Facebook, I Don't Like You Anymore

For the first time ever, I'm really getting sick and tired of Facebook. Sure, it annoys me that it's so big and corporate, and that it keeps changing how it looks (not to mention the privacy settings), but after a quick moan, I - like everyone else - move on.

Recently, however, I've really begun to be confused by it. It no longer makes sense - in more than one way. Old posts suddenly appear at the top of my feed for no apparent reason whatsoever, I see the same people, the same pages, old stuff, repeated posts - I just don't get it. It seems to be getting worse and worse.

If you're a page owner, things aren't exactly peachy either. Organic reach has pretty much bitten the dust. Pay for your posts. Pay for attention. Pay for your fans. Or likes. Or whatever the hell they're called. 

I haven't worked with social media and all their insights and metrics for a while now, so haven't got a clue where they're all at (not forgetting that just how these things work seems to change every few months), but really can't imagine what kind of algorithm is at work (I can barely imagine any kind of algorithm). If I'm honest, I've never really understood the point of all the page metrics and insights, and am finding it increasingly hard to understand what the point is of any posts at all, let alone keeping spreadsheets of seemingly random numbers that we use to convince ourselves that what we're doing is good. It's good, really it is.

Brands and companies are often on Facebook because they have to be. They're expected to be there, and e always on. Saying you're not on Facebook - as a person or brand - is likely to elicit a pretty surprised 'oh...', but those brands that bravely fought against the flow, well, I'm starting to think maybe they had the right idea all along.

I've always been - and still am - an advocate for brand presence. If I need help, I should be able to find it. Personally, I try Twitter first, then Facebook, and then the usual 'contact page' route. I do it this way as I've found it more effective. Twitter gets a quicker response, and somehow, to me, feels more personal. Facebook posts...well...now brands seem to think they can let them sit for a while before coming back. Just like emails, which is why the contact page route is my last call.

Help/advice - call it what you will - is all I really want (or need) from a brand on social media. There are exceptions. It's nice to find out that Fyne Ales will soon be stocked in Denmark, and yes, it's nice to follow local CrossFit boxes and see updates and news, but I'd be just as happy getting this information in newsletters. The vast majority of updates and posts in my feed are completely and utterly pointless, and add absolutely zero value to my life. I'd be surprised if anyone honestly felt different.

There's this need, completely self-made and self-perpetuating, to post. Post, post, post. If you haven't posted in a day, then OMG, your fans (if that is indeed what they're called) will forget you exist! Which they probably will. Your page and occasional update will drown in the millions of others out there (unless you cough up and pay to get your post featured). But if your fans are so fickle, why bother? Even if those fans do forget your page, will that affect their purchase/usage behaviour? I'm not so sure. If Fyne Ales, CrossFit, or Arizona Highways (probably my three 'favourite' pages) removed their pages, would I stop buying Fyne Ale beer? Would I cancel my CrossFit membership or Arizona Highways subscription? No. Will I forget they exist? No. 

If people do need your services or products (be it FMCG or business views or customer support), they'll find you. All you have to do is be there when they need you. No one needs to have things shoved in their face all day long. We've just got too used to it. Brands on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Jelly and Snapchat - you name it, there's a brand on it. Everyone is shouting to be heard, but I'm not sure why. Is it so that someone writes a great case study? Is it so you get on Buzzfeed and Mashable about how totes epic your Vine was last week and how it was so smoothly integrated into your Instagram and Facebook streams?

Why not make a really good TV spot instead, and call it a day.

I think we're approaching the end of a very thick-skinned bubble. It seems as if for the past 20-something years we've been riding on the high of the internet and social media. It is, after a very cool thing, and we've been keen to milk it for all its worth, discovering, programming, and creating. But perhaps now we're finally beginning to come down off the high, and see the extent of the mess we've created. Not that it's a bad mess, not at all, but talk about out of hand. How many social profiles have I got? I don't know. 10? 15? Possibly (probably) more, and what for? They all started with good intentions, I'm sure. My Klout score is 62*. What does that even mean? What does that matter?

I think there are going to be a lot of social media ninjas looking for work in not too many years. I'm not saying social media is going to die, but it's going to change, that's for sure. What is it going to change to? I don't know. All I am fairly certain of is that Facebook is going to implode.

