It was like I could hear the snickers in the back of the
classroom. Reading about how print journalism was dead, and how everything has
changed because of social media. In some respects, it has. But reaching out to
the Claremont community and COURIER readership are things we have been doing
quite well for over 100 years.
But now it’s time to give Facebook founder and CEO Mark
Zuckerberg feedback on how to make his product work better. Why all this
sarcasm? You see the COURIER just had our Facebook page destroyed because the
company said we were a business with a personal account. That’s not allowed I
guess.
We had a personal account because it enabled our followers
to not only comment on COURIER posts, but post content themselves. That meant our
3300 or so Facebook friends could publish event information, cool photos, or
anything related to Claremont on our page. Kind of like a community bulletin
board. It was simple to share information with people. We liked the personal
touch.
No says Facebook! The COURIER is a business and must have a
business page! That means friends are allowed, only the owner of the page can
post stuff. You want to do more? That will be $32 to promote your page says
Facebook. They are a publicly owned company now, time to bleed the customers.
So out went every post from our friends over the past 4
years. Literally thousands of photos, community updates, comments from
followers with varied opinions were deleted. Some posts had over 200 Likes and
150 comments. What stayed? Only the posts by COURIER staff. But even the reader
comments to these posts were erased.
You would think a smart company like Facebook would do the
right thing and call us, informing us what was going to happen, explain their
polices, whether we agreed or not. Uh no. We found out by logging in one day
and seeing everything changed. Emails to their help desk were never answered.
As editor Kathryn Dunn said when first realizing what happened, “Apparently,
Facebook is the boss.” That is so true.
What Facebook doesn’t understand is some businesses actually
want participation from their Facebook friends. That means friends get to post
stuff too. We share. Something more than just a comment or Like. But they just
don’t get it. If you are a business, you can’t have friends says Facebook.
Could they be afraid of change? Have they become…shall I say
it…“old school!”
I think Facebook leadership has been looking at their
computer screens so long, they have forgotten how their own product works. They
are stuck on the fact interaction between people must be controlled to a Like.
Here’s a $50 million idea. Start a new category for business
class. It could be called “Facebook business/personal solutions.” Create a page
that allows users greater flexibility in how they interact with customers. This
could apply to other groups like Rotary, sports teams, non-profits, or other
companies who want build a community around their friends and followers.
Charge $50 a year for this “personal touch” option and watch
everyone sign up.
Mr. Zuckerberg, if you Like this idea I only ask for one
thing in return. Subscribe to the Claremont COURIER.
In the meantime, the COURIER staff will continue to post
news items and website links on our Facebook page. We encourage you to comment
and Like us. And we will always be your friend.
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