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Don’t get too excited; Twitter is still up.
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i get it, but i dont think people go to facebook and instagram to read, to learn, as much as for the addictive social feedback. i feel like social media is more like a party where everyone has been drinking and are trying to show off for each other without filters. (which… i really hope we can do more of in real life as we are all getting vaccinated.) After all, the internet archive, newspapers, wikipedia all that library type internet content is still there.
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I’m somewhat dismayed by the obvious glee on display here. Sure, FB is a huge and monopolistic company with little regard for its negative effects, but there are many ordinary people, groups, and businesses for whom it’s a vital tool for communication, organization, socializing, and information.
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There are similar lists besides that one.
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Who are hopefully now beginning to rethink their over-reliance on the platform.
Win-win.
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Ars Technica are covering it well: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus are down. Here’s what we know [Updated] | Ars Technica
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Cool. I couldn’t message my Mum earlier. No mobile signal at work, but I can use WhatsApp to get hold of her normally. It’s also meant she’s been able to keep in touch with people from her work since she retired, as she’s not on social media.
What exactly do you hope my Mum’s going to be thinking?
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Maybe, “Hmm. Looks like WhatsApp is down. I should probably think about diversifying my communication channels in the future. Live and learn!” That’s what I hope my Mom is thinking, in any case.
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I for one am enjoying the schadenfreude:
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It will never be clean.
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I might have been a bit sharp earlier, but if you’re in the States you might not really get how big of a user base it has in other countries. WhatsApp is near enough the default messaging platform in a lot of places, and has been since well before Facebook acquired it.
I’m in the UK, part of my family lives in France. WhatsApp is the de facto means of messaging people, making voice or video calls, and not worrying about international call costs. It’s the same for most people I know in similar situations here. For reference, it costs me 20p a minute to call my aunt or my cousin directly, or 65p per text.
It’s not ideal that a single service is so embedded in daily life, but describing a lot of people losing access to the way they keep in touch as ‘win win’ is not a good look.
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Great news re Facebook… but I’m just as concerned right now about the blueberry shortage the past couple of weeks here in SoCal. None in Trader Joe’s or Ralph’s. Need 'em for my smoothies.
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News piece here tonight: Two thirtyish women in London being approached by reporter (it passes for news reporting these days) saying that they had planned to get together and it had been a nightmare trying to meet. They’d had to resort to text messages!
FFS people. That is not a fucking nightmare. First world problems writ large. And why not actually use that fucking phone to make a fucking phone call!
I despair.
And fervently hope that these services stay down for days if not weeks. And re
That she can use email? Or a text message - or leave you a voicemail - you’ll pick up later when you do have a signal? Or lobby her government reps to force Facebook to offload WhatsApp and make it independent again? Facebook’s market share of what passes for modern communications is obviously unhealthy and needs addressing.
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And they are back (for me at least).
That was fun while it lasted.
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You referring to FSB, Chinese Secret Service, Mossad or some other?
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