Social Media Changes

Those of you who use Facebook regularly are probably aware of the new User Interface changes just released. Facebook has gone through a series of almost constant changes since its inception, and it seems like once the users finally get used to the last change, another one rolls around.

My language on Facebook is currently set to "English (Leet Speak)," so I actually have no clue what the new Facebook changes look like. If you've seen the changes and hate them, like most people seem to, I may sound like I'm bragging. I am. Of course I am.

In technology years, I've been on Facebook long enough, but in reality I consider myself one of the 'newer' Facebook users. I logged on for the first time only about two years ago, after my mom and brothers already had accounts. Before then I used Myspace, along a few other social gaming type websites (places like Neopets and Gaia Online), and didn't really see the need for another social media website to keep up with some of the same people.

Once Myspace started getting super cluttered, I decided I needed a change. Facebook was so simple, clean and easy compared to Myspace, that I quickly dropped the old internet-favorite for the new favorite. Since then, Myspace has turned into something of a joke; very few people still use it, and those that do are teased like there's no tomorrow.

Which always made me wonder if Facebook would eventually become the old dog, slow and cluttered, and what fresh new website would come to replace it.

Google launched their social media answer last June, creatively titled Google+. The website was still in Beta form, but they gave their beta testers the ability to 'invite' friends to the site, effectively creating an entire userbase before the site had officially opened.

I got more than one invite to join Google+, and I denied them, because I didn't see the point. Isn't Google+ just a Google owned Facebook (they even look the same, according to the Wikipedia pictures)? If all of my friends are using one social media site, what's the point of joining another?

Facebook, however, has just released a User Interface change, which is bugging everyone in my Facebook News Feed. At about the same time, Google announced that their social media site would now be open to join without an invite for anyone 18 or older. As my brother pointed out today, that was excellent timing.

I'm still not joining Google+ just yet. I've never been an 'early adopter', and I still don't see the point of trying to keep up with two social media outlets at once. As a capitalist, I know the benefits of having two competing services, so I'm glad somebody set up a competing social network, but I don't really understand why it's Google. I've mentioned this in the past, but Google already does everything else, from video hosting (via Youtube) to blogging (via Blogger) to a vast array of specialized search systems (Google Maps, Google Books), along with things like Google Translate, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. Do they have so much free time and server space they need a social media branch as well?

If anything, I think XKCD hit it right on the head with this comic: