“real-time serendipity in a friction-less experience” – That’s what Mark Zuckerberg promised at F8 in 2011 with the introduction of frictionless sharing on Facebook and the embedded social apps. With one click you would be able to share everything with everyone in your network. From your daily run, to your listened to tracks, over your cooked meals….you would share everything without pushing the share button every time over and over again. One year later nothing much is left of this friction-less experience on my Facebook….a list of songs on Spotify does pass by occasionally , a workout summary from Runkeeper (but on irregular basis – like they only share if they had a good work-out),…. But one way or the other I don’t care what they listen to, or how their work-out was! Do you?
With this movie Facebook launched friction-less sharing and social apps last year at F8.
A promising movie, and if you look at the bottom line….nice indeed! As Erik Qualman has described in his book “socialnomics” you’re better informed about your social network, this way the quality of your interactions will be better, since your conversations will be more efficient and in-depth on topic (since all information is available). Mark Zuckerberg must have read this book, while he was thinking about this friction-less sharing world. Only log-on once and everything will be shared, but this scared a lot of people, because they aren’t ready to share everything (yet?). Key to success (as described in my course here) for a flat world business (like Facebook) is tailored to market needs with a value proposition which is so compelling that they (can) change consumer behavior. But one year later, consumer behavior isn’t changing, not in the way Mark Zuckerberg predicted….friction-less sharing isn’t tailored to market needs.
Why we’re not waiting for a true friction-less sharing world?
Sociologically we tend to have 2 faces – one for the public and one in private (like the front and back room from houses in the early 20th century). In the front room (or public life) we have our behavior, we behave in one way which is pleasant for everybody who is visiting, but in the back room (our private room/life) we show all our “other sides” as well, which we don’t want to share with the world. Even in our peer-society we are in need of a private (back room) partition, a place we’re we can be ourself for 100% and don’t pretend to be…Off course in a perfect society we would all share everything, but our society isn’t perfect. Who wants to share the fact that he’s eating unhealthy every day? Or who want’s to share is admiration for a fetish? Or addiction (in one way or the other)? Because in a friction-less sharing world everybody could tap into your pattern and discover all these little sides of you which you might want to keep to yourself.
Because of this reason we aren’t keen on friction-less sharing, and want to control what we share (and this way keep control over our privacy – which is already hard with Facebook, who’s changing its privacy algorithm on an almost daily basis). On top of this social reflex of individuals, political society isn’t supporting this friction-less sharing either. European government has approved legislation on prohibiting automated facial recognition recently protecting the individual’s right on privacy.
Is Facebook in need of a new business model?
A friction-less sharing world is very important to Facebook, since their business model is build around data-collection and -connection. The more we share, the more Facebook knows and can use as a big data silo to understand one’s behavior and habits. Better understanding its users makes them more sharable and target able for advertisers, brands and companies. A better ROI through big data, but when big data fails, or becomes less interesting…value diminishes and Facebook revenue falls back.
I don’t think Facebook is in need of a new business model, but they need to adapt their model to a customer which isn’t willing to share everything!
Sources:
Forbes – http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2012/07/19/finally-fearless-frictionless-sharing-on-facebook/
Cnet.Com – http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57450566-93/ios-6-facebook-integration-a-frictionless-sharing-nightmare/
Image – http://www.mediameasurement.com/frictionless-sharing-different-strokes-for-different-folks/
flatworldbusiness.wordpress.com 
I agree with the article. Facebook is scary enough even without frictionless sharing. I already have to be very careful what Iam adding to this network. If I could not control who is able to see it, then no failure is forgiven. For me, facebook is about staying in touch with persons I met, maybe just a couple of times, maybe persons from my childhood with whom I just lost the connection, but it´s always nice to be able to re-contact them. But does that mean they all should know me and my behaviours entirely? Iam pretty sure most of them not even WANT to know those things. If I want somebody really to know me, I have a offline relationship with them. I think thats where the important information belongs. Regarding facebook, for me it´s enough to control what is shared and what is not. So I don´t have to be scared that everybody can analyze my whole life if he/she wants to.
Yes, I think you are right. For me is the same, I have all my friends on facebook, we can share our experiences and we can be always connected when in real life is not possible, and I think that this is amazing. But what about when you can not have a limit anymore? I saw a video on youtube about people who posted on sa social website their credit card s account number, their address and personal informations like that. I think that this is really scarry. People should post things that they really want the others to find out(if they want that the others find out their private informations, that’s a big problem). So…if we cross the line…can be scarry. Otherwise, it is really useful to be always connected with your friends.
Well, I actually don’t like to read who’s listening at spotify to a song, or run so many miles today. But at the other hand, i discover new songs or listen to songs i didn’t hear for a while cause I forgot them.
But like I said before, I really don’t want to know everything about a friends life. Just the basics. But when it is a really close friend, I don’t mind. Maybe there can be a button where you can decide who you wan’t to follow or not? But I think there is one already, but it is not so clear to me
Oeps, just found the button!
And are you going to use it? How are you planning on using it?
Yes, I am using it. Because I don’t want to delete a friend only for his updates on apps or games,… I still like the person pictures or status updates. So now I installed that I don’t see updates on things that I don’t want to know like games and other activities and I am very happy about it.
