[nuclear_eclipse]

> Facebook ... produces nothing of value

> If Facebook disappeared tomorrow, nobody would give a shit.

There are plenty of people who would give a shit. You may not be one of them, but there are countless people who rely on Facebook to communicate with family members on the other side of the globe, or share their private pictures and memories with their loved ones, or just to keep in touch with friends who no longer live nearby. If that's not one of the best definitions of value, by touching people's lives where it matters to them the most, then I don't know what is.

You may not use Facebook for any of those things, and that's fine, but when a billion people log into Facebook every month to communicate with their friends and family, you can't possibly think that your usage is indicative of everyone else.

Facebook doesn't need to produce new knowledge or culture to provide tangible, long-term value.

http://www.facebookstories.com/

[clobber]

> there are countless people who rely on Facebook to communicate

They can try e-mail, IM, SMS, picking up the telephone, smoke signals. Let's stop pretending Facebook is so ingrained in people's lives that they cannot live without it. We're talking about a website that's merely a time waster.

> a billion people log into Facebook every month

I'd bet that number is way off once you account for spam profiles and how Facebook defines 'active' [1]

Edit: to satisfy ghost downvoters (HN, go figure) here is previous discussion on the billion users

1. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4611734

[drumdance]

None of those are good for passive communication. No one said they "can't live without it." But it certainly adds value to a lot of people's lives.

[clobber]

Disagree. I feel e-mail can serve the same purpose but then some would argue the usefulness or value in 'passive' communication.

[untog]

I feel like this has been hashed out a million times on HN. Yes, e-mail works. I could e-mail a photo album to people. But what if they want to comment on it? Either everyone gets spammed with hundreds of e-mails, or there's no group conversation. Add to that, being tagged in other people's albums. Facebook provides value to people. Not all people, but that's the way the world works.

And of course there is a value in passive communication. I want to see the photos my friend posted of his holiday. I don't want to have to look at them right now, though- I'm busy. So I'll look later. Ta-da: passive communication.

[estel]

I don't see how that isn't true for the other examples of Google and Amazon?