Coincidence is a strange thing. Last night I was playing around with some new TypePad Blog Themes and considering a major re-design. While that may happen it will take a while so I decided a quick “makeover” was needed. Although the design hasn’t changed I have reviewed the sidebars and cleared out some dated content.
Most of that was easy, Technorati code (remember them?), some dead links to blogs which have fallen off the web and generic search boxes I doubt anybody ever used. One item I looked at and wondered about was the AutoCAD Exchange panel (left).
It was launched with a flourish back in 2009, with blogger support via sidebar widgets, but I suspect never really became the community Autodesk had hoped for. Then today an email arrives announcing AutoCAD Exchange was moving to Facebook (per the screenshot below from AutoCAD Exchange):
That means AutoCAD Exchange is effectively dead for me as a work tool as Facebook not available on our corporate network. I suspect that is true for many and it makes the move rather hard to understand. While Facebook hosting is easier to manage for Autodesk I think it’s an awful move for the user.
Perhaps that view is tainted as my own presence on Facebook is reluctant, at best. I use it to connect with those who use it as their only social site rather than from any burning desire to be there. I mostly cross posts from Twitter Apps or TypePad as I hate the Facebook web UI and find their iPhone app slow, buggy and annoying.
So it’s goodbye AutoCAD on Exchange, I’ll see you on Twitter and YouTube but it is unlikely the Facebook page will see much action from me.
AutoCAD on Facebook — AutoCAD on Twitter — AutoCAD on YouTube
UPDATE 2012-08-01:
This is why we should never rely on facebook for doing business. reut.rs/MaG1oY
— Edwin Prakoso (@cad_notes) August 1, 2012
Edwin’s Tweet links to “Facebook sinks to record low as doubts grow” – Reuters
