Facebook rolled (some say “steamrolled”) out major platform changes this week, in case you haven’t noticed! Those of us in the industry knew they were coming, although most of us didn’t know exactly what all the changes would be.
Facebook has the right to make changes on their platform. Some industry folks see all the new features as being Facebook’s direct reaction to the threat of Google+. Some see the changes (as I do) as not only a reaction to the features that make Google+ so easy to use, but also Facebook’s need and desire to keep users on the site for the majority of their Internet usage, therefore reducing the need for them to leave to search for music, to buy products, to chat with friends, to see real-time news, and more.
When I work with clients I often use this analogy to illustrate how users feel about Facebook: Facebook is a house. People like to hang out in their house with their family and friends. The more they can do without having to leave their “house” the more comfortable they feel.
Where the Problem Lies
Imagine you are renting the house (basically users are “renting” space on Facebook’s platform, albeit for free) and while you are at work, your landlord comes into the house, moves most of your stuff around, hides other stuff, and piles a lot of new stuff that you never asked for in places you don’t expect. The landlord leaves you a note saying, “I think you will like the house better this way”.
How would you feel? Invaded? Disrespected? Really Angry?
That’s how many Facebook users feel right now. If you check the Twitter hashtag #newfacebook you’ll see thousands (probably hundreds of thousands) of complaints and in many cases, anger.
I believe that Facebook users will get used to the new changes, and most will find them really useful, as I do. The new features make Facebook better for users and better it is for markers.
The way in which Facebook changes were made is the reason that users are angry. Anger is not what any business wants their customers (or tenants) to feel.
I’m looking forward to hearing how this all plays out. Would love to hear your comments.
The Jack Kent Quartet (dad is second fr left)
There is a lot written about Personal Branding these days. Some people think it’s a new concept; made possible by the opportunities we have on the web with social media platforms. In reality, from PT Barnum, to the Kardashians, personal branding has been with us since we’ve had media.
Back in the 1930’s & 40’s when my father wasn’t working in the family menswear store, he was the alto sax-playing leader of his own jazz band that gigged at various nightclubs around his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Not only was he the second youngest member of the local musician’s union (his best friend, the brilliant pianist Pat Pace, was the youngest), he wasn’t even old enough be in those clubs when he first started.
My dad was a very cool cat. But he had a personal branding problem.
Cool cats back then (and probably even today) didn’t get high ratings on the coolness scale when they had a last name like “Kantrovitz”. So instead of calling his band “The Jack Kantrovitz Quartet” my dad came up with the name, “The Jack Kent Quartet”.
After a while, this created another problem: half of his friends and acquaintances knew him as Jack Kantrovitz, and the other half knew him as Jack Kent. He even had two listings in the phone book (if you’re under 30 and don’t know what a phone book is, email me and I’ll explain it.)
Finally in about 1954, my father decided to eliminate the confusion and had his last name legally changed from Kantrovitz to Kent. Soon after, his brother took the same route, and that was the demise of the Kantrovitz name.
My father created his “personal brand” to market his jazz band more effectively. They had a pretty successful run, until he decided to quit gigging and devote himself to the family business and to raising a family. I think he was ahead of his time and growing up with that kind of mindset in the house gave me a head start in marketing.
Having such a “generic” last name has definitely been an asset for my brother, my cousins, and me, too. Our name doesn’t get mispronounced or misspelled very often, which, among other benefits, has made life a little easier for us.
Thanks, Dad.