Facebook is not only terrifying regarding foreigners who visit your wall or status but also for your personal life. As stated in the article, people do not want to share everything, this is understandable …
However, in my opinion, many use it to pretend to be someone that they are not. Most of the people use Facebook just to feel well or important and make others jealous. Due to/thanks to Facebook, you can make believe anything to anyone. Put a picture of your new car, trips, perfect boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. All this look gorgeous but is not necessarily true… It can also have many destructive consequences that could actually break some lives.
I would really be curious to know how many couples have been destroyed because of Facebook? As to a simple picture of a nice cocktail party could push a little watered spouse to ask questions and kick up a fuss …
In addition, you are always watched over. For instance, tell a friend that you cannot come to his/her birthday because you have an exam the next day but put a comment on FB during the evening could enrage your friend and draw wrong conclusions.
Consume with moderation…!
I must say I honestly like these kind of apps, because there are some really interesting things to know about other people’s interests. In truth I have found great songs on Spotify which I didn’t hear before and that’s all because of the app. I think as long as the apps are removable in an easy way or you just can hide the ones you don’t want to see, there’s no real problem.
About Facebook changing privacy algorithm on an almost daily basis.
I never really trusted online platforms with sharing things, and im glad i have my mind set like that. Im always very carefull with what i share. i always ‘pretend’ that it will be public to the whole world. if i do that, i think nothing will go wrong.
About the apps, they sometimes annoy me and sometimes i praise them.
It depends what kind of content people share, i find it ok if they share their music, or have spotify implented to their facebook. i have found alot of great music thanks to these people. the topics that do annoy me are food, or how they slept and many more to name here !
I just really don’t see the point in sharing everything online, it’s your life, keep it to yourself. I just don’t care about all those apps and what they offer you. If you want to use it, that’s good, but you can change the setting to ‘private’ and then it has a point for you to see some evolution in some things. But if you start making everything ‘public’ so everyone can see what you do, where you are, what you’re listening to, … I just really don’t care. It might be/look fun to use it, but I’m never going to put time in things like Foursquare or Spotify or any other app like that. Basically just no apps at all.
I don’t think Facebook is as terrifying as people always say it is.
Facebook doesn’t know anything about you if you don’t give it any input. So in my opinion, people should just be more careful to what they post. The risk is in their own hands.
And still even if you decide to share your darkest secrets, you can still tweak the security settings your own way to make sure it doesn’t leak…
Friends in Facebook
Tell me how many friends you have on Facebook and I will tell you how much you are popular.
I think this phrase perfectly defines the current effort to get friends in social networks who in reality they are not.
Formerly, if you received a message from your friend it meant something important to you, now you receive party invitations or messages from people who are indifferent for you. But only if we have a large number of friends we feel more “safe” and proud.
Are we too shallow?
We want to show something that we haven’t got or we aren’t. The most important issue is the quality not the number of people you have added to a social network.
I think to much people share to much private information. If someone of your family dies you don’t publish it on Facebook that’s private and it is also a little bit pathetic. A lot of people share to much stupid things and the most of time their share thing that don’t interest me. But what people listen can be in your advantage. So you discover new songs. their are positive thing of sharing but also negative things.
Some people live in a TOO digital world and the physical fades away, we need to set our boundaries and set priorities on what to post online en what to share with the world…
What is too much online information about yourself? If you don’t put anything online that is private then you’re fine. You really can control it yourself. If you share all kinds of things then it’s your problem.
For me I always pretend that everything online is open to the world. Eventhough you have privacy options in facebook you need to be careful not to post things you don’t want to be seen by everyone.
I created my facebook account to share my intrests with people I know. It’s to soon to share everything with everyone. If realy MUST share everything and if it doesn’t matter to you that people know everything about you, go for Twitter.
I don’t know how long it will take before frictionless sharing will be accepted, if it ever gets accepted. But when that day comes, everyone will know VINCE!
Really crazy…it´s like we start building houses with following materials: 100% glass. Do you want it? Me not!!!
@ Alexander Seibel…. everyone is deciding him/herself how much glass his/her Facebook-House has got. I have got FB-Friends telling everything of their lifes and some not even having a picture on FB. It is the dimension FB is being used – it is in your own responsibility. People tend to forget this and blame Facebook.
Helga Ginzinger is right I think. Everyone can decide on their own what they want to share and what not. I don`t care either what my friends are cooking at the moment. And I didn`t share such things. I use facebook mostly to organize birthday parties and things like that….. okay okay the relationship status is interesting for me too. 🙂
I think it is an important decision, also for business, if someone is participating on Facebook and in which way. Nowadays, companies are recruiting their future staff by Facebook.
its was an important pottom for me in time of the egyption revolution and after it.to show my friends in Austria and germany and USa and whole over the world what happend there and most of them did not know whats up there but after adding me and i share alot of political stuff now they know and still asked me and are ur family are wel and so on. i like this bottom
on the other hand im against to share privat information on my wall becouse i have alot of fans which have conntact with just becouse of my photos and i share them more or less ideas and they try to make it.and they should do not know if i go to make sport or not.