AllFacebook It is the most internationally known blog about Facebook. Written in English by Nick O'Neill, has become a world authority on the subject.
Nick agreed to facilitate an interview for the Facebook News edition, in the format of 10 Questions + 1, which has become popular over the years.
10 + 1 Questions with Nick O'Neill from AllFacebook
FN: Were you hoping to become the best known blogger in the Facebook niche right from the start? What were your goals originally?
Nick: I didn't expect to get to as much as it did, but my original goals were definitely to become the largest blog on Facebook.
FN: I'm pretty sure most of the pioneering Facebook users are techies or at least have a strong knowledge of social media. How has this fact influenced the way you have conducted the editorial line of the blog? Now that most of the users are not exactly "techies", but ordinary people, are you executing or planning to execute a change in the editorial strategies of the blog?
Nick: Actually, my editorial approach was not aimed. I only wrote what I felt. Honestly, the people at the beginning were definitely not "techies" They were girls who liked to share their photos with their friends and people who liked to meet others (which is most of the people).
FN: There is currently a strong wave of comments regarding the use of private information by Facebook. Through the blog, you have maintained a close relationship with real Facebook users, would you say that is a normal reaction that tends to decrease as time passes or is it going to have a permanent negative impact - measured in terms of the amount of time users spend on Facebook?
Nick: I think there are privacy implications with the internet in general. Facebook has substantial privacy implications and I think it is our job as bloggers to ensure that the line is not crossed. That's what happened to Beacon. It was just a matter of publicity, but for the most part, most of the users remained indifferent to what was happening.
FN: As you well know, the inclusion of Social Ads has increased the number of Facebook detractors. Based on your own experience, has the perception of the ordinary Facebook user changed substantially? Or, is the whole topic nothing more than the buzz of the month?
Nick: Are social ads a detractor? I think Beacon, but not Social Ads. Social ads existed as "Flyers" and not much has changed since its inception.
FN: Many people tend to compare Mr. Zuckerberg's successful career to the past - and equally successful - careers of Gates, Allen, Page, etc. As a result of the comparison, some of those people have come to think that Facebook is going to rush to dominate the market in the same way that Microsoft and Google did in the past.Do you think that Facebook has the potential to become First in the social media market?
Nick: As I wrote today, I believe that Facebook has the potential to become the hub of the social web.
FN: Although it is still too early to establish anything conclusively, what is your perception of the likely market response to the recent launch of Social Ads? Do you think Facebook social ads are going to surpass the supremacy of Adsense or would the opposite happen?
Nick: I think Social Ads are definitely going to overtake Adsense, but it's going to take 5-10 years and Facebook needs to become a leader in organizing user data, to make it searchable in any way.
FN: Is Facebook's growth going to negatively affect the market share of the other seemingly better-established networks; eg MySpace? Would there be a probability that Facebook was targeting a different segment of the social market (and doing so successfully)?
Nick: I think it definitely has a negative effect on the other networks, but there is still general market growth currently, so we won't really see a substantial change for a year or two. It's already starting to happen, but not on the same level as Google vs Yahoo, etc.
FN: What do you think most users look for when they open an account on facebook?
Nick: Connect with others and be part of the community.
FN: This is not an easy question. There is a recent concern about the potential misuse of Facebook resources by pedophiles, organ traffickers and criminals in general. Do you think it is up to Facebook to protect users or does it depend on users to protect themselves? Has Facebook implemented a reasonably secure platform or do you - on behalf of your readers - think that there is still a long way to go on this issue?
Nick: I think Facebook needs to do a better job of educating users about current privacy settings, because most people don't understand how to adjust them properly. I imagine most people don't really care about privacy issues. They only enter data.
FN: The recent buzz seems not so favorable to Facebook, do you think there are strong reasons to support some of the complaints? Or is it just what I would call the "persecution of Facebook", so to speak, everyone wants to talk about Facebook?
Nick: Well, I think all news is good news, but part of that is definitely a hot topic of the moment. However, you can't go anywhere if someone talks about Facebook. I'm not sure how long it will last. Are we willing to allow a company to control all of our online social interactions?
FN: Just to relax a bit, if Google grew to be the Big 'G', would Facebook grow to be the Big 'F'?
Nick: I didn't know Google was the Big G, but it sure was. Although when you say "Big F" most people probably have something else in mind.