I have succumbed. Just a few short weeks ago I was slagging off Rob and Jim for doing the Facebook thing, but as of two days ago I have my own profile.
Partly, this is because of a very clever move on Facebook’s part: you can’t look at anything on the site unless you have your own profile. I can decide that I can’t be bothered with micebass just by looking at the ugly world of anti-design hell that it is (and I can’t see the appeal of using it to pretend to be friends with famous people, and don’t have a band to promote), but I can’t draw any conclusions about Facebook unless I join.
Now that I have, I see that it’s a bit like myspace, but without all the ugly background colours and the unsigned bands. And while there’s definitely something addictive about trying to find and add as many of your friends as possible, I’m fairly sure that the novelty of that must wear off after a while.
So what exactly is the point of Facebook?
If you wanted a blog, why not just get a proper one? If you want to upload your photos, why not just do it on Flickr (or one of the many alternative photo sharing sites out there)?
And why do they keep trying to get me to give them my email password? They claim that they will use this to log into my email account and download my address book, so that they can tell me if anyone I’ve ever emailed is also on Facebook, and maybe that is all that they will do with it. But that’s not the point. There’s no way in the world I’m going to give up my email password to anyone other than my email provider.
Are people really that lax about security that they will give up this sort of information to anyone who asks?
Perhaps they’d like my bank details as well so that they can login and check my balance and link me up with people on similar incomes… They already have my date of birth, and there’s space in your profile to complete your address. Maybe I should add my mother’s maiden name too?
Anyway. I’m signed up: why not add me as your “friend” (if I don’t add you first…)
9 replies on “Facebook wants my email password”
Change your password briefly, let it find all your mates, then change it back. Hey presto! The “find everyone ever” thing is pretty amusing, especially when you find people you’ve sold stuff to on ebay or lawyers you’ve employed but never met and so on.
Also, Richard Herring is my friend now, and that has to be the best thing ever.
I gave them my password. They’d have just guessed it otherwise. Like my girlfriend does.
Actually, it turns out you don’t need to give them your password at all: GMail lets you export your address book to outlook CSV format, then you can find the option on Facebook to upload that (it is there, but it’s well hidden).
I tried it, but sadly it didn’t turn up too many random people. But then I’ve never used a lawyer or ebay, so I suppose it’s my fault…
Hmph, you’ve gone and changed your password now though, haven’t you Rob? Killjoy. How I am supposed to keep tabs on you now? Through the art of conversation?! Pah.
Why not sign up to Facebook? Then you’ll be able to communicate by writing on his “wall”.
Why are you holding out? It’s the perfect tool for stalking someone. It’s almost as if it was designed for that very purpose…
Facebook became hugely popular in universities because students have a lot more social relationships – you meet a lot of people and Facebook helps you establish and maintain your identity within that social whirl.
For our late twentysomething mob who have taken to joining up in the last two months Facebook seems to just be acting as Friends Reunited II.
None of the services Facebook offers – photos, notes (including blog uploads from Blogger), marketplace etc etc – are better than the services offered by standalone sites but Facebook aggregates them all into one place and acts as a de facto RSS reader by alerting everyone when you change or add something.
Now that Facebook has critical mass (Clairite refuseniks notwithstanding) it will retain the advantage of bringing all these moderately-geeky things under one easy to use and socially acceptable umbrella. Plus, as you say, it is f*****g brilliant for stalking.
I’m not anti-Facebook, just think it’s bound to peak soon and then it will all be a bit embarrassing and old hat, like Friends Reunited. Plus, soon everyone except me will be on it, and I’ll remain a mysterious and elusive blank canvas to any prospective friends/acquaintances/employers/identity thieves/illwishers/stalkers.
Having said that, I was a bit of a naysayer about mobile phones too, and look what happened with those…..
Did you read that the law firm Allen & Overy tried to ban staff using facebook at work, but there was a huge backlash so they had to back down?!
Next stop Cockbook?