Facebook is Only the Platform

If you are a Facebook user, your timeline is probably filling up with one minute videos recapping what people have posted over their time on the grand-daddy of social networks. It is a nice way to look back as the site has now been around for a decade.

There have been a lot of changes to Facebook in the last decade as they try to remain relevant. Some have worked out well and some have not. It is like every product, if you don't try to move forward you will slip back. 

I have heard a lot of complaints about Facebook. A few are about what the company has done with the site but many more are about how there is too much drama or how you can't just post what you want because some people may react badly.

Facebook is only the platform that is used to display user generated content. It does produce a permanent record of the conversation but it is not the site that is saying mean things, its the users you choose to connect with. If you are not having a positive experience with Facebook because of the content, don't blame Mark et al. You need to look at what you are saying and who you are saying it to.

I try to only post positive things on Facebook. I don't always succeed but if I do get some negative feedback, it is easy to go back over it since everything is recorded. If you find there is too much drama on Facebook, leaving Facebook will not remove that drama from your life because you are still going to be connected to the same people in your physical life.

Facebook may or may not be around for ever. I think it depends on how easy it is for users to share and restrict the information they want. If it is easy to do what people want, it has the critical mass to be around for a long time. If you don't like what people are saying on Facebook, you need to look at the people in your life and if they are really the type of people you want to engage with. Facebook isn't the problem, it only highlights the problem.