Does Facebook Have a BIG Problem?
A definite shift has happened to Facebook in the last few months. It appears the introduction of the new “Timeline” has bought in a new set of algorithms that control the content that we each see. Scroll down through your newsfeed and the majority of content is pictures and videos – personal updates now take a backseat.
This is due to Facebooks “Edgerank” system that determines which content appears in your newsfeed. It also makes assumptions from your previous interactions who your friends are and ranks their importance above others. So replying to random peoples messages makes Facebook think you are best buddies. Hence, there they are, always in your newsfeed.
Sure there are options to somewhat manage this, but setting them for each person is as confusing as it is time consuming.
The problem increases the more friends we each acquire. The 500 million or so users that junk up Facebook every day means that, as you increase your amount of friends, the more susceptible you are to Facebook deciding what you should see. What used to be a personalized experience, is becoming lead by the perceived “majority thinking” of the Facebook population.
In this age of unlimited personal choice, is this not exactly what kills businesses?
The record industry suffered because it was so use to determining what you should hear based on the majority. So when the shift in music discovery and consumption came, the labels just didn't keep up. More and more people are leaving pre-scheduled cable and satellite for on-demand services like Roku. This is because peoples experiences are not determined by the majority, but by the individual, and if they have choice they will take the path that suits them.
Facebooks heavy-handed managing of you and your friends is making the previously growing world an ever shrinking place.
And this is the problem Facebook now faces – it has just become too big that it has to somehow limit itself.
When Facebook first came along it seemed we had a new selectivity, a more controlled environment. A look at the facebook newsfeed now, and it is visibly becoming more chaotic each day. In fact, the endless photos covered in cheap text and “funny” quotes make it appear a jumbled mess. The neatness and simplicity has been hijacked, the reality is it is sprawling out of control.
Is this not what started Myspace’s demise? The decreased personalization of the experience.
No wonder Facebook is going public, it must be a sign that the end is near, a peak has been reached, and a shift is coming.
The simplicity that Twitter has with its limited characters and chronological timeline is increasingly appealing to those who want a cleaner experience. Though some may have gawked at in the past as a gimmick, those wanting to see the news of the people they actually choose to follow, may well find it a refreshing and easy alternative to the quagmire facebook has become. Similarly Tumblr, and now Pinterest, offer a much neater photo based experience. Google+ appears to suffer the same problem as Facebook, in that it is just not a succinct enough engine and already feels like it is failing to remain in control.
The past is a great predictor of the future, and just like we change our cars, phones, and even partners every few years, it seems a change in social networks is upon us too.
Where will you go?
Robin Davey is an Independent Musician, Writer and Award Winning Filmmaker. Follow him on Twitter @mr_robin_davey
I’m spending less and less time on Facebook – more on Twitter.
Facebook is a ad agency as the most revenue comes from selling ads. Btw Facebook is still the second biggest ad agency in the world. Right after Google.
Facebook needs to grow in order to please investors with the coming and awaiting IPO this year. Facebook, just like Google and other tech businesses, is a data-driven company. Hell, they must have huge data sets. Pretty much a hot stuff in the information society. Facebook will have to host their data centers in Arctic soon.
But back to the data business. Look at the metrics that Facebook regularly reports in public. The user engagement and time spent on site. More than half of Facebook users visit the site every day (http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22). In the time spent on site parameter, Facebook beats significantly other big competitors (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-is-destroying-google-in-time-spent-online-chart/4183). These two figures represent key values that are supposed to grow in order to justify current 100+ Billion valuation of the company.
The new Timeline is a great example of how to keep visitors on site for a longer time. The timeline almost never ends as you scroll down. Much more sticky then a recent boring profile, right? The same is true for the News Feed which is the main page of Facebook. Interactive designers, engineers, social behavior scientists etc. optimize this page. They test, measure, learn, improve and test again. The features that push engagement and time spent high stay on the site, the rest gets killed. And this cycle goes on and on.
So you might complain that your Facebook is cluttered with stupid pictures and cat videos, missing important updates. It might be the case. The pictures and videos, all the multimedia files in general, catch more Likes, Shares and comments bringing back other curious friends eager to see the cute overload. It’s cheap but it pumps the numbers up and right on the graph.
As a musician, the only effective way for me to overcome FB’s Edgerank algorithm is to create events and invite all my fb friends, plus post it on my fb promo page. I also have ReverbNation announcing upcoming gigs on my promo page and updating twitter which then updates my personal fb profile.
I also have a dot-com site, with an embedded Google calendar…and links to my facebook, twitter, and reverbnation sites.
A lot of updating going on.
Timeline sucks di*k
i have delete my Facebook because of timeline. it’s slow, it’s ugly and it’s a great big mess. so iv been on twitter this long time now, and not looking back.
i have delete my Facebook because of timeline. it’s slow, it’s ugly and it’s a great big mess. so iv been on twitter this long time now, and not looking back.
deleted*
Timeline is probably one of the best products Facebook has rolled out in a long time. In my opinion it completely cleans up the wall and creates an experience that is WAY more personal than it ever was before. Good job Facebook.
What started Myspace’ demise was the outrageous amounts of SPAM that had overtaken every aspect of the site.
FB has done a decent job at keeping that in check, so I think they’re OK for now.
Timeline does suck. Clutters up the page’s look and takes away from the original FB charm.
Simple solution around EdgeRank: Change the sorting list at the top of your News Feed from “Top Stories” to “Most Recent.”
BOOM! Problem solved.
That still doesn’t change the fact you dont get all updates – only the ones facebook thinks you need.
I get endless event invite notifications and randomly added to groups.
But that doesn’t help the cluttered newsfeed.
welcome to the Filter Bubble 😉
It is my opinion that once something new and more people oriented comes along, people are going to leave Facebook in droves. It was the original charm, easiness, and unclutter pages that brought people to Facebook. Now it seems the Face in Facebook (meaning the people) have been replaced with the desire for Ad revenue. The faces no longer matter. Facebook get a clue you will go the way of MySpace and as soon as something less intrusive and controlling comes along.
Since the change, the interaction rate of my 3800+ fans has gone from 1% to .1%. Hope they fix it.