More people might try Google+, Diasopora, or go back and see how that MySpace revamp turned out?

downstairs: You'd have to use email to keep in touch with people. Next question.

What's e-mail?

In before the "People still use Facebook?" comments.

Myspace!

Xoom!

how on earth would you go about coordinating re-friendships? Then there's all of your missing messages, wall posts, photos, Likes, Shares, check-ins, Pages, and whatever else Facebook ends up folding into its social monopoly

really? Is it really that hard to keep track of people that are your "friends", and the rest aren't even important except for photos, and are there people that don't keep a local backup of important pictures?

/next week on "Internet Hoarders"

Its time to migrate to Farkbook.

Once upon a time I worked at a university Help Desk and the few times Facebook actually went down (as in totally offline, 404) we had people call us each time telling us their internet didn't work. Facebook was literally all they used the internet for.

Those people would probably shrivel into an old rag and die. I think most of us would get along without it.

FTA: "more ideologically, is Facebook too large and important to fail?"

Too large? possibly. Too important? Facebook really isn't important at all I don't think. I suppose it depends on your definition, but if people are worth staying in touch with, you'll manage without it. If not, you won't, and you won't care.

Companies would have to go back to data mining the old fashioned way: assume everyone is a white male in the age range of 18 to 35 and that that everyone wants the same thing.

zombo.com

/where anything can happen

Fubini: Once upon a time I worked at a university Help Desk and the few times Facebook actually went down (as in totally offline, 404) we had people call us each time telling us their internet didn't work. Facebook was literally all they used the internet for.

Those people would probably shrivel into an old rag and die. I think most of us would get along without it.

For a large portion of society Facebook has replaced email.

I would be annoyed.. but I'd even see myself staying in contact the only way... with AIM or something.

Ishkur: Facebook is very important to the newer generation because it has essentially replaced email. They either text or they use Facebook messaging, but they don't really use '@' email addresses anymore.

Hell I'm 39 and e-mail is so last decade. Between IM and text messaging - it covers 95% of my communications.

I deactivated my Facebook account on January 1st, and I haven't looked back. I still use Google+ and Twitter, but mainly to share content with people and not to listen to them biatch about their drama.

In other news, I feel like my friends are a lot less stupid now because I don't have to watch them being dumbfarks every day on Facebook. The mystery of not knowing what they're doing every second makes them seem more intelligent by default because I don't have as much current evidence to the contrary.

(I'm sure they think the same of me.)

"Or would it be more like a veil being lifted from the collective consciousness, with a billion people blinkishly emerging into the Real World for the first time in years?"

Because for some reason you can't do both?

heidinoele: zez: how on earth would you go about coordinating re-friendships? Then there's all of your missing messages, wall posts, photos, Likes, Shares, check-ins, Pages, and whatever else Facebook ends up folding into its social monopoly

really? Is it really that hard to keep track of people that are your "friends", and the rest aren't even important except for photos, and are there people that don't keep a local backup of important pictures?

/next week on "Internet Hoarders"

My house burned down and I lost everything I owned except my car, my kindle, and the clothes I was wearing at the time. If it weren't for facebook, I wouldn't have any any pictures. Since I also lost my four dogs, I needed pictures of them. Facebook is a good thing.

And, because this is the internet and GIFT is in full effect, I'm sure some asshole will give you crap for having all your stuff on Facebook. But not me.

heidinoele: zez: how on earth would you go about coordinating re-friendships? Then there's all of your missing messages, wall posts, photos, Likes, Shares, check-ins, Pages, and whatever else Facebook ends up folding into its social monopoly

really? Is it really that hard to keep track of people that are your "friends", and the rest aren't even important except for photos, and are there people that don't keep a local backup of important pictures?

/next week on "Internet Hoarders"

My house burned down and I lost everything I owned except my car, my kindle, and the clothes I was wearing at the time. If it weren't for facebook, I wouldn't have any any pictures. Since I also lost my four dogs, I needed pictures of them. Facebook is a good thing.

so you're saying you had a shiatty backup plan, and you killed your dogs?

You need to spend less time on facebook so you can notice that your spaceheaters caught the curtains on fire

I'd get over it.

Nothing.

Attention whores and narcissist would find out that they could still get a hold of the truly important people in their lives via email, phone, what have you.

