Note: This has been cross-posted from one of my other blogs. Yes, I have another blog. No, you can’t see it. It’s private.
If Facebook wants my identity, it’s going to need to make some changes.
OpenID
Have you noticed that a lot of websites are giving users the option of logging in with Facebook Connect? In fact, I just implemented this feature when I switched from Intense Debate to Disqus (for the laymen, these are comment systems). It looks like Facebook is trying to become OpenID. I would much rather Facebook just adopted OpenID instead.
The Feeds Don’t Feed
Facebook seems to be gravitating towards lifestreaming. I have a problem with that. I don’t need Facebook to be a lifestreaming platform because I already have a lifestreaming platform—namely FriendFeed—and unlike Facebook, it plays well with others. Friendfeed works with the feeds that each of my services (YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, et al.) already generate, and from them it creates a new, universal feed (the eponymous “friend feed”). Facebook is simply becoming a redundant service that lacks the oh so necessary RSS or Atom feeds. In other words, there is my entire interconnected internet presence, and then there is a separate Facebook presence, and Facebook keeps these worlds apart. That is a very dated and frustrating way of doing things.
Okay, okay. I don’t really want Facebook to back off from lifestreaming. I want Facebook to get it right by giving me custom feeds I can use with other services like FriendFeed and Twitter. Facebook does generate a feed from status updates, but it’s absurdly hard to find, and it keeps moving it around.
Facebook the Identity Manager?
Facebook also seems on its way to becoming an identity manager like DandyID or People Pond. It’s not doing the job of identity hub quite yet, but I think it’s positioning itself for it. I think this would be a brilliant move. Consider the following: (1) Facebook basically owns social networking right now; (2) social networking is currently moving toward openness and compatibility between individual networks, leading to a standard network of networks and a universal identity (this is where OpenID comes in); (3) Facebook could beat DandyID and People Pond together in a fist fight with one hand tied behind its back. Yes, Facebook and DandyID are doing different things right now. But not for long. Keep an eye on social networking’s horizon and you’ll see what I mean.
Addendum (November 1st, 2009)
Facebook DOES work with OpenID now. Still waiting for the feeds flexibility, though.