisation indeed.
[...] the person back into the internet Jeff Jarvis has a column in The Guardian – and also on his blog – in which he argues that the success of Facebook is down to the fact that your (tangible) identity [...]
[...] The new social network google? June 11, 2007 at 7:52 am | In Uncategorized | Here is a link to an article by Jeff Jarvis who wrote in The Guardian thus in conclusion: Zuckerberg’s ambition [...]
I’m a little confused by your assertion about identity. Contrary to the advice you received on etiquette, one of the myths of social networking is that people friend everyone whereas it seems that in fact the majority of kids etc on myspace etc use the online network as a way of maintaining contact with their exiting real life social circle.
Personally I think the initial simplicity of the Facebook interface and its ease of use are key elements in its success.
Excellent piece. Thanks for this Jeff. I’ve been putting off joining Facebook for fear it would be a needless addition to my (already complicated) online lives and activities, but if it could become “the twine to tie together” my online goings-on it’ll be worth the effort.
[...] Jeff Jarvis’ latest Guardian column on his personal and recent infatuation with facebook is worth reading. [...]
Facebook rocks because the interestingness ratio is so high. You easily find information that’s interesting to you, such as updates from your friends. That’s powerful stuff.
I don’t know that it’s definitive, but it’s been reported that they have turned down a reported $1.6 billion, and that the asking price, if they do sell, to Yahoo! now would be in the $2 billion range.
[...] Jarvis wrote a column about Facebook. It captures the essence of why Facebook is so incredible. I also find it amazing [...]
As a long time facebook user and college student, I’ve been surprised by the number of my similarly situated friends who are still complaining that facebook is now open to everyone. I don’t feel this way, but apparently the sentiment is that it’s less safe and insular (read: special) for college students now that mom and the boss can join.
Your lovely treatise will be the first place I’ll direct them to convince them otherwise.
That said, could we see backlash as facebook leaves the long-tail niche market of college students? I’m worried that the coolness factor is rapidly declining.
Jeff,
Facebook is awesome, and, personally, I like it a lot better than any other mainstream social network. But you underscore “identity,” and I don’t disagree, but what profiles like this: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503335309&ref=nf. Is she real?
Max
“In a day I had 150 friends.”
You rock! Awseome, man! (Sorry that was my impression of an American.)
Remember they are not real friends though, Jeff. Just other folks who like sticking blurry pictures of themselvers up on the internet.
[...] original here: BuzzMachine Identity [...]
Tom,
No, they are real friends — people I know in real life. That’s the point.
Jeff,
Zuckerberg and his team at facebook are pure genius and the execution is great. The F8 platform is going to pull all of your online lives into one place eventually. The applications being developed are truly amazing (we have analyzed several hundred).
“If the service opens up yet more – if it becomes the twine to tie together my lives online in my blog, my work, my town, YouTube, Flickr, Del.icio.us, Amazon, eBay, Twitter, and more – then his ambition may be attainable”…
The service is already open… it is just matter of deeper integrations of applications onto the f8 platform being developed. This is happening at a breakneck pace as we speak.
Amazon already has the ability on facebook to rate, review and share book reviews… http://facereviews.com/2007/06/01/book-reviews-by-amazon-and-facebook-widget-review/
p.s. I can already read you blog headlines and short summary on my facebook profile page.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=540680174
Rodney Rumford
http://www.facereviews.com
[...] my initial observations of Facebook, what makes it tick? Jeff Jarvis recently noted that: …a powerful newspaper publisher beseeched Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder of the hugely [...]
[...] schmunzeln, Buzzmachine: My Guardian column this week tries to dissect the genius of [...]
[...] BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » Guardian column: Facebook’s genius As per previous posts – Facebook has ARRIVED. I plugged my email address book into it and it turned up a fascinating cross section – from young P&Gers to the CEO of Leo Burnett (tags: facebook socialnetworking) [...]
Everybody I know uses facebook differently, I don’t think you can make generalizations about whether people “friend everyone” or stick to their flesh and blood social circles
[...] “I finally joined Facebook and have become obsessed with Zuckerberg’s creation,” Jarvis wrote in a recent column. (By the way, Jeff, I still haven’t heard back from you on my friend [...]
[...] my initial observations of Facebook, what makes it tick? As Jeff Jarvis recently noted: “…a powerful newspaper publisher beseeched Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder of the hugely [...]
[...] read these articles: Wikipedia, Fast Company’s profile of the founder, Jeff Jarvis’s column, Fortune’s take, and Mashable’s company profile. And stay in touch with the latest on [...]
[...] starters, dig through my files on Facebook, and make sure to read the following articles: Jeff Jarvis, Fast Company, Wharton, Mashable, CNN, and check out this tips and tools for Facebook. Does it [...]
[...] though, after the initial barrage of friend requests, things sort of died down and got quiet. As BuzzMachine says, after that initial weekend morning, what else does MySpace have. You can only add so many [...]
[...] level Facebook is more user friendly and the search functions perform immensely better. On Jeff Jarvis Buzz Machine blog he explained. “Facebook turned itself into a platform. That is, it enables anyone to create [...]
[...] starters, dig through my files on Facebook, and make sure to read the following articles: Jeff Jarvis, Fast Company, Wharton, Mashable, CNN, and check out this tips and tools for Facebook. Does it seem [...]
[...] have been the greatest fan and booster of Facebook but I have to wonder whether they are leapfrogging the shark by cutting off Google [...]
[...] my initial observations of Facebook, what makes it tick? As Jeff Jarvis recently noted: “…a powerful newspaper publisher beseeched Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder of the [...]
[...] and thoughts is a matter of etiquette and honor and respect for those with whom you are speaking. I believe that true identity is the secret to Facebook’s success. I see a layer of identity on the [...]
[...] starters, dig through my files on Facebook, and make sure to read the following articles: Jeff Jarvis, Fast Company, Wharton, Mashable, CNN, and check out this tips and tools for Facebook. Here’s [...]
Great quote on creating vs. hosting a community. Something the “let’s build a social community around our brand of soap” crowd misses…
[...] Jeff Jarvis shares a great anecdote that makes a crucial point about creating social networking sites: …a powerful newspaper publisher beseeched Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder of the hugely successful social network Facebook, for advice on how he could build and own his community. [...]
[...] in den Köpfen, Herzen und auf den Bankkonten der Menschen. Ein Zitat von Mark Zuckerberg, das Jeff Jarvis widergab, passt hier sehr gut: “At Davos this year [2007], a powerful newspaper publisher beseeched [...]
[...] read these articles: Wikipedia, Fast Company’s profile of the founder, Jeff Jarvis’s column, Fortune’s take, and Mashable’s company profile. And stay in touch with the latest on [...]
[...] starters, dig through my files on Facebook, and make sure to read the following articles: Jeff Jarvis, Fast Company, Wharton, Mashable, CNN, and check out this tips and tools for Facebook. [...]
[...] für bereits vorhandene Interessen und Gemeinsamkeiten. Sehr schön kommentiert nachzulesen bei Jeff Jarvis’ Blog Buzzmachine. (tags: internet Community) [...]