[strangecyan]

The idea that Facebook has beaten Snapchat just because they've cloned features is such a weird proposition to me.

Facebook's problem is not that they don't have features, it IS the network that is stopping kids from signing up. Snapchat is a safe haven for creative, throw away content that isn't indexable, searchable, doesn't have a social graph or a permissions model.

[ypeterholmes]

Put differently, the truth is actually the opposite of what this article argues: the vast size of Facebook's network is the biggest threat to their existence. Many people I know are ditching facebook because its become too large a social graph- why would I post something edgy to a network that includes my parents?

[CodeCube]

I fully get that this feature just isn't surfaced very well ... But I don't understand why this isn't facebook's biggest priority, to make their extremely robust permissions system easier to use. As lame as it was in general, G+'s "Circle" feature was really well thought out. I should be able to put all my family in one group, my drinking buddies in another, and my coworkers in another ... and then I can freely share whatever I want with whomever I want.

I've also had plenty of people not trust the permissions. Like, posting pictures from a party, people will freak out when I tag them ... and even when I tell them that I've locked down the album permissions, they don't trust that some error down the line won't expose everything.

[Para2016]

I used to use FB more but now I keep it just for censoring information about myself. I think there are quite a few people who are there just for that reason.

[Qub3d]

I really like the way Randall put it: "a company trying to become the Walmart of social interaction... eventually becomes the Walmart of social interaction"[0].

By having so many different people from different circles all ready to receive whatever you blast into the social space of Facebook, you either have to really water down your ideas or constantly put out fires.

As CodeCube said in this thread; despite all the problems with Google+, the circles idea of sharing different posts with different groups was something I really wanted as well. Too bad only tech enthusiasts picked it up...

[0]:https://xkcd.com/1320/

[patrickmay]

> why would I post something edgy to a network that includes my parents?

That question really answers itself.

[dpeck]

I don't know how anyone could think of content on facebook as being indexable or searchable. Search is still aweful

[tumblen]

Search for users is bad, but the data is indexed and that index is being used and sold behind the scenes all the time.

[lucasmullens]

It's more about that Facebook content is forever. Users know others can see their post years later, causing people to be less willing to use the network.