Unquestionably, Facebook has changed lives and changed the world we live in. No one is going to argue with that so I don't need to discuss the reasons why. They are the perfect example of how a very cool idea can be transformed into a gigantic brand; one that it is almost impossible not to have heard of if you are alive today. Where we feel that Facebook (FB) falls short is in "customer" service and relations. Initially one could have argued that members were not truly customers, as it was all free and no one was buying anything from them, but we all realize that is a very weak argument, right? Even while not spending anything, the hundreds of millions who were signing up and joining the conversation were also actively if not consciously promoting the FB brand, and represent a key target for advertisers and their substantial revenue. Additionally, teenagers who grew up with FB will generally continue to use it as their life diary, once they have become successful individuals in various areas of business, when they have more money to spend and maybe even have their own business to promote. So, of course it's about the money! When you have got memberships of the order of a billion people, big money comes knocking.
What seems distasteful is the autocratic way in which FB makes major changes to client privacy issues, and the sharing of private information, as well as major format changes for hundreds of millions of people who are satisfied with the way things are. Business pages, for example, were recently informed that they were switching to the new Timeline format, whether they wanted to or not, on March 31st, 2012. We were truly shocked by this move, as a business who is an advertising revenue source for FB, and yet our opinion was irrelevant and no option was given to choose between our old format or the new. While Timeline might fit the weekly life of an active teenager, we do not feel it is of the same use to a business page. On top of this, recently, FB changed the amount of text one can insert into ads, out of the blue, with no warning. At first we assumed it was a glitch, but when then opting to use an old tried and trusted ad, it would not work. Suddenly we went from text message length down to only 90 characters permitted. This decision was crazy, not least as it completely obviates what they even recommend to advertisers: try many formats, and when you get it right and it works, use that ad. Now? You can't use the ad that you designed and paid for, in its original format, anymore. How come there is not a corresponding reduction in price for the 90 character ad versus the 140 character ad?!
It is probably a simple reflection of the fact that the head of the organization, while being a visionary, is not known for managing or caring about the expectations of his clients, even the business clients who truly are customers of FB. Additionally, it is indicative of someone who did not go through the training process one passes through in large, professional companies where one is educated (or is supposed to be) in customer relations as part of alignment with corporate branding. He got his success too young to have received such training, but he sure can afford to take a few courses, and/or bring in some serious talent to make the entire FB "experience" feel not only a little more personal, even for business, but to actually do what is the whole purpose of FB: engagement of people, joining the conversation, and actually listening to it, and appearing to care about what your customers like and don't like. Not just informing them, like the school headmaster, that this is how it's going to be, end of story.
I suppose that with almost a billion customers one can afford to be a bit arrogant about "them", and just assume that you know what's best for "them" and "they" can get on with it? While FB sure isn't losing clients en masse, I still think it's a dangerous approach and one that should not be seen as typical of the corporate brand that is Facebook. - Kevin Mc
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