July 2009 saw Facebook attract 87.7 million unique visitors in the US, according to comScore figures. The statistics however do not reveal that a small but noticeable group is opting out of Facebook.
In 2008 when Facebook’s Scrabble application was pulled due to copyright laws, the obvious was clear. Facebook was not just a social club, but a corporate interest. The next roadblock was when Facebook seemed to claim ownership of users’ contributions, which was later adjusted in the membership contract. For the rest of the disbelievers, the novelty of Facebook has worn off; and the others think it too ‘Big Brotherly’.
One Facebook user appalled by the commercialization and regulation of personal and social life, now crusades against Facebook and likens it to the North Korean regime. Another didn’t agree with Facebook’s idea of online friendship, while others have just lost interest in checking other people’s updates, photo uploads and having their profile constantly watched by others.
Juliet Klam, writer and prolific Facebook updater in an interview with the NY Times said Facebook ‘felt dead’. Having noticed the exodus, she said it was like a kid who got bored with a new toy. Facebook is a great tool to find friends with, but once everyone has been found, the novelty wears off, and then, you move on.
If the exodus continues, this social network might just end up being a ghost town, with no more updates, photo albums, and marketers picking up the pieces of once popular online social circles.
