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say it ain't so
Sep. 21st, 2006 08:07 amI just saw on CNBC financial news that Yahoo! is reportedly gearing up to raise $1 billion in order to buy Facebook.
A quick google search brought up various articles and rumors about Google itself looking to acquire Facebook for around $2 billion.
either way, it looks like Facebook has reached critical development mass and is about to make its creators very, very rich when they sell out.
I don't know how I feel about this; on one hand, I heart capitalism. On the other hand, I and my peers use facebook intensely and often, and they've already made recent changes that are slightly unpleasant. I don't really know if I will continue using the service once it is acquired by a giant- there is a very fine generational line between those who actually use the service, and those who graduated just a year or two before it came online. When you put it in the hands of those who only think of facebook in terms of a juicy ROI and marketing potential of a captive audience base, that audience base suffers.
Not to mention that with one of the megalith search engines being in the running to buy, the potential loss of the already-thin veils of privacy that facebook users so cherish will likely be vaporized. (exhibit A: our recent outrage at the privacy-destroying new features that caused Facebook administrators to almost instantly apologize and write a bunch of new code to appease us and give us our privacy options back.) We already know Google doesn't give a good goddamn about privacy: don't get me wrong, I use google every day, but it's google's job to trade in information, and no one should ever forget that. (exhibit B: the uncomfortable levels of data mining that keep me and many other professionals from using a Gmail acocunt.)
I don't know. if the deal is going forward, it's going forward. There are a lot of voices on facebook, but I'm sure a billion dollars speaks louder than any of us. Ain't nuttin' we can really do about it.
It just makes me kinda...annoyed.
A quick google search brought up various articles and rumors about Google itself looking to acquire Facebook for around $2 billion.
either way, it looks like Facebook has reached critical development mass and is about to make its creators very, very rich when they sell out.
I don't know how I feel about this; on one hand, I heart capitalism. On the other hand, I and my peers use facebook intensely and often, and they've already made recent changes that are slightly unpleasant. I don't really know if I will continue using the service once it is acquired by a giant- there is a very fine generational line between those who actually use the service, and those who graduated just a year or two before it came online. When you put it in the hands of those who only think of facebook in terms of a juicy ROI and marketing potential of a captive audience base, that audience base suffers.
Not to mention that with one of the megalith search engines being in the running to buy, the potential loss of the already-thin veils of privacy that facebook users so cherish will likely be vaporized. (exhibit A: our recent outrage at the privacy-destroying new features that caused Facebook administrators to almost instantly apologize and write a bunch of new code to appease us and give us our privacy options back.) We already know Google doesn't give a good goddamn about privacy: don't get me wrong, I use google every day, but it's google's job to trade in information, and no one should ever forget that. (exhibit B: the uncomfortable levels of data mining that keep me and many other professionals from using a Gmail acocunt.)
I don't know. if the deal is going forward, it's going forward. There are a lot of voices on facebook, but I'm sure a billion dollars speaks louder than any of us. Ain't nuttin' we can really do about it.
It just makes me kinda...annoyed.
