I've been blogging a lot about Facebook's changes from a marketer's perspective. So I thought I'd write about it this time through an eyes of a user. Facebook's recent changes like the real-time ticker and Timeline profile are pretty much like the weather. You can't complain and you can't change it because nobody can control the weather, you can only adapt to it. This is how Facebook projects itself today: a force to be reckon with, but nobody wants to challenge it (well, except for Google+, but that's a different story.). Why am I even saying this? Because after Facebook rolled out its new changes to marketers and users alike, some users are complaining about Facebook's new features. I'm not complaining, just a bit pissed. So what? Facebook didn't ask me to register and be part of a 750 million strong social network. Reality check - Facebook doesn't care about you.
Some of my friends who are addicted to playing Farmville or the Sims Social ask why Facebook is coming up with these changes. The answer is simple, Facebook won't earn millions to maintain its service by simply satisfying every user in the planet, the social network needs advertisers to sustain it financially.
Yes, every social platform today is free unless you want to purchase their freemium services, but the issue of control emerges. Why do people even sign up on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+? Aside from being free, it all boils down to control.
One of my favorite authors, Jeff Jarvis, has always stated in his book (What Would Google Do?) that "control" is a crucial aspect for a platform to be a success. As stated in the Jarvis' First Law: "Give the people control and we will use it. Don't and you will lose us." This was more applicable to Craigslist, and Facebook is not Craigslist. Facebook is a middleman collaborating with marketers and advertisers to leverage its social reach. But seriously, people aren't leaving their current social graphs just because more control is handed down to marketers and advertisers while users are left to watch and adapt.
Like I've always said, Facebook has become a destination-location for marketers and users. People who don't even have an email address or only go online thrice a month are lured by Facebook to go online. It makes me wonder how much the Internet grew as Facebook's membership increased.
So from a user's standpoint, what does this tells us? Facebook is not asking you to sign up, it's telling you that you are irrelevant if you don't have an account. And for marketers and advertisers, every status update, photo, and video is considered content. Content that just became Facebook's asset for brands and marketers to utilize. Facebook launches new features to benefit companies but also reminds every user that it will "enrich" their lives. People who want to quit Facebook will definitely come logging in again, why? The reason lies in its function. I'm on Facebook to connect with family and friends. Then it all makes sense. Blame the marketing not the function.