Why you do not need another social network, in addition to Facebook

Social networks - part of our lives. They can not love, to love, to hold them in 10 minutes a day or 5 hours per day - but completely ignore and deny the social networks as a means of communication you will not succeed. And in all this diversity of social Facebook continues to stand alone network. Not only because he was the "ancestor" of modern social networking format. There are many reasons why users love this particular social network. And what's more: Objectively speaking, you do not need another social network.

How so, you ask, it's just a "content store" giant "vacuum cleaner" of personal data that collects information about youYour photos, links, check-ins and other actions on the web and puts on the page (also access to the data necessary to monitorAnd then God forbid everyone will knowThat you - a secret fan of Mikhail Boyarsky and the series "Interns", and you have the post of Director in the investment fund). In addition, many of you reading these lines tend to think Facebook "dark side" that profit from users by sale advertising and display tons of relevant, but we do not need at the moment of content (and yes - you're right: 50% of the time, and it happens).

I do not deny the negative aspects, which are at the "offspring" of Mark Zuckerberg. Yes, this playground earns on advertising and on users. Yes, it stores data. But with this Facebook gives its users many opportunities that 10 years ago we simply did not have.

I like Facebook because it helps to keep in touch with family, friends and relatives and childhood youth, who now find themselves far from me, in other countries on other continents, and often come can not. Facebook key value - that we can call, write, and communicate with them at any timeWithout resorting to some aids and devices, in addition to an Internet connection and a laptop or tablet. In 2003, you would have to write an email or order international negotiations.

Another function that makes it almost indispensable Facebook platform - it news. Yes, yes, I remember that we kind of talked about why on politics and public life of the news is not worth paying attention to. But in Facebook is not only these 2 categories of news. Brands, content projects, media, magazines, thematic and community interest groups - all of which maintain their own pages in this social networking, and interesting articles often appear in the stream of status updates and Facebook even before on the site itself or in RSS-subscription. Why look for something else, or lament the closure of Google Reader, if everything is right, important and interesting - always at hand and on one site?

The next moment, through which Facebook is more necessary to you than any competing social networks - it the ability to control the privacy of their dataChoose "friends" groups and even individuals, who can (or vice versa - will never be able) to view different content on your page, profile and variety of data about you. This flexible control and the ability to change the settings, make changes in the past, present and future posts is not in most social networks operating today.

Generally Facebook - it's like a huge set of signals and trendsWho are building yourself, your friends and acquaintances, companies and projects that are of interest to you. You can filter, reorder and organize all the information and any thematic streams due to groups and lists. You can hide or add points of interest to you and channels of information. You can block annoying, evil or negative, subscribe to interesting and positive - and this is not even necessary start new "friendship" or a long time to explain to a stranger, why would you bother content (if the functionality of the "Subscriptions" on the user's profile user).

Yes, you may notice that the communication with strangers here often starts spontaneously and flows easier and more dynamic than the web in general. And at the same time - that there is much more "digital noise".

If you notice that your stream too "noisy" and is full of data and news from foreign or uninteresting person - perhaps a sign that it is time to "clean feed"? Unlike other social networks, there is no need even to unsubscribe or long and tedious to filter content. Simply press on the arrow at the top right - and choose "Ignore / close positions," hide only the post or all of the user's posts, which "too much" in your stream. The same Facebook allows you to make and with the pages of brands, projects, media, television channels and companies.

Yes, the work of the social network algorithms are often far from ideal. But for now, Facebook - the only place where the user can very flexibly influence that other people can learn about it, and that he can learn about others and other. Advice on the use of social networks is very simple: select Facebook, hide the entire "digital noise" leave only interesting person and interesting subscription - and you do not need another social network, in addition to this.

A photo: Shutterstock