Facebook Chat: Do we really need it?

Today I log in to Facebook and I find “Facebook Chat” at the bottom of the screen (picture-1.png), wow more clutter on my Facebook. Ok so I gave it a try , saw who of my friends where currently browsing Facebook (no surprise who I saw there haha) double click them, and bam, chat window!

Now the question came into my mind: do we really need this? I mean, facebook as a social app works ok, and aim/msn/google chat are great to keep in touch with friends and get work done. I don’t see myself using “facebook chat” anywhere in the vicinity.

Then there’s the privacy issue again… Facebook will surely log these chats and now you’re all exposed showing everybody when you’re online. If there’s one thing I dislike about Facebook, its the privacy issues when my personal life meets a social platform. I don’t like it… I feel exposed.

Anyways, these are my thoughts on the new feature.

Update: Ok, I actually used Facebook Chat today for a while. Turns out there is a use for it, and that is people who are not allowed to use (or are blocked from) messenger at work. Now there’s another reason for your IT Department to block Facebook =P .