This feature is a "negativity" and "spite" magnet; voting always is; which is why FF, FB, flickr adopt "faving/bookmarking* than "voting". *' like ' is meant to be just a shorter/nicer name for bookmark. Let's remove this feature.
The ultimate issue for me is how to to flag something that might be a negative thing (war, earthquake, death, etc.). "Flag" might work since it has no negative or positive connotation.
- caj needs a haircut
"Like" has become a common term though. I'd say keep the term to avoid confusion.
- manielse (Mark Nielsen)
To me, "flag" is something negative. A lot of websites use "flag" to mark something as against TOS, for admin to review.
- Rochelle
I don't think "Dislike" is necessary. Adding a comment like ":-(" or "ugh" or "sorry" acknowledges and bumps the post without the double meaning that comes along with "Like" for those who feel uncomfortable with that terminology.
- John (bird whisperer)
I wouldn't say "flag" that's like "Flag for moderation". I think bump or promote work well because that's what it does. You may not like what you're bumping but you think it deserves attention.
- Spidra Webster
like is just a re-tweet...doh...a tool to pull content to your followers..its not about "liking/disliking" something
- Chris Hofmann
"vijay bookmarked this" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
- dthree
what also is needed is comment rating with + and - it could be used like digg does (filter the bad stuff, sort by most +,...)
- Chris Hofmann
Removed that bullet point from the wiki page. I'm all for some other moniker besides "like" which could be more neutral of opinion or emotion - something that says "I took notice of this and so should you", but not in those exact words because it would take up too much space :P
- Kevin L
lol Kevin! :D We can put up a poll with about 10 options for an alternative next week.
- vijay
"like" = bookmark. sometimes you don't have any comment but you just wanna bookmark it.
- vijay
then do not call it "like"! (what a strange wording...)
- minus-one
like = "I like that this was brought to my attention". Technically it's a strange wording but practically it doesn't work.
- vijay
like I said earlier, we will be putting some alternatives for "like" to vote next week. I will DM you the thread so you can also throw in options that you think are good alternatives to "like".
- vijay
@vijay: "I like that this was brought to my attention" <- try to do the same trick with「お気に入り」... ;)
- minus-one
yeah, call it "reshare" already (or something...)
- minus-one
I think the point is to have the same functionality without the implication that the post pleased you in some way. For example, bad news - it doesn't seem right to "like" it, but you want others to see it in their feeds. Somebody start scouring the dictionary :)
- Kevin L
Is it wrong for me to feel a certain sense of betrayal? I didn't spend all my time here making connections, adding in interesting content and trying to get friends to join so that friendfeed would get acquired by Facebook.
I guess I should be glad that I made a bunch of new friends here and have learned a lot, but I just wish that the guys at friendfeed hadn't sold out to a company that doesn't really need what friendfeed has.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
@Alex: I completely agree... and I haven't been and won't ever be on Facebook...
- Harold
not wrong at all. I actually feel a little hurt.
- Vicarbott
Yeah, I think betrayed is a good description...
- Lindsay
But let's be honest, they built this to make money and survive. Gotta say I'm pleased it's shown to be worth something, and I'm guessing a significant something for FB to acquire them. Wonder if they were offered shares in FB as part of the deal?
- Mark Aitken
I guess we are all betrayed - in certain terms.. but FB should have done its market research before it got this property. Most of the USERS are not happy with FB type of connections or that property , so we left and looked for something better, it was FF. Now a new hunt will begin !
- Peter Dawson
actually, you kinda did. if users like you didn't create so much value, Facebook wouldn't have acquired (notwithstanding feelings of betrayal).
- jeffscott
I share your sentiments in many ways. I have been proud to tell others who had no idea that FF existed how good it is (lets hope not was!) Lets hope they keep the spirit alive. By the way the minute I see any target 'phorm' style advertising, I am off to find a new up and coming. I wont run to Tumblr yet but I do have one foot in already, just in case.
- Kevin J Hatton
My immediate reaction was Facebook will push ads onto their users. I think FriendFeed could be seriously screwed up with live moving ads, so that's hopefully out of the picture from a purely usability view. Friendfeed is all about realtime web information. I then wonder how in that case will the monetise the relationship. My guess? Facebook will show live conversations and hopefully they will rip out the poor IM implementation in Facebook. The purchase may be nothing more sinister, I hope...
- Mark Aitken
Feeling a bit of betrayal, or unhappiness atleast. Have a Facebook account but rarely use it since it's a walled garden. Preferred Friendfeed for better technology, organization, but even more so it's openness!
- LonelyBob
I don't give 2 cents if that's wrong or not but I feel betrayed.
- vijay
Peter, I doubt FB gives a crap about FF users. FB wanted the talent that worked at FF, not the product.
