Over the last week, to get ready for a new season of videos on Building43 (we just loaded a new one about Inkling, an ebook company).
Why am I so list crazy on Facebook? Because this feature blows away the same feature on Twitter and on Google+.
Twitter can’t have more than 500 on one list. Facebook can. My startup list already has 834 companies on it. On Google+ I could make a similar list (except very few startups use Google+) but I couldn’t share it with you. Google+ only lets you share 500 items. Facebook doesn’t have limits.
If you look at my list of big tech companies you’ll see photos, graphics, and conversations. Big tech companies. Yes, they mostly are ads (what else do you expect big companies to do) but these ads are more satisfying than the same stuff on Twitter.
Google+ can’t show you what the list does instantly. For instance, my list of tech journalists and bloggers is very similar to one I have on Google+ but when my wife added it to her account she didn’t see any items. Not true on Facebook where you can see the consequences and benefits of any list without subscribing first. Just click.
When you subscribe to a list on Twitter, it doesn’t do anything to your feed. On Facebook some items from your lists will show up on your main feed, identified by the list they come from. So, subscribe to my Technology Startup Investors list and you’ll get one to four posts a day from it on your main feed. You can control this, of course.
Other lists I am working on here on Facebook:
For programmers. Tons of geeky sources.
Tech Industry Heroes. Really VIPs, people who have made a difference in the tech industry.
Other lists I subscribe to:
Photographers, by Thomas Hawk. Great list with about 200 great photographers.
Business News, by Vadim Lavrusik.
Tech Science, by Kaushik Iyer.
There are a ton of lists here you can choose from on a variety of topics from sports to politics.
Please do let me know if you see anything that doesn’t belong on one of my lists or if there’s anything missing.
Oh, and next week I’ll be at Techcrunch Disrupt. If you have a new startup coming out there, please email me at scobleizer@gmail.com. If you haven’t bought your ticket yet, use the $100 off discount code Scobledsf12.
Scobleizer 
I’ve told you this before, and I think it bears repeating. You live in a bubble. And because you live in a bubble a lot of what you say is hardly relevant.
To say that Twitter and Google+ lists look “lame in comparison” or that the Facebook implementation “blows away” Twitter and Google+ because of a limitation of 500 demonstrates what I mean when I say you live in a bubble.
Here’s the thing. The average person doesn’t want or need 500, much less way more than 500. Most people can’t even think of consuming that amount of information. So what’s the value of being able to add 834 companies to a list if you can’t consume the list in a useful or meaningful way. The numbers game is so stupid.
It’s like the frictionless sharing conversation we were having before. Mindless sharing only adds to the noise. There’s little value *to the average person* to subscribe to such numbers, and adding more noise in an already overly-noisy world is just irresponsible. There might be value for the data mining industry, but not Jane Doe or her mom. It’s the same concept with the huge lists filled with gobs of info you can’t consume, which usually means you ignore it altogether. Maybe your interests are in data mining…
Purposeful following and sharing is a ton more valuable than automated sharing and mindless following, with a chance of catching something good here and there.
You even admit this much in a comment 2 hours ago here: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2012%2F09%2F04%2Ffacebooks-mark-zuckerberg-will-give-his-first-on-stage-interview-since-the-ipo-at-disrupt-sf%2F%3Ffb_comment_id%3Dfbc_454727057905412_88812896_454794491232002&h=CAQHKVd5Y
Your questions about ads on mobile were hardly relevant because you follow so many people that you don’t see them, or likely much of anything. You live in a bubble, dude. Pop it and spend some time with the normal monkeys.
Stop pushing the mindless following and frictionless sharing mindset. It’s filthy. Purposeful connections are where the value is.
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Have to agree. Facebook really struck true with the list feature. It’s nice to be able to reach out and get your message out and receive input back so efficiently.
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Thank you for your consistent updated articles on today’s technology. Currently, I’m reaching out to you to ask for some of your time. The CEO of Brenthaven, Scott Armstrong will be in San Francisco September 12th and 13th on a PR tour offering an exclusive preview of our new bag collections.
I would love to set up a time for them to come and meet with you, tell you a bit more about these products and show you some samples. I think you’ll find that we have some exciting new lines that would be of interest to your consumers.
The main focus of this PR tour will be our new Camera line, which was recently featured on Coolhunting.com ( http://www.coolhunting.com/tech/brenthaven-bx2-camera-cases.php), biking laptop bags designed in collaboration with Kona bicycles, a new luxury line called The Broadmore Collection, and our new Collins collection.
Please let me know if you’re free to meet with Scott on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week, at the time of your convenience.
Regards,
Linda Nguyen
PR Contact
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