Ask HN: How to convince someone that building a Facebook killer is a bad idea?

Posted by smallegan on Monday September 06, 2010 @02:07PM
from the ask-hn dept.

I have a friend who is set on building a better Facebook. I've tried explaining that getting Millions of people to switch seems unreasonable but he continues on.

How do I convince him that this is a battle he isn't going to win....or should I?

( 5 comments | 5 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: How to convince someone that building a Facebook ... by protomyth on Monday September 06, 2010 @02:44PM (#1667160)

You should probably use the same tactics that were used to prevent people from building a MySpace killer. :)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How to convince someone that building a Facebook ... by ladeniran on Monday September 06, 2010 @02:20PM (#1667116)

Sometimes it's better to let things be...Facebook is far from perfect and while your friends idea seems impossible he just might end up carving up a niche service...not necessarily a Facebook takeover but something that delivers stuff people will find attractive.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: How to convince someone that building a Facebook ... by josefresco on Tuesday September 07, 2010 @10:59AM (#1669017)

Instead of telling him "you can't do this", try to be positive and give him advice that may help him succeed. Have him consider a niche, angle or feature set that separates his offering from FB.

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Re:Ask HN: How to convince someone that building a Facebook ... by code177 on Monday September 06, 2010 @05:11PM (#1667435)

For what reasons would you want to stop him from doing this?

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Re:Ask HN: How to convince someone that building a Facebook ... by coryl on Tuesday September 07, 2010 @12:44PM (#1669326)

Maybe if his friend was going to dump his life savings into the project, I could see it being pretty reasonable to try and stop him.

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