Facebook is doing it again. \u00a0It seems that they’re on a constant spiral in which your life becomes ever less private. \u00a0And they’re intent on becoming the manager of your identity – the news that Spotify will exclusively use Facebook ID for login in future is enough for me to be done with Spotify, which strikes me as incredibly overrated in what limited use I’ve made of it.<\/p>\n
I think the whole point of social networking is getting missed. \u00a0It’s not about putting your identity out there for everyone, it’s not about having one universal login for everything – it’s about being able to keep contact with people you want to stay in touch with. \u00a0And I’m sure that Facebook is a wonderful solution for the kind of people who still use AOL to get to their Hotmail account in 2011, but if you’re not my mother, there’s a better way. \u00a0Right now, for me, it’s Twitter, to the exclusion of almost everything else. \u00a0Pseudomymous, simple, straightforward, and at its base level usable through SMS – never mind apps or websites, if you have a Nokia 1112 you can handle Twitter.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, for as much as the techno-hip and the haters bash Apple, they’re the only company still trading in the notion of cash on the fuckin’ barrelhead. \u00a0Want email and calendaring and online storage? \u00a0Pay for MobileMe, and there it is. \u00a0No ads, no data mining, just the stuff you want. \u00a0Want music? \u00a0Buy a song on the iTunes Music Store – boom, 256kbps AAC, no DRM, plays on anything that handles MP4, it’s yours, no monthly subscription, no ads. \u00a0I’m willing to pay to be the customer and not the product.<\/p>\n
Because what, ultimately, is social networking for? \u00a0I’m not interested in games, I’m not interested in meeting people, I’m too old to make use of a lot of the functions – I just want something that gives me a dashboard view and occasional pings about people in whom I’m interested. \u00a0I want to be able to see my old co-workers flip out when the Redskins shit the bed (AGAIN) against Dallas. \u00a0I want to know when high school friends will be in town. \u00a0I want to rave out and have people yell back at me when Vanderbilt goes big.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, I’m willing to spread it around. \u00a0Pictures on Flickr and MobileMe (and presumably iCloud). \u00a0Short messaging on Twitter, longer stuff here, and maybe something in between on Tumblr. RSS feeds under one Google identity and email under another with the Google+ there (for now). \u00a0Personal mail still coming through another server not connected to any of those. \u00a0It’s not tough to set things up and be able to just work through your iPad, or iPhone, or laptop – and if you have enough intelligence to use a computer in the first place, it’s just as easy not to rely on Facebook Connect as your one login.<\/p>\n
I am who I am. \u00a0I don’t need Facebook to co-sign it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Facebook is doing it again. \u00a0It seems that they’re on a constant spiral in which your life becomes ever less private. \u00a0And they’re intent on becoming the manager of your identity – the news that Spotify will exclusively use Facebook ID for login in future is enough for me to be done with Spotify, which … <\/p>\n