Not groundbreaking thoughts, but thoughts nonetheless.

*was. I deleted my profile after I wrote this. It served no purpose whatsoever.

UPDATE: Perhaps it'll all go a bit like Povio, a photo sharing app that requires you to ask your friends to share a photo in order for you to see it. Could the same thing work for brands, and Facebook? Maybe. 

Twttr

The birth of Twitter. 

"On May 31st, 2000, I signed up with a new service called LiveJournal. I was user 4,136 which entitled me a permanent account and street cred in some alternate geeky universe which I have not yet visited. I was living in the Sunshine Biscuit Factory in Oakland California and starting a company to dispatch couriers, taxis, and emergency services from the web.

One night in July of that year I had an idea to make a more "live" LiveJournal. Real-time, up-to-date, from the road. Akin to updating your AIM status from wherever you are, and sharing it. For the next 5 years, I thought about this concept and tried to silently introduce it into my various projects. It slipped into my dispatch work. It slipped into my networks of medical devices. It slipped into an idea for a frictionless service market. It was everywhere I looked: a wonderful abstraction which was easy to implement and understand.

The 6th year; the idea has finally solidified (thanks to the massively creative environment my employer Odeo provides) and taken a novel form. We're calling it twttr (though this original rendering calls it stat.us; I love the word.ed domains, e.g. gu.st/). It's evolved a lot in the past few months. From an excited discussion and persuasion on the South Park playground to a recently approved application for a SMS shortcode. I'm happy this idea has taken root; I hope it thrives.

Some things are worth the wait."

Thanks Martin.

Tumblr and Yahoo

Interesting news surfaced yesterday about Yahoo buying Tumblr. An odd partnership, but one that might work, you never know. Anyway, I thought the communication from both sides about it were rather good, so thought I'd share them. Not sure how much trust is instilled by Yahoo's opening sentence of "We promise not to screw it up", but then again, maybe it's just a very honest sentence. Either way, they're both great examples of communication. 

"I’m delighted to announce that we've reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr! 

We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve. Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster.

Tumblr has built an amazing place to follow the world’s creators. From art to architecture, fashion to food, Tumblr hosts 105 million different blogs. With more than 300 million monthly unique visitors and 120,000 signups every day, Tumblr is one of the fastest-growing media networks in the world.  Tumblr sees 900 posts per second (!) and 24 billion minutes spent onsite each month. On mobile, more than half of Tumblr’s users are using the mobile app, and those users do an average of 7 sessions per day. Tumblr’s tremendous popularity and engagement among creators, curators and audiences of all ages brings a significant new community of users to the Yahoo! network.  The combination of Tumblr+Yahoo! could grow Yahoo!’s audience by 50% to more than a billion monthly visitors, and could grow traffic by approximately 20%.

In terms of working together, Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!’s personalization technology and search infrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they’ll love.  In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!’s media network and search experiences.  The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance user experience.

As I’ve said before, companies are all about people. Getting to know the Tumblr team has been really amazing. I’ve long held the view that in all things art and design, you can feel the spirit and demeanor of those who create them. That’s why it was no surprise to me that David Karp is one of the nicest, most empathetic people I’ve ever met. He’s also one of the most perceptive, capable entrepreneurs I’ve worked with. His respect for Tumblr’s community of creators is awesome, and I’m absolutely delighted to have him and his entire team join Yahoo!.   

Both Tumblr and Yahoo! share a vision to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas by focusing on users, design — and building experiences that delight and inspire the world every day."

Below is also the GIF used by Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, in her own Tumblr to announce the deal.

Here's Tumblr's.

"Everyone, I’m elated to tell you that Tumblr will be joining Yahoo.

Before touching on how awesome this is, let me try to allay any concerns: We’re not turning purple. Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing.

So what’s new? Simply, Tumblr gets better faster. The work ahead of us remains the same – and we still have a long way to go! – but with more resources to draw from.

Yahoo is the original Internet company, and Marissa and her team share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. I couldn’t be more excited to have her help. We also share a vision for Tumblr’s business that doesn’t compromise the community and product we love. Plus both our logos end with punctuation!

As always, everything that Tumblr is, we owe to this unbelievable community. We won’t let you down.

Fuck yeah,
David."