Nobody's Asking For A Facebook Phone

A new study by Retrevo suggests aminor problem for Facebook, which is announcing a new phone-related product today: Nobody wants a Facebook phone.

Retrevo does seem to be overstating its case here, at least a bit: Respondents were asked about a "Facebook phone" and a Facebook phone "service," and Facebook is not going to announce pure versions of either today. The announcement is most likely going to be tight integration with Android, making for a Facebook-centricGoogle phone — a Facebook homescreen.

But the fact that the prospect of something greater, and more essentiallyFacebook, doesn't inspire enthusiasm speaks to the company's unusual relationship with its users as compared with a company like Apple (and to a lesser extent, Google or Amazon).

The first, or primary, relationship people have with Apple is this: I give Apple money; Apple gives me a nice phone or tablet in return. Customers' first relationship with Facebook is more symmetric: I give Facebook my data, and it gives me others' data in return. Facebook isn't seen as a company that makes things, but a company thattakes things. So we have no reason to expect a product from Facebook to be good at anything but collecting and sharing data; a Facebook phone, because of what we understand Facebook to be, will always beFacebook's phone, and never fully ours.

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Article author: jwherrman