The cartoon pretty much sums up life before millions of us were addicted to the social media phenomenon that is Facebook.
Who could have imagined how Mark Zuckerberg’s idea of connecting old school pals through a fledgling internet page could have become one of the biggest superbrands in the world? It’s over a decade since the world started to embrace Facebook and only last month the company announced it had one billion users logging in on a single day. Quite astonishing stats whichever way you chose to look at it.
And it’s these stats which makes me wonder what the world did before Facebook came along. It’s easy to be judgemental about a brand which has changed the way we interact with each other on a daily (and, in some cases, hourly) basis. Has it really changed the world for the worse?
There’s two simple ways to look at this. Yes and no.
Yes – it’s worse….
On a personal level Facebook can be accused of being too personal. Yes, it’s a great way of keeping in touch with friends and relatives but some people (and business can be accused of this too) as a place to air your dirty laundry. It really shouldn’t be, there are private places to do this, such as round your mates houses. No-one really wants to know that you are lonely or your child has had you up half the night. Social media should reflect positive changes in your life, not the negativity.
As a former journalist, being nosy comes as part of the territory but there are some things best left under lock and key. Facebook has led to many national news stories exposing false accusations of people. Before Facebook, journalists had to research more, now all they need is a name and bingo, most of their life is there for all to see.
Too. Many. Updates. Businesses need to have a strategy and an objective when using any social media platform, posting constant updates not only clogs up your own timeline but others too. Sometimes people and companies fail to keep it simple. Before Facebook you simply looked on a companies website to see the latest news, now you can see what some of their employees have had for breakfast, lunch and tea!
No – it’s better!
As a way of keeping in touch with friends and family there is nothing better. Brands have also found a unique marketing tool in Facebook as their growth in reaching out to a new audience has spiralled due to being able to engage with followers. Sorry, Likes. The growth of superbrands like Red Bull (the most followed brand on Facebook) couldn’t have happened without the platform. It’s content has helped shape the way other brands interact with their audience.
Due to its all-encompassing reach, brands have never had so much scope to send out messages to advocates and potential consumers. OK, so more recently those in the Facebook hierarchy have brought in stricter ways brands can engage (by making them pay) but then potential remains the same.
Companies particularly have embraced Facebook and whilst its organic reach might not be the force it was, the channel still has something to offer for everyone. While it may have its competitors on other platforms, Facebook remains the one to beat.
Let’s face it, we’d miss Facebook if it wasn’t there wouldn’t we? We might have less money because we would go out and socialize more but we wouldn’t be able to find even more amusing videos of epic fails if Mark Zuckerberg and his geeky friends hadn’t of come up with the concept in the first place.