- Jeff P. Henderson
I understand the sentiment, but this is the way of tech apps;.nothing stays the same for long. Feeling betrayed is not gonna change anything. Either you roll with the changes and try to force the positive, or you quit.
- Rene, Pro Button Pusher
I agree with Cecily that betrayal is a strong word. I have always understood that FriendFeed is a free service, thus I can't claim control over it. Though, really, I wonder what s going to happen to my thousands of likes, comments, posts, etc.
- Rishabh Mishra (p248)
Completely concur with you Alex. Just goes to show maybe there is room for another platform...
- Arleen Boyd
As I said elsewhere, this was a talent + buzz acquisition. I sorta wish I could download my FF history and host it on my own server with SweetCron or something.
- Anthony Citrano
+1 Alex. EndFeed's the word... well, how about everybody grieves for 5 minutes, then gets the search for greener pastures under way. There was plenty to be improved about FriendFeed (been saying that since well before this announcement), so I just hope that someone else has the databasing/real-time wherewithal to build something like this, improved.
- Alex Schleber
Facebook doesn't even give a crap about their own users
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
from IM
Do any of these sites give a crap though Alex? I understand what you are saying and how it makes you feel this way, but I realised a long time ago.. they are ALL businesses and the bottom line is NO they don't give a crap... because they are NOT depending on you to be ok..
- Rob Sellen :o)
friendfeed at least acted as though they gave a crap...at least until today. And there's nothing about being a business that says "crapping on your customers is OK". Business is business does not equal "screw your customers to make a buck".
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
from IM
That and stunned. Lately I've been describing Friendfeed to the uninitiated as "a facebook without all the crap." Unfortunately, it looks like now it'll just be integrated into all the crap, if kept at all. That said, congratulations to the FF team - this is a big win for them and they deserve a lot of kudos. I look forward to the web apps they come up with in the future.
- Chris Rogers
"Is it wrong for me to feel a certain sense of betrayal?" - in an emotional sense, no. In a literal sense, yes, unless you can show me where FriendFeed made a commitment to you that they'd never change in a way that didn't fit your ideals for the service.
- Edward Coffey
i'm just hoping they will keep friendfeed separate and use it as a testing ground for new features.
- Edgar Rodríguez
They made a commitment to us when they built a service that wasn't called Facebook or Twitter. They made a commitment to us when they listened to our feedback and participated in our feeds. They made a commitment to us with their actions. A commitment that has been forever shattered with their deal with the internet equivalent of the devil.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
from IM
Lindsey is right.. the thing is Alex... friendfeed is STILL here... ;o) YOU are still here...
- Rob Sellen :o)
And forget about any improvements to the site. You know that the team will be much too busy trying to figure out what the next iteration of Facebook should look like.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
from IM
Yep , definitely a sense of foreboding there ... "for the time being"
- Tom Horn
I can empathize with these sentiments, but Social Media is a set of tools--I appreciate the connections I make, but I'm not getting too emotionally worked-up about the tools changing.
- Rob Michael (Atmos Trio)
why? friendfeed.com is not going anywhere is it... no reason this place couldn't stay.. what if they LOCKED friendfeed users in now.. said.. we WILL reward you users for helping us, testing things for us etc... ;o)
- Rob Sellen :o)
Rob...did you not notice who bought them? Facebook is known for doing dick for their users.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
Absolutely not Alex, I feel the same way. About 18 months' collection of content, great friends, an open community all gone. We now are marched into an atmosphere of censorship and walled relationships where users don't amount to a hill of beans. Really, really sucks.
- JCunwired
I'm sure FF is going away one way or another; there's no way that the combined company is going to keep developing full steam ahead on both products. Is it wrong to feel betrayed? I don't know. I don't personally feel betrayed, but I guess I'm not nearly as invested in FF as you and others are. I do think the end result may be something positive though; the ability to interact with the larger FB community on this level is something that could be truly wonderful. Then again, it might just end in tears...
- Tristan Seligmann
Especially when we consider that while they built the tools, we as a community are what made it great - both with our usage, our dedication and our regular feedback to make the site better. As I said before, its our fault FB even looked this way.
- JCunwired
"...internet equivalent of the devil" - ohh-kayy...*backs away slowly*
- Edward Coffey
betrayal isn't the word i feel. it's just business. i do agree with Anthony Citrano: I wonder if there's a way to pull all of my stuff out of FF and put it on my own machine. the year I've spent here, and the 2+ years on Twitter and FB, have been to the detrimiment of my own writing and content creation. The thing about all social media is they depend on users to fill their cyber-vessels with content, and then they make a living off of that...but it's pretty difficult for you to reclaim your "stuff" later.
