SecretMethod70

First, let me just get this out of the way: if you have an invite to the new Facebook Messages, I'd really like one I'm not even sure that I'll use it, but I like being an early adopter and giving things a chance.

With that out of the way, what do you think about the concept behind Facebook's new messaging tool? If you've already got access to it, what do you think about it in practice?

If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a brief video which explains the concept:


If you still want a little more info, this article provides a decent outline of thoughts: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opini...ur-E-Mail-5813

Surprisingly, I'm not all that concerned about privacy with this one. With the exception of a serious bug (one that was fixed the same day), Facebook has never made private conversations like chats and messages public. They benefit from making a lot of things public, but messages is not one of them. Instead, my main concern is simple: will I like it more than GMail?

On the plus side, one of the developers who helped create GMail at Google is now working at Facebook - and he is involved in the new Facebook Messages. Still, GMail is incredibly elegant and powerful (more powerful than most people even realize), and it will take a lot to pull me away - especially as Google is moving in the same direction as Facebook, just from the opposite angle (E-Mail -> Social, rather than Social -> E-Mail).

What are your thoughts?

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Daniel_

From what I know of it, I'd be interested in trying it out too.

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cj2112

I want to try this, badly! I think it could be pretty cool.

Cynthetiq

I'm not so interested. I like the division of my facebook friends and my email addresses. I like it where I can keep things compartmentalized and separate because that's even what I do with multiple email addresses.

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SecretMethod70

I have an internal debate regarding compartmentalization. On one hand, I like the idea of crafting a universal presence - my main twitter username is my gmail username is my linkedin username, etc. On the other hand, there are certainly parts of myself that are not appropriate for public consumption, so I have a secondary twitter username as well as other accounts on other sites.

I don't see Facebook Messages causing much of a problem with that. Assuming Facebook is something we use in regards to our public persona, as opposed to our private persona, I don't have much of a problem linking Facebook to my e-mail, SMS, and chat.* It's the non-public activities that are the exception for me, not the rule. I do wish there was a way for me to "like" the local burlesque studio or sex toy shop without having to worry about family or co-workers seeing it, but I don't see that being a problem with Facebook Messages based on my understanding of how it will work.


*Of course, this is already done for the most part with my Android phone, where I get my e-mails, chat, and SMS all in one place.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Xerxys

Didn't google attempt this only to get a lawsuit slapped on them cause their buzz system shared other peoples contacts with their buzz friends? I for one, have ALL my phone numbers PROPERLY categorized with their corresponding email/home addresses and facebook photo link in my gmail account. They synchronize every other day. I'd hate for that very comprehensive list to get into the hands of ... say, my mom!

SecretMethod70

No, the problem with Google Buzz was that it automatically created social contacts based on e-mail contacts. This would have been fine, except the default was for these contacts to also be public. That, quite obviously, caused a problem. Beyond that, Buzz was not a change to GMail or how we communicate, it was simply an attempt at a twitter-like social service.

What Facebook is doing is different. They're making it so that the Facebook messaging system can draw from multiple different sources and then sort those messages by the person they come from, not the way in which they were sent. So you've got your Facebook contacts who can private message you, or they can Facebook Chat you, or they can e-mail you (at your @facebook.com e-mail), or they can SMS you at the phone number you've linked to your Facebook account. No matter which method they choose, you can get the message in the same place. There are no indications that contacts will be made public - in fact, the way the privacy settings have been described, it'll be like you have an e-mail whitelist (only from approved senders) instead of an e-mail blacklist (block unwanted senders).

It should be noted that Google is reportedly working in a similar direction and plans to introduce more and more social elements to Google Accounts. One example of this can be seen in the newly released Google Hotpot, which has the potential to be a serious competitor to Yelp. It's unclear what plans they might have that relate to the new Facebook Messages - in fact, it's possible that they think having it all go to one device is enough, without explicitly linking everything.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling