[Ileca]

I still don't see ANY value in using facebook besides giving to the market my personal data. I just don't understand why this is so popular.

If I wanted to use a social network, I would use one where I can contact new people of interest, not the one I can talk with when I open my window but I won't because I use facebook.

[Unklejoe]

The value for many people is:

- Being able to easily communicate with a large group of your friends at the same time

- Being able to contact old acquaintances who you otherwise wouldn't have been able to find

- Being able to finely control they way you present yourself to your peers

- Being able to easily coordinate events

...to name a few.

There are other ways to accomplish the same tasks, but Facebook is coherent and easy to use.

I personally don't use Facebook either, but I do see the value in it.

[Ileca]

Only your second point is valid to me and not worth the use of the system by itself. This is not worth the encapsulation around your acquaintances you are supposed to cultivate the relation face to face, not through a "wall" and mediocre public interactions.

There is a lot of means to communicate and coordinate things efficiently (it was already possible before facebook) and the "fine control" over your "present yourself" is either an illusion or proof of your superficiality. I think it is the point around what facebook was built: the superficiality of people and their need to show off everywhere and think of themselves as some public figure. I guess that's also why instagram and selfies are so popular. It's all about network connection, not about the meaningful content the network is supposed to carry.