Y'know what I wish we had instead of Facebook?

[captain_slinky]

I wish there was some social media website out there that allowed you to see ALL of your friends updates in a chronological order rather than this weird mix-n-match "News Feed" stuff where Facebook decides who you want to hear about.

I wish there were a way to opt out of all the constant advertising, even if it meant having to pay for the service (although you could still get the service for free with ads).

I wish there were an option that wasn't just strip-mining me for data to sell to third parties.

I wish that there was more room for my updates, allowing me to actually WRITE rather than just jotting down notes if I want to.

OH WAIT THERE IS! IT'S LIVEJOURNAL!

Comments

[waygroovy.livejournal.com]

Where the hell is the "Like" button?

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Y'know, after I wrote this I thought about the type of person who prefers Facebook over LJ and it all boils down to the "Like" button. LJ is great for writing stuf out just for yourself and then when people comment on it you get a warm feeling of "Oh somebody else likes this" and you get a conversation going. Facebook, though, has the "Like" button which is the Polite Grin of The Internet. It lets the reader say "I see what you did there and I approve" without having to actually "say" anything, and it lets the writer know that somebody saw what you said and approved of it.

LJ occasionally feels so lonely when nobody comments...

[aurora77]

It does stifle conversation, if you ask me. You don't share what you liked about it or have any meaningful exchange with just the click of a Like button. And it doesn't really mean much because it doesn't take any real effort to click it.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Exactly... It's the BARE MINIMUM of acknowledgment. It's a raising of the eyebrows. It's a subtle nod.

But that's all some people can do, I guess... not everybody enjoys words and sentences and thought-out replies. If we all did, then we'd all be writers?