Skip to main content

After trying numerous other sites, I’ve figured out one of the things I like so much about Google+ that is missing...

After trying numerous other sites, I’ve figured out one of the things I like so much about Google+ that is missing from so many others: asymmetrical following.

Here on Google, if I follow someone because In interested in what they post (or add them to one of my circles), there is no assumption about whether or not they would have any interest in what I say.

Facebook (and now MeWe) support something similar with “Pages”, but for people and their profiles, the only option is symmetrical “friends” or “contacts”.
[Update: Apparently Facebook now allows following people as well, without adding them as friends. If only Facebook hadn’t proven itself to be an untrustworthy host... ]
[Update2: I can’t find the feature to follow someone without doing a friend request on Facebook.]

Comments

  1. Check out the various federated sites (Diaspora, Friendica, etc.) At least those two, and I believe the rest as well, support asymmetry.

    ReplyDelete
  2. While I'm loathe to admit it, FB does allow you to follow individuals without a mutual friend request (though iirc they can disable it for their account).
    https://m.facebook.com/help/201148673283205/?ref=u2u

    ReplyDelete
  3. Filip is correct. On FB, I "follow" some people who I find interesting but do not consider that I know them well enough to claim to be "friends". I only see their public postings, but that is the same as Following someone on G+ (though IIRK on G+ you can create a Circle of your Followers and can post to that circle.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think facebook copied it from G+. The other sites should do the same.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's not as fine-grained as the follow more, follow less here on G+ but MeWe does let you follow someone and independently decide whether their stuff shows up in your feed that everyone else sees. I use that feature a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Facebook has copied G+ quite heavily over the years. You can follow people without being friends, but it isn't used very much.

    Facebook also pinched circles in the form of Lists. Again it is not something that is used very much.

    Mind you, Facebook pinch a whole lot more than just feature ideas so I steer clear of it

    Going back to the original point, that's why I like G+ as well. It's why I find Twitter a more comfortable place to exist too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. MeWe actually has a system you can use. You can filter if a contacts post show up on your home feed or they have access to yours. Those are separated so you can have asymmetric following it's just fiddly.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We need both; some of us are going to finds others of us interesting in comprehensive and more-or-less symmetrical ways. We are going to be truly friends. Other times a focus-grouping is best; we all stay on topic. But in a focused setting like that, it is more difficult to view the whole person and develop a strong friendship. I never expected to develop friendships when I came to G+ but now that I know it can happen, I am reluctant to give it up.

    On MeWe, I played around with the following settings, but like the group-joining option it is not very user-friendly, imho. To see what a group is like, or to see what an individual posts, you first must join the group or add the friend. There is no "preview".

    ReplyDelete
  9. Marcus Burggraf I expect MeWe night work once they add public posts. As of right now, posts can only be seen by your contacts, and you have to approve every contact symmetrically, unless you create a page.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Facebook also copied Google collections. Hate Facebook all you like, but it's the only one full featured enough with enough people I want to connect with right now or will be once g+ dies. Which is the only point of using social media.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Amanda Park As far as features go, Facebook has pretty much everything I would want. I just can’t stomach their corporate management.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I don't like any of the sites management though. I'm pretty mad and disappointed with Google and the MeWe guy is gross.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Brian Holt Hawthorne "Asymmetric following" is integral to RSS/Atom.

    You want to follow someone? Add their feed. Hell, they're not even notified you did so.

    (Which is probably why feeds are being killed left and right. Marketers obsess over followers.)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wrong. You can like and/or follow a page / friend and/or follow a person on Facebook.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Amanda Park FB is lightyears ahead of g+, twitter, Insta. And newcomers like mewe, diaspora and the like don't even register on the same features-scale.

    I run a community with close to 8k ppl on FB, 6 pages, one personal profile. And have 10+ communities, 6 k followers on g+.

    For coding, I use both APIs.

    And Facebook wins on all counts. The only thing they really did was giving access to messages to 3 companies, after the users opted in, but the messages were not mentioned in the opt-in screen. That's bad, but then, it's code and it's a mistake that can happen.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Christoph Puppe That must be new, thanks. I edited the OP.

    Hmm. Just tried to follow someone in Facebook. I don’t see it. All I see is the Add Friend... link to send them a symmetrical friend request. Where are you seeing that you can follow someone’s public posts without having them approve you as a friend??

    ReplyDelete
  17. Brian Holt Hawthorne there should be a 'Follow' button to the right of the 'Add Friend' button, though it might be greyed out if the user has disabled allowing followers. Not sure what the default setting is for that.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Filip H.F. Slagter Hmm. That doesn’t show in the Facebook iOS app.

    ReplyDelete
  19. A lot of people turn it off. I think I turned it off I might have to turn it back on though.

    ReplyDelete
  20. All people I know prefer Instagram over Facebook, a fact which most people tend to ignore here on G+.
    Or is it that Insta is making inroads just here in Germany?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Stefan Quandt Instagram is something completely different from G+. Instagram let’s you share photographs and visual ideas. I use G+ mostly to share verbal ideas, although It can also be used to share visuals. There is no easy way to share essays on Instagram.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Brian Holt Hawthorne besides, the Instagram userbase doesn't seem the right crowd for intense discussions...

    ... unless perhaps it's about filters and Instagram redesigns 😂

    ReplyDelete
  23. Most of us who say Facebook also use instagram but Instagram we only post pictures. We post ideas, articles, jokes, discussions, vent about life on places like g+, Facebook

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

New comments on this blog are moderated. If you do not have a Google identity, you are welcome to post anonymously. Your comments will appear here after they have been reviewed. Comments with vulgarity will be rejected.

”go"