This writer sounds like he needs therapy.

I would then proceed to continue not using it, I guess..

downstairs:

You'd have to use email to keep in touch with people. Next question.

Which is easy for me with only 16 FB Friends, all but one I've known for years.

Do people actually worry about Facebook closing?

Mugato
There would be swarm of other options fighting to take its place withing minutes.

Came to say this.

As for data loss suggested in TFA... that's what backups are for. Suppose conversations would be lost, but that's not a tragedy. For the most part, it would merely be an inconvenience, as you'd have to remake the same content and connections elsewhere.

Also, I doubt that Facebook would go offline permanently without warning, barring circumstances that would dwarf the loss of one particular social network.

heidinoele: My furnace malfunctioned. It was an unfortunate accident. All my back up burned too.

That sucks... I would be crushed if anything happened to my pets. As for your data, CrashPlan is pretty sweet and reasonably priced. It backs up to a connected USB drive and 'the cloud' at the same time.

/End Threadjack
//Glares suspiciously at wife's beloved space heater...

America would get out of its recession.

Ishkur: wraith95: Too large? possibly. Too important? Facebook really isn't important at all I don't think. I suppose it depends on your definition, but if people are worth staying in touch with, you'll manage without it. If not, you won't, and you won't care.

Facebook is very important to the newer generation because it has essentially replaced email. They either text or they use Facebook messaging, but they don't really use '@' email addresses anymore.

But it's hardly irreplaceable as a tool, is my point. Sure everyone would have to scrabble around to reacquire contact with the people you actually care about, but email, IM and texting, and voice communication still exist. Facebook is convenient, not essential. It's like the difference between the internet and your ISP, or cable TV and comcast. One is essential, the other is merely a means to that end.

/notasinglef***wasgiventhatday.jpg

Facebook is my livelihood, and while my job would be jeopardized, my social life would hardly notice.

OK, maybe I wouldn't hear about a get-together that was (would have been) announced on Facebook, but in the past we had email groups for that. And now there's Google+ that would take up the slack, or maybe LinkedIn. (In my experience, both of those are more professionally-oriented, and not filled with personal stuff. Yet.)

bravian: downstairs: You'd have to use email to keep in touch with people. Next question.

What's e-mail?

It's like instant messanging but people reply really slow.

SharkTrager: Fubini: Once upon a time I worked at a university Help Desk and the few times Facebook actually went down (as in totally offline, 404) we had people call us each time telling us their internet didn't work. Facebook was literally all they used the internet for.

Those people would probably shrivel into an old rag and die. I think most of us would get along without it.

For a large portion of society Facebook has replaced email.

"Large" sounds extremely generous and totally unsubstantiated. I'm sure there are some people out there, but they have zero professional communications needs. When I was a teenager I filled out applications for retail positions that required an email account, and I highly doubt they're now asking for Facebook handles.

Ishkur: wraith95: Too large? possibly. Too important? Facebook really isn't important at all I don't think. I suppose it depends on your definition, but if people are worth staying in touch with, you'll manage without it. If not, you won't, and you won't care.

Facebook is very important to the newer generation because it has essentially replaced email. They either text or they use Facebook messaging, but they don't really use '@' email addresses anymore.

People seem to really forget the importance of finding people based on their real name. It's VERY hard to keep track of who's who in email, and you have to manually find out each individual person's email addreses. Most of which are retarded shiat like ieatp­o­t­a­toe­s3­4­23­42ftw­l­oa­e­sulli­tsicom

Ahhhhh, so Facebook is going down. No worries here mate, because I don't Facebook. I better tell my AOL friends.

downstairs: You'd have to use email to keep in touch with people. Next question.

Or pick up a phone and call somebody. Or how about this. get up, leave your house, go to that person's house, knock on the door, and say hi? Or even send a letter.

There was a time before Facebook when we were able to communicate with friends and family and organize outings. You don't need Facebook to do this stuff and I'm really tired of people acting like none of this stuff was ever possible before Facebook.

/Rant off. Now I going to go shake my fist and yell at some kids.

ongbok: Or how about this. get up, leave your house, go to that person's house, knock on the door, and say hi?

Because in Mayberry, everybody lives nearby.