Facebook Users Defecting For More Control, Sean Parker Says
Most Influential Users Can't Control Vast Amounts of Facebook Info, Parker Warns
Facebook's 800 million users may get siphoned off by Google+ and Twitter if they don't let users have better control over the flow of Facebook data, Sean Parker has gone on the record of saying. Parker was speaking at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco Oct. 17 and he made sure to stipulate that in order for Google+ and Twitter to really make a dent in Facebook's share of the social media world, they would need to do something extremely smart. Facebook would have to mess up pretty bad too, in order for that to happen, Parker said.
Parker was added to the Web 2.0 conference speaker list at the last minute because Zynga CEO Mark Pincus cancelled. Facebook isn't the main theme of Web 2.0, but its obvious how popular the platform is, and the topic came up over and over again, InformationWeek reported.
Parker said he was worried about power users leaving Facebook because they generate so much content that it keeps Facebook going, Telegraph (UK) reported.
I don't think privacy is an issue. That may be controversial but I don't think that's Facebook's biggest problem. I think Facebook's biggest problem is the glut of information that Facebook's power users are overwhelmed with... [Facebook] needs to address the need of power users to have more controls, Telegraph Digital Media Editor Emma Barnett quoted Parker as saying in a Telegraph blog post.
Privacy may not be an issue for power users, but it is an issue for many casual users, so Paker sees the real value in Facebook's having those power users continue to generate content. For those who are concerned about privacy, this line of thinking may sound out of left field, but in the big picture it might make sense. Facebook is such a large platform, it must have a core group of people who aren't just posting what song they are listening to, but instead producing original works of art or reporting. If those key creators decide they can get better results on Google+, then indeed Facebook could slip into irrelevancy.
Let us know in the comments if you consider yourself a Facebook power user.
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