No sooner than do I note that both Larry Lessig and Jonathan Zittrain take pretty huge swipes at Facebook's closed architecture, API, and lack of data portability (something I'm working on a post about) that I notice that TechCrunch has blown up over the Weapons Grade Fail of their CBS branded March Madness app.
I didn't fill out a Facebook bracket this year. I used the old fashioned kind. You know, paper? Remember that?
Now, I'm more concerned with the fact that they let CBS Sports spam you more than any other apps (and didn't kick them off like Robert Scoble) and that they're taking money over providing a good user experience (monetize versus a product, something I'm working on too).
Tech policymakers and VCs are more similar that you'd think. One of them will ask "how can I turn this issue into votes?" or "how can I use this to fundraise?" and the other will ask "how can I make money off this?"
Monetization always comes at the cost of product development. As readership has grown people have asked me "why no ads?" Ads would annoy you, and take away from the experience. I'd rather keep myself out of the ad-based loop until I can find someone who thinks we're worth helping out. That may never happen, and this may continue to be a money pit. That being said, I hope that the people out there who read this (and I know there are quite a bit of you, thank you for that) come back because we have something that other people don't.
If you like what you see, want to see something more, or see something we should have, please, please, please let us know.
More on Facebook, privacy, and security later on. You'll be glad you waited.
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