Dave Morin, former Facebook executive, helped found Path in 2010 to provide the public with a smaller, more intimate domain to share information with a select group of close friends or family.
Morin addresses the painstaking process of sorting through friends and creating groups of friends on Facebook. When you have a list of hundreds of names, it is a tedious task to sift through and classify WHO GETS TO SEE WHAT.
For example, I know that my family and teachers are not interested in listening to music videos that I post on Facebook, but when I post a music video, I do not exclude family and teachers because it would be too time consuming to select each person who is probably not interested in my post. Instead, I post the video to all of my Facebook friends, knowing that it will simply clutter some of their news feeds; it might even annoy some people or give them the impression that I am unaware of my audience.
I experience this newsfeed clutter on my Facebook everyday. My favorite example is the Debbie Downer, someone who uses Facebook as an outlet for all of his problems in life, ranging from a morning without coffee, the end to a relationship, a favorite sports team losing a game, or a lost or broken cell phone.
I think to myself, “DOES HE HAVE ANY IDEA WHO IS READING THIS?” And I think, yes, he does know his audience, just like I know my audience, but sometimes I post for specific groups of people, other times I post to everyone I can possibly reach, and sometimes I post simply for myself. The problem is, if you are not grouping friends, EVERYONE SEES EVERYTHING.
Morin believes that by limiting one’s audience, he will be likely to share more information, and the information will be more sensitive and private because less people will see it. I agree, but…
Is posting more sensitive, personal information to social media really a good idea?
In one aspect, I would love to connect with a group of 10-15 people who’s opinions and views I value, but by communicating in a smaller, more personal domain, I would definitely share more sensitive information about myself. I have little belief that any social media sphere will be truly private, so…
Is Path setting us up to publicize our closest relationships and most private conversations by presenting a domain that feels more private?
I think Morin’s solution is clever, and social media is relatively new, therefore it requires us to try new things and see what happens. On Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, the implied goal is to have more followers and friends, and more likes and retweets; however, Path and Snapchat focus on the communication between a few individuals who know each other well to emphasize QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.
sawicki15 