Recently, I posted a Wamblog news link regarding Facebook. It included a wonderful video explaining exactly why I’m kind of disgusted with Facebook. I still believe that the service Facebook once offered is worthy, but what they’re doing with it now is not. To prove my point, allow me to reminisce about the old days of computer magazines.

First, here’s a link to the video, if you haven’t yet seen it.

Now, unwind the clock back to the early days of the microcomputer. Back in the 1980s, computers were fresh and new. They sold like hell. Great things were taking place in the computer industry.

Without the web, hungry users sated their desire for information by obtaining computer magazines. The rags proliferated. I remember subscribing to dozens of them: INFOWorld, PC World, PC Magazine, Mac World, Mac User, PC Computing, InCider, Compute!, Micro80, Dr. Dobb’s Journal, BYTE, and more.

I had a stack of magazines on my apartment’s coffee table, more stacked up by the couch, and an archive on the cinder-block bookcase. The articles were informative. Some were how-tos, some where speculation and rumor, and some were plain entertaining.

The computer columnists were superstars and my computer friends would discuss and debate the issues they raised.

Then there were the ads.

I confess to enjoying the ads. I liked to visually shop, to fantasize about buying things, and compare prices. Unlike today, where the computer market is pretty status-quo, back then new things were coming out right and left. The ads gave you an idea of what things cost and what new toys were available. It was a lot of fun.

The problem, of course, was that after a while the ads got to be too much of a good thing. A good magazine was usually about 50 percent ads and 50 percent content. Some pushed it to 60 percent ads. The worst offenders were over 90 percent advertising, or so it seemed. The post child for that high ratio was a doorstop of a magazine called Computer Shopper.

Figure 1. Computer Shopper is still around these days, although not as fat.

Computer Shopper started out just like a lot of other computer magazines. It was very popular and informative at first, but then it started to get fat. I mean really fat. I mean phone book fat. One issue was 3-inches thick. I kid you not. It was an ad-fest.

At the time, I remember people raving about the magazine. Obviously there were deals to be had in its pages, but one thousand pages? I couldn’t stand it. I never picked up a copy, and not just because I feared damaging my spine. No, I didn’t want to pay to read ads, which gets back to my issue with Facebook.

Up until Facebook went public, it was a great place to share information with family and friends. It effectively replaced email for most people. Facebook kept lots of us in touch in a good way.

Today, Facebook is festooned with adds and promotional pieces. I’m not talking about the rip-off ads on the right side of the screen. I’m referring to paid-for pieces of advertising in the “news” stream. These ads rub out any chance your friends have of putting up information, stuff that you’d want to read.

For me, Facebook is Computer Shopper all over again. It’s turning itself into a cesspool of advertising. As much as I like staying in touch with my friends and sharing stuff, I don’t want to pay to be noticed.

Watch the video, if you haven’t already.