what is right is not always easy
So I was reading up on my news earlier today and saw an article from mercurynews.com about Facebook's new feature: email that isn't email.
Now, I'll admit that I was a little confused about the new feature just from reading the article. Facebook is coming out with a new messaging service that is email, but so much more too, and yet they are adamant about this NOT being just a way to send email to its early grave. Whatever. Facebook was recently described to me as "trying to do too much, which will be its downfall" and I wholeheartedly agree. But the new email-not-email feature isn't what worries me. It was this quote:
"We've tried to make it so people don't have to think about this stuff," he said. (He being Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of FB.)
I read this, and had to stop and read it again. I wanted to make sure I had the context completely right before I exploded in outrage. And then I realized that the context doesn't truly matter with such a stupid comment.
According to Zuckerberg, Facebook doesn't want its users to have to burden themselves with a system that will be too complicated. They want the most user-friendly interface so that users will get the most enjoyment out of the new feature, which means of course that more people will use it.
Upon first glance, this seems pretty thoughtful, right? Making things easier for the consumer.
Except when you really think about it, its that exact thought of "easy consumerism" that is seriously debilitating our nation. We don't think for ourselves anymore, and as Zuckerberg put it so precisely, we really don't have to. Technology is definitely filling our world with more possibilities than our ancestors could ever have dreamed of. I have had penpals from across the globe, and I never would have met them if not for the internet. People can connect on hobbies from anywhere. Great social experiments like NaNoWriMo (which I'm participating in this year) wouldn't really be possible if they couldn't reach such a wide scale. But with all this advancement, we're really letting other parts of ourselves underdevelop: critical thinking, phyical wellness, social skills, etc. Why figure something out for yourself when there is a handful of websites that can explain it to you, step by step? We don't even have to search hard to find the information. Type a phrase into the google searchbar and then click. Its easier than waking up in the morning.
I did the numbers. There are 2,097 "Idiot's Guide" books currently in print, with topics ranging from Arts and Humanities to Events and History to Health and Fitness. There are just as many in the rival "For Dummies" book series. Subjects cover a wide range of topics - my favorite is the Idiot's Guide to Sheep Farming - and it leads one to believe that we truly can't think for ourselves anymore. With everything written in layman's terms, step by step, our need for ciritical thinking and theory development is out the window. Why do the work when someone else can do it for us?
Now, I'm not saying that people offering their knowledge to the less fortunate is bad. I'm not even saying the internet and its accompanying accoutrements are bad - hell, without the internet, I wouldn't even have this blog. But there must be a line somewhere that we can draw between using the technology at our disposal to aid in our tasks or to do them for us.
Mr Zuckerberg, its all well and good that you want to appeal to the lowest common denominator, but what about the few Facebook users who actually still have braincells and want to use them? I don't need another new, shiny, and super-easy email service. Instead of assuming your users are just looking for the easy way out (as you've displayed in the past with constantly updating the home page for 'ease of use'), you should try to listen when we actually have legitimate, knowledgeable concerns and complaints. Maybe you could do something to aid us by actually aiding us this time.
x-posted to my blog on my personal website: www.flowersforlily.webs.com
Now, I'll admit that I was a little confused about the new feature just from reading the article. Facebook is coming out with a new messaging service that is email, but so much more too, and yet they are adamant about this NOT being just a way to send email to its early grave. Whatever. Facebook was recently described to me as "trying to do too much, which will be its downfall" and I wholeheartedly agree. But the new email-not-email feature isn't what worries me. It was this quote:
"We've tried to make it so people don't have to think about this stuff," he said. (He being Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of FB.)
I read this, and had to stop and read it again. I wanted to make sure I had the context completely right before I exploded in outrage. And then I realized that the context doesn't truly matter with such a stupid comment.
According to Zuckerberg, Facebook doesn't want its users to have to burden themselves with a system that will be too complicated. They want the most user-friendly interface so that users will get the most enjoyment out of the new feature, which means of course that more people will use it.
Upon first glance, this seems pretty thoughtful, right? Making things easier for the consumer.
Except when you really think about it, its that exact thought of "easy consumerism" that is seriously debilitating our nation. We don't think for ourselves anymore, and as Zuckerberg put it so precisely, we really don't have to. Technology is definitely filling our world with more possibilities than our ancestors could ever have dreamed of. I have had penpals from across the globe, and I never would have met them if not for the internet. People can connect on hobbies from anywhere. Great social experiments like NaNoWriMo (which I'm participating in this year) wouldn't really be possible if they couldn't reach such a wide scale. But with all this advancement, we're really letting other parts of ourselves underdevelop: critical thinking, phyical wellness, social skills, etc. Why figure something out for yourself when there is a handful of websites that can explain it to you, step by step? We don't even have to search hard to find the information. Type a phrase into the google searchbar and then click. Its easier than waking up in the morning.
I did the numbers. There are 2,097 "Idiot's Guide" books currently in print, with topics ranging from Arts and Humanities to Events and History to Health and Fitness. There are just as many in the rival "For Dummies" book series. Subjects cover a wide range of topics - my favorite is the Idiot's Guide to Sheep Farming - and it leads one to believe that we truly can't think for ourselves anymore. With everything written in layman's terms, step by step, our need for ciritical thinking and theory development is out the window. Why do the work when someone else can do it for us?
Now, I'm not saying that people offering their knowledge to the less fortunate is bad. I'm not even saying the internet and its accompanying accoutrements are bad - hell, without the internet, I wouldn't even have this blog. But there must be a line somewhere that we can draw between using the technology at our disposal to aid in our tasks or to do them for us.
Mr Zuckerberg, its all well and good that you want to appeal to the lowest common denominator, but what about the few Facebook users who actually still have braincells and want to use them? I don't need another new, shiny, and super-easy email service. Instead of assuming your users are just looking for the easy way out (as you've displayed in the past with constantly updating the home page for 'ease of use'), you should try to listen when we actually have legitimate, knowledgeable concerns and complaints. Maybe you could do something to aid us by actually aiding us this time.
x-posted to my blog on my personal website: www.flowersforlily.webs.com