Is this a signal that the world is ready to ditch FB and try something new ? I do believe this theory carries some weight... people are looking for simpler ... while I do not think FB is about to fail miserably.. I do think there is an opportunity in the market for something new ... your thoughts?

I do miss the quick, clean pages of Facebook 2006, too:

It’s the format that conquered the world: quick, clean, causal and professional. Basically a souped-up digital phonebook. Put that up to a Timeline page now and you can see significant changes – it’s no longer quick, and it’s a lot less clean. Ads, Zynga activity, Instagram photos and an endless stream of status updates have turned that initial listing into a much denser experience.

Yes, the world will try something new, as soon as there is something new to try.

I love the last paragraph from @DaveThier ...

This may sound like some “Facebook, you used to be cool” rant. But Facebook needs to be the tool people want to use, not the tool they just sort of feel like they should. Otherwise it’s maintaining, and that’s not a recipe for growth. Sharks are circling. The next cool kid might just be the one to dethrone the Zuck.

I agree with him that Facebook (for me) is now a tool I sort of feel like I should use.

But yes I divide my time over a lot of other sites. Facebook less and less these days.

Same Adam - I feel I should check in there - not that I want to ...I think the next thing is not far away ... hmmm perhaps we should build it Adam :)

Sometimes I think all one has to do is build something that behaves like 2006-era Facebook -- it could even be populated USING the Facebook Connect button -- and people would migrate to it.

But then I think, no. Why relive the past when we can build something better.

Now all we have to do is figure out what better is.

I will say, it's not easy. Even with PandaWhale figuring out what should go into a user profile is not clear.

So true Adam- but oh, wouldn't it be nice :)

Scrattch is the same.. thinking and re thinking about what to include and what to deliberately leave out ...

It WOULD be nice, and I'm looking forward to trying Scrattch!

"Facebook LITE"

I found this article really interesting. In some of FB's SEC filings they discussed threats to their market space and losing relevance was one of them. I am curious to see how they use the funds of the IPO towards keeping themselves relevant. I don't think the Instagram purchase is going to cut it.

Makes me think of how smart Netflix was to get way ahead on digital streaming. They were crazy successful slinging discs but knew the tech was changing underneath their feet and they moved quickly. Most companies would have fought the paradigm shift (futilely) or lived in denial (as Blockbuster has for a long time) but they weren't afraid of cannibalizing themselves and have stayed dominant. That amount of foresight and nimble footwork is exceedingly rare.

Here is more food for thought .... http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/15/heres-what-could-kill-facebook/ - yep Fb has definitely lost its cool :)

"the average Facebook user doesn’t want to go somewhere boring every day. That’s what their jobs are for" !

sooo true

that made me laugh out loud, Louise...