Sigh. Facebook is changing it up again with the new Facebook Timeline, and we all need to know what the changes are all about, how they affect us, and what we need to do to avoid any of the Facebook Circles of Hell: Will there again be unwanted photo tagging, or breach of privacy, or access given out when we didn’t want it, or crummy looking layout or content all of a sudden, or something new and exciting (but not in a fun way) that we haven’t even thought of yet?
I still wonder how Facebook’s “Fear and Punishment As a Marketing Model” is being discussed in business schools across the world. So horribly negative – and so very successful. First, they give out a totally free product and tie the use of said product to one’s own sense of popularity and self worth. Like wearing make-up for women – you wouldn’t be caught dead without it, even though according to all logic, it’s absurd to feel that you must hide in your home unless you’ve painted colors onto your face in a manner similar to every other woman. How weird, honestly, is that belief system? Yet it is embraced in the western world without question. Lack of makeup actually creates fear and shame!
So Facebook inculcates in us the belief that we must have a Facebook account, and page. And it’s free, so why not – and why not now? Facebook takes over the world, and they attach an advertising component to their free product and rake in the dough. Then they start changing the free product – without, seemingly, any concern for or even interest in approval by their “buyers.” The changes cause a huge wave of concern, consternation, chatter, and jumping-to by users. In other words, the arbitrary and capricious changes garner a lot of attention, and the fact that it’s negative hurts them not a bit. Users cry, “What will happen to my account? Will my page look bad? Will horrible pictures tagged with my name be suddenly searchable? Will I lose applications I’ve installed? Will I be able to find anything again? Will all of my search patterns be made accessible to voracious hordes of advertisers who know more about me than I ever wanted them to?”
Not only does this negative attention not hurt Facebook, it in fact actually creates an upsurge in the perceived value of the product. Why? Because each change creates a Fear of Failure, or Fear of Exposure, or Fear of Loss. The world responds not by throwing the darned product away, but by feverishly working to make sure they keep the product, which they now view as more precious than ever!
Well, enough of my rant. I have gone out and found a couple of very good resources to guide you in your quest not to lose face on Facebook. Here they are:
Timeline for Facebook Business Pages is HERE by Engage121.
and:
Fan Pages get Timeline! – posted by Daniel McGaw at Social Media Today.
Enjoy!