Why Facebook has never listened and why it definitely won’t start now

“Using your car example, Honda would be foolish to advertise to me, because they’re already at the top of my list due to personal experiences & recommendations. So those with most to gain from advertising to me are other car companies (typically seems like Kia.) But they would need to spend hundreds in advertising to convince me to consider them. Therefore I’ll see 100x more Kia ads than Honda ads, unless my view of the two companies is rare. And so, the ads I end up seeing will be considered spam.”

BZZZZZ! Wrong!!! Actually Honda would be foolish to NOT continue to advertise to you. Whether you may actively perceive this or not, you actually like seeing ads for Honda’s, because it makes you feel better about your purchase. At some point in the future you are going to be making another car purchase. The LAST thing Honda wants is for you to be seeing more ads for Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, etc., than Honda. Sure, you are not going to buy a Honda tomorrow, but Honda wants to make sure their brand is top of mind for you. As you get closer to your next car purchase, and in that time frame saw fewer and fewer Honda ads, subconsciously you will start to think…”Hmmm…I hardly see ads for Honda anymore. But these Kia’s and Hyndaui’s? I see them all over. That car must be really popular, etc.”

Again, advertising is about more than getting a consumer to make an immediate purchase. A LOT more.

Wow. I haven’t seen you write anything of value in quite a while. Welcome back.

You’re right, of course about Facebook. However it’s a dangerous lesson for most. Not everyone is a visionary like Zuckerberg. You can get it seriously wrong if you think you know more about what your customers need than they do.

Congratulations on the new baby, and thanks for the interesting post.

Facebook was also excited about its applications and ad platform – are they making any money for them?

We share things on Facebook out of pure joy to strengthen our relationships. We are not really looking for any solutions. I want to buy things but do not want to be sold. When friends suggest things, it involves the possibility of ignoring the suggestion by the friends – that involves rejections – not good for relationships.

I wish you had better data about how many people are actually still using Facebook, other than using the fact that your wife is still there.

I can tell by looking at my feed that fewer friends are getting on and posting any kind of activity. I used to have to check multiple times a day in order to “see everything” my friends were doing. (IOW, I could check every few hours and not have repeated information in my live feed.) Now, if I check more than once or twice a day, the same information is in my feed. That is a fairly obvious to me, that at least my friends are less active on Facebook.

I understand change. I really do. I think businesses should always be growing and changing. The biggest difference here from what I like to see companies do is that Facebook just took away a lot of functionality from its users. They took away the things that two weeks ago they were talking up on Oprah as the best thing about FB: the ability to connect with people. It’s extremely difficult to connect with other PEOPLE now.

And the answer is not just using the feed filters on the side because the feed filters are lacking. You can’t see just status updates. You can’t see just notes. The only feed filter I see that is useful is photos. (unless those other features are so hidden I can’t find them)

Granted, there is a friend list filter, which might be useful for new users. Maybe they will grow their friend group lists as they add friends. But for people who have been using Facebook for 1 – 2 years and have hundreds of friends, it’s not reasonable to go back and spend a lot of time grouping friends to control the feed. I think I’d rather spend that time looking for the next Facebook to enjoy.

Robert: Great post! I for one do not like the new FB layout. However, as the Director of Training for a billion dollar company, I encounter both internal and external customers who don’t always agree with what we are doing or where we are heading. That does not mean we run out and change everything in our business model or product line-up to appease them.

The point is that the guy behind the vision (Zuckerberg) knows where he is going. We can alwasy voice opinions, but it is up to him and his team to decide whether that input helps of detracts from their vision of the future. Just because there are masses who don’t like the current changes at FB, does not make them right. We have seen mass support for concepts, products, and ideologies over the last 100 years that proved to be tragic.

Regarding the new FB layout, each one of us can choose whether to adapt or change. That is the nature of a free enterprise global marketplace.

This sounds more or less like what the Amazon personalization (“People who have bought X also bought …”), recommendations etc. were the initial steps towards, which began years ago. The use of data to target marketing messages and so on.

While I think all this is inevitable and even desirable (your sushi example sounds like the logical extension of an iPhone app like urbanspoon), my concern would be the privacy issues around all of this. With the growth of Facebook & Twