How Facebook Killed the Newspaper
Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 6:18AM
by Matt Carvalho
I logged into Facebook today (as did 99% of my friends) to find a vast array of content waiting for me. Living in my feed were hilarious jokes, creative ideas, musical collaborations that bands have been working on, as well as other social information that helps keep me current.
I will have to admit that some of the content was obviously better than others, but none the less it’s all part of the facebook culture.
That lead me to thinking, why did none of the content come from traditional means.
Why am I along with my peers so fascinated with content that is curated from friends not organizations?
The answer is quite simple… I like my friends!
I have never met someone who writes for the SF Chronicle (I’m sure they are nice people.)
I met someone once who writes for the hometown paper, but I cant remember her name. So obviously the experience wasn’t that memorable.
I guess what I discovered was that I’m sure these people are well qualified great human beings, I’m just more interested in learning from my friends and not from strangers.
So what does that mean to learn from friends?
It is all about understanding the source. It’s about knowing my friends tendencies and strengths as well as there short comings to help me get a better sense of the value the content holds. Something I do not get in the form of Institutionalized communication.
Without using names… I would like to share a story that I feel helps to paint a better picture.
Just as an example, we’ll take the typical post that is submitted from “the funny guy” (If you are in my circle of friends, you already know who I am talking about) and shed some light on the value of that specific piece of content. Without going into detail about the post, let’s just say it was funnier if you knew the context and the specific point he was trying to make. Long story short knowing this mans nature and comedic genius, it is easy to see why he gets a ton of attention in the facebook world. As funny as the post was, I would not have given it a look if I did not who “he” is.
So why do I read his jokes?
Because he is my friend and I like my friends better than strangers!
Reader Comments (2)
Matt- great post. The newspaper is dead but the writers are not. I follow sports around here pretty closely and with Twitter, live game blogs, and email I feel a slight connection with some of the local guys. I do wonder what will happen the next time I see one of them after a Warrior game and introduce myself. Will they recognize the name? I think Twitter is great for someone with a passion for a certain subject or and well facebook is a great way to find out what's going on with people without having to talk to them. What a world!
Really good post Matt. I never thought of FB as a news source. Upon reflection, however, even nation-wide or state-wide news spread by people directly affected by that news gives the reader a much more insightful, and rich,experience. I also understand where you are going with the FB and article response ideas as a marketing tool. Thanks!