- .LAG liked that
If Google's motto is "do no evil" then Facebook's motto is "do whatever we want to our customers, even when it makes absolutely no sense"...yeah, I'd consider that to be bordering on evil.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
from IM
I did Alex.. Facebook sucks in many ways, they treat users like shit... BUT does this deal mean the actual end of frienfeed.com < the domain etc... what about if this place is used like a testing place and kept here? who knows?
- Rob Sellen :o)
Ironic that! ToS & privacy & UCG & bandwidth & yet how much of that can be measured without actuarial measurements of packet flow? Not surprised based on much of the commentary the past 18 months. Attribution & authenticity matters.
- Scott Moskowitz
from iPhone
I think betrayal is appropriate - the FB community is NOT the FF community. Even if they make it better, or build something completely new, they will at some point shut down or gut what they have here.
- Jennifer Dittrich
As long as my stuff is still indexed, I don't really care. I love Facebook - and I love watching my real friends interact with my Internet friends. :)
- Mona Nomura
FWIW TXT is a bigger "content" biz than music, movies, games combined ... Yet this was not a predictable exit? Come on ... Said many times - what is a fair split for UCG & those that skim the packet flow?
- Scott Moskowitz
from iPhone
Betrayal is definitely appropriate. So is apprehension and a little bit of anger.
- Mike Lewis
I feel the same way! I'm glad I'm not alone in that feeling. I have facebook I don't like it as much I like FF.
- Anna Lynn M.
I wouldn't worry about Facebook integrating your FriendFeed content into Facebook; that doesn't seem very likely to me.
- Tristan Seligmann
I feel you, Alex, and dread what is to come. But at the same time, seeing the reported terms of the deal, I don't think I would have turned it down either.
- Michael W. May
Alex - Think you'd have to agree (despite the fact we don't know everything) that they were smart. On the other hand, it's pretty obvious you're not alone in your sentiments (Funny - posted this to Robert's stream first by boo-boo :)
- Charlie Anzman
Alex, I feel your pain - but someone was going to acquire FriendFeed. It was inevitable. I'm just glad Facebook didn't buy Twitter.
- Bill Sodeman
I would rather that Google bought friendfeed and Facebook acquired Twitter. That would have been justice. This...this is a travesty.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
So would I alex..but it never happened..
- Rob Sellen :o)
Do you think Microsoft finish the job and eat Facebook?
- τorƍue
I love the way FriendFeed works, I hate Facebook interfaces. I wish there was another FriendFeed-like service to jump to.
- Amit Morson
I've never found Facebook to be intuitive, and I just enjoyed the manner of connecting here. Not sure what to feel now.
- Rick Cogley
I don't think it's wrong to feel betrayed. If Facebook bought Twitter, honestly I would feel the same way. I think they're going to shutter the store here, which is kind of sad, but we'll see....
- matt singley
My fears are threefold. I fear unavoidable unwanted integration. I fear the addition of the awful Facebook TOS, and I fear the loss of the community. That last one is the big one.
- Joe "Brrzzzzzzt" Pierce
Joe, perhaps FB may change their TOS...
- Bill Sodeman
It's all about the money, It's all about the dum dum didudumdum, I don't think it's funny...
- Dobromir Hadzhiev
Bill, that is a nice thought but it is very doubtful. It would solve a lot of the problem I have with them if they did though. I seriously just don't want to lose the awesome community that has built up here. I mean without FF how would I keep up with Alex, its not like I live in the same town....oh wait /stalkermodeactivate!
- Joe "Brrzzzzzzt" Pierce
If you find any decent asylum, Ryo, please check a room for me, as well, please.
- Zackatoustra
from email
Guess we didn't read the Terms of Service carefully enough. :-(
- Mahendra (SkepticGeek)
I wish it was Twitter, Google, even Yahoo but not Facebook.
- Jacque
Would you have not spent all the time here (etc...) if you were told that this is a start-up business and could get acquired at any time? Or could run out of money and shut down at any time? At least you had a chance to make the connections and share/consume that content...for free. Looks like you're better off than you were before you joined, no?
- Mohamed J
Yes, that's probably an accurate way to describe it, a sense of betrayal. Of course, we're not paying money to use this good service though we are paying time and good will, so it can be argued I suppose that FF did not betray us. I'm feeling upset myself, because I have never liked FB much. I did not want to be on there but got invited by old friends. I don't like the walled garden...
more...
- Rick Cogley
I especially feel crappy because I evangelized FF aggressively among my friends, most of whom are on Facebook.
- Ahsan Ali
To Alex Schleber: if you build it, we will come. Seriously, what Rick Cogley said too - I love that I can interact with almost anyone, not just people I'd interact with anyway and, in my case, have known forever. I love that it's like a small, really fun cocktail party with your friends, some of their friends, and a few strangers - as opposed to a convention (or, for me, a high school reunion!). Sad.
- Amy℠
It's not wrong to feel betrayed, but everyone has their price - sadly.
- David Jagger
Yeah, Claude, it's definitely a trust thing.
- Rick Cogley
This video is just insane: A horse somehow galloped into traffic in Israel yesterday -- and successfully hurdled a car that was driving directly towards it, crushing the front windshield in the process.
- Reg Saddler (Zaibatsu)
"Conspiracy theorists divide the world into 'Everyone remotely qualified vs. Me' and decide they'll win single-handedly": http://www.cracked.com/funny-4...
"Among the folks who responded to our Summer Reading List was a librarian who asked if we could compile a similar bibliography of titles featuring historically under-represented groups, a challenge we happily accepted. Below are the results of our collective effort to identify comics and graphic novels that reflect America's real cultural diversity. Some of these titles, such as American Born Chinese and Incognegro, address issues of race, religion, and discrimination head-on, while others, such as Knights of the Lunch Table: The Dodgeball Chronicles and Blue Beetle: Shellshocked, present diversity as a simple fact of American life. Our list isn't intended to be exhaustive; as we imagine it, this document can and should be revised to reflect the publication of new books and to incorporate suggestions from librarians and teachers working in diverse communities. We welcome your feedback, and encourage you to add your own recommendations in the comment section below. "
- RAPatton
"Flat-panel displays based on organic LEDs are tipped to replace the now-ubiquitous LCD panels, thanks to a host of benefits including greater energy efficiency. Now researchers have shown that OLEDs can be made even more frugal by carefully choosing the balance of colours used to make up an image. Each pixel in an OLED screen is made from a spot of polymer that emits coloured light when supplied with power, and each uses different amounts of energy depending on the colour being displayed. At the same brightness, yellow, for example, uses less energy than magenta."
- Steven Perez
from Bookmarklet
but, will they b able to display anything besides teeth?
- chaz2b
Nope, unintended side effect: All pictures will now be made up entirely of tiny teeth.
- Marty
Yeah, but it's Generation X's fault that we have to look at all those "Y"s... We(they?) started it. (I get a little confused. I'm 30, so which side of the fence am I really on?)
- Kamilah Reed (K. Gill)
Kamilah, I'm in the same boat. 31, and every definition says I fall between the X and Y cracks. Which, in light of this post, kinda grosses me out.
- FFing Enigma
LOLZ Tina. I guess it's the shadow effect of my parents being a little too young to be true Boomers. I'm a little too young to be Gen X
- Kamilah Reed (K. Gill)
Just missing a strange looking tattoo and you're there Shey
- Charlie Anzman
According to that, I'm officially an Xer. Once again, I apologize on behalf of this entire generation for the saggy pants that refuse to go away. We though it was cute. Fun. Temporary.
- Kamilah Reed (K. Gill)
I'm Generation Y. But my butt-crack is firmly concealed. Unless I'm at home...
- Shey
Louis Gray (and Mike Fruchter) have been compiling a list of FriendFeed users they recommend you follow. These lists have had some prominent users in them, and I'm happy to report I made the June 2009 edition! Weeeeeeee!! I've gotten a ton of new friend requests as a result and I'm happy for the Louis Gray stamp of approval. See you all on FriendFeed! Permalink | Leave a comment »
- Bwana ☠
Hey I didn't get a reward - no fair :-)
- Jesse Stay
I want to make a better badge for my sites :)
- Bwana ☠
As well you should! You need a stamp graphic "Louis Gray Approved!"
- Keith - @tsudo
Ha! Whose head is that in your image? :)
- Louis Gray
I do have a shirt though, which makes it all better
- Jesse Stay
*sniff* I was on one of the lists before LG took over the reins so I can't use the badge. Then again, I don't maintain my blog/s either, so it's no real loss I suppose... =D
- FFing Enigma
Louis - you can thank Bing image search for that one :)
- Bwana ☠
hey congrats on making the list bwana
- (jeff)isageek
I Love it! Bawana you get so many bonus points you are off the map - drinks and dinner on me if you are ever in Seattle. :-)
- Dan owns Comicsforge.com
hahaha i LOVE the badge - you should distribute it to past nominees so they can add it to their sites
- Marco(aureliusmaximus)
Not that you needed to since you're already "famous" here - look at all those subscribers! How about official versions of the "Official Louis Gray FriendFeed Recommendation" or "Louis Gray approved" or "LG certified" badge? I'd proudly display one of those and link it to Louis' blog. (But what about Mike? He deserves some credit too!)
- Internet Strategist