You can’t ignore a billion people.

When it comes to web standards, Dave Winer is a legend. The foundations of today’s web are based on many of Dave’s ideas and creations.* His thoughts yesterday about journalism on Facebook were thought provoking.

It’s become trendy to bash Facebook — and everyone on Facebook — as unsophisticated. Dave’s especially pointing out how journalists have a tendency to dismiss Facebook and its audience. He’s not so much defending Facebook as he is pointing out that with over a billion users, you can’t ignore Facebook if you are trying to build a business.

I’ve been mostly off Facebook for a little over a year. I’ve decided that, for various reasons, Facebook was not an experience that I enjoyed anymore. I have issues with Facebook. I don’t approve of Facebook’s approach to privacy and I think the algorithm brings out the worst in people sometimes, but the reason I’ve left Facebook is that it doesn’t make me happy.**

That said, I completely agree with Dave. If you are trying to build a business, you can’t ignore Facebook. I’ll be honest, when I post links to my blog posts on Facebook, the articles get more traffic. Leaving behind Facebook meant leaving behind that audience. If we’re talking about my blog, that’s a trade off I’m willing to make. If you are starting a business venture, you don’t have the luxury to ignore an audience that large.

Dave’s follow up post brings up a second, maybe more important point:

I want to clear something up. I do not equate the net with Facebook. However a lot of people do. That's where you have to meet them. If you want to go forward with them, Facebook is where they are. Why do you rob banks? That's where the money is. ;-)

For those of us who have chosen to quit Facebook, it’s important to remember that we are in the minority. Most people enjoy their experience on Facebook. I’d actually say that most people find it impossible to imagine their lives without Facebook. To some people, Facebook is the internet. When we bring up the need to build a better internet, we need to talk about the ways that an open web improves on the things they like about their Facebook experience.

* RSS, Podcasting, etc.

** I don’t love Facebook, but I’m still on Instagram.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, researcher, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create.