Adding features that are not features (Facebook)

Techcrunch tells us about upcoming changes within Facebook or its system. One of them is a built-in messenger. I get why it would seem like a good idea, your users obviously communicate through your website, but is instant-messenging an additional function or something annoying because its promoted like crazy. The Dutch social networking site Hyves already incorporated this a few months ago, but never, and I mean NEVER have I used it or heared of someone using it.

Thing is, sites like facebook are sites that focus on relationships en social networking, and their charm is that you opinionate yourself about people without their knowledge. You read their wall, check out their pictures and see what they’re doing in the status window, at no point do you want them knowing it actively. Passively people know it works this way, ofcourse, they do it themselves, but to be confronted with it? The charm of messaging through social networking sites is other people reading those messages. If this wasn’t the underlying reason, people would use email, MSN, skype or just plain phones, remember it’s your real-life network listed on a website so you got all that before you added them. My point is that instant messanging is not of any added value.

Ofcourse this is only a small rant on something I read today and marked useless, would appreciate someone to play devil’s advocate.