I was so glad to see this Mashable article on Spotify now requiring facebook login to use their service as this is something that really bugs me.
Yes, I'm a facebook user. However I religiously avoid facebook apps - I know there's already a ton of information out there about me, but I just don't see the point in linking it all together into one platform where my every move on the internet is tied to my facebook account (that's what Google is for). I hate websites that require you to login with your facebook account - its never clear whether they're going to post things on my wall, contact my friends, advertise to me or add me to their mailing list.
When facebook login first came out, I remember everyone being really excited over consolidating accounts - now you don't have to create a username and password for every site you want to interact with. But in today's world of phishing/hacking, do we really want one login to grant access to all those sites as well?
I'm really torn on this issue, but at least in the past I always had the option to log in with an email. Spotify's move to require a facebook login makes me nervous - is this the new direction for websites? Is this a good thing? I welcome disagreement and discussion on this, because I definitely could be swayed in either direction. See article below:
Should Spotify Users Be Required to Have Facebook Accounts? [POLL]
Posted: 26 Sep 2011 08:32 PM PDT
Spotify has come under a lot of fire for a recent decision to force users to use Facebook to sign up for its streaming music service. The change, made not long after Facebook’s f8 developer conference on Thursday, removes the option of signing up with an email address and a password. Instead, users have to use Facebook Connect.
Here’s how Spotify explained the decision in a statement:
“To us, this is all about creating an amazing new world of music discovery. As most of our users are already social and have already connected to Facebook, it seemed logical to integrate Spotify and Facebook logins. We already use Facebook as part of our backend to power our social features and by adopting Facebook’s login, we’ve created a simple and seamless social experience.”
Spotify goes on to explain that it believes the change makes it easier on the user, since they don’t have to remember yet another username and password.
SEE ALSO: Spotify Comes to Facebook [PICS]
There are a lot of people that are unhappy with the decision. The company’s GetSatisfaction account is filled with angry and confused responses:
“I just don’t get it. Before you had access to every user of the web, and now you are restricting membership to people who like and trust Facebook. If you want to make more money, improve your service, add better features and provide a better product. It’s the only way to win the freemium battle, not ridiculous moves like this.”
Spotify is trying to leverage the reach and power of the world’s largest social network to grow its user base and distinguish itself from the competition, but has it gone too far?
1 comment:
I find it really interesting that on the GetSatisfaction account, a Spotify employee actually posted this suggestion as an official response:
"Darren (Employee) 3 months ago: Hey Guys thanks for your question, Unfortunately you will need a Facebook account to access Spotify from now on, unless you already have an account set up. This does not stop you creating the Facebook account adding nothing to it and making it totally private as the Facebook account does not have to be actively used."
I can't imagine Facebook would be too happy about that post. In fact, some news bloggers have written about the post, offering it as a "little trick" and actually suggesting that people create dummy accounts. Chenda Ngak on CBSNews.com's Tech Talk writes:
"There you have it. Create a dummy account for all your login needs. I've been a fan of compartmentalizing login accounts for a while. I have a separate email address for mailing lists and site registrations. Now that Facebook Connect has become ubiquitous - and in this case, necessary - it would be wise to have a dummy account."
A month later, another Spotify employee followed up to explain the Spotify Facebook rationale -- attempting, it seems, to smooth the issue over.
Nonetheless, armed with my dummy account, I am now happily listening to Spotify without Facebook knowing what the real me is listening to.
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