Social Media

The Beginning of the End For Facebook

image from images.petergreenberg.com Media critic Douglas Rushkoff believes that the hype surrounding Facebook will fade. Just as all signs are pointing up for the social network and MySpace is showing symptoms of decline, he asserts that they're going down. This stark forecast comes at a time when many musicians are wondering where to invest their time. MySpace is out and for the moment, Facebook is in. However, Rushkoff says the history of the web has another lesson for us. Genius or not, Zuckerberg's days are numbered. Watch:

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14 Comments

  1. Wow, you mean FB won’t last forever? Man, this guy is a true visionary!
    Seriously though, as much as I hate FB, if you aren’t actively engaging over there you’re making a mistake. FB is where a hell of a lot of people hang out, so like any marketing strategy, you need to be where your audience is, and for the moment it’s FB.

  2. People have been saying the same BS about Google for years. If I had a book to sell I’d be on TV arguing this nonsense as well. Facebook is here to stay kids, and comparing it to MySpace means you don’t know what you’re talking about.
    And if you’re a musician who is looking for an “answer” and you think Facebook is it, you also don’t have a clue. There is no one “answer” to being successful online, Facebook is just one of many outlets.

  3. I highly doubt Facebook is “here to stay” – They’re golden until something bigger, better, cooler, whatever pops up to take it’s place. Facebook is only worth $50 billion because of their audience. If their audience all leaves this afternoon, they’re worth nothing.
    Just about the entire internet is built on Google – they own over 50% of the world’s servers. There’s no way you can compare Facebook with Google except in valuation which I think is a giant bubble anyways.

  4. I understand what he meant by a lack of loyalty on the web, but if Facebook is going to fade away. It is going to fade away into something else. 600 Million people wont just stop using Facebook. They will replace Facebook with something that works better. That is how Facebook won the audience from MySpace. People didn’t just leave Friendster. They left Friendster for Hi5 or MySpace, and then people left MySpace for Facebook. What are they leaving Facebook for Twitter? Diaspera? I don’t think so. Not right now they aren’t.
    This sounds more like the mainstream media protecting itself against social media. Funny considering that the only way I learned of this clip is because of social media. Oh sweet sweet irony.

  5. Facebook is doing one thing right, staying away from music.
    Facebook is doing one thing wrong, it’s becoming cumbersome and cluttered and slow.

  6. If Facebook dies, it will take a lot longer than it did for Myspace, etc. Friendster was fun, Myspace had music; but where many just use Facebook for games, it is actually becoming useful for others.

  7. Of course people will loose an interest in FB this year. People keep looking for new solutions and FB doesn’t offer anything special. The life cycle of social networks is easy to count. Social networks hype will die out within the next 2 years with a successful return to official websites, paid subscriptions, paid content and becoming a member thanks to invitation only etc. Also mobile and tablet hype will be over in 2-3 years. They are just too small and slow to enjoy the whole website content.

  8. I think one of the most innovative websites created is SKYPE!But others may differ.Digital Hub is pretty innovative for information but Communication in ESPECIALLY REALITY is necessary. We don’t know how long Social Media will last, but we DAMN SURE KNOW that no other digital communication will replace ORAL communication. I don’t care how many FACEBOOKS OR MYSPACES are out there!

  9. Agreed. I’m the same way, the only reason I heard about this clip was because of social media. You’re right, there’s no way 600 million people are going to suddenly stop using Facebook. Facebook will be around for quite awhile. Even if something came along now, it would take at least 10 years before Facebook would even start to see a decline in my honest opinion.

  10. Facebook may fade away as a social community website, but they have got the data of all of its users and the users of their partners in their database and will know how to use that database to make profit once their social community website has gone out of fashion and the “digital natives” have moved away.
    It’s too bad that it will be hard for them to escape because wherever they go, by ways of their partnership program with other websites, Facebook is likely going to be already there, continuing to track the “digital natives” every move.

  11. Facebook is a social death trap. It will come to bite you sooner or later. Most simple minded people dont understand the real dynamics of these things and simply join in for the novelty(because its something new, and no harm trying a new thing), and just because others are doing it too (following the heard, crowd mentality).
    But its only a matter of time before this thing backfires!

  12. I don’t think Facebook’s going to die out soon because one big advantage Fb has over Myspace and the others is it’s constantly updating. I don’t just mean the new (usually annoying) profile designs. Just today they realeased an e-mail feature that allows you to send e-mail’s to your Facebook message box. Heck the reason I’m able to comment on this article is because I signed in via connecting with Facebook, a feature I especially love because it’s nicer than having to remember a billion passwords and for different websites. It’s gonna take a lot for something better to come along because Facebook keeps on the ball, it listens to users feedback and is constantly trying to improve the site. I don’t know too much about Twitter but I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. Twitter is Facebook-statuses, not saying it’s bad but it’s not geared toward the same thing so I doubt it’s ever going to take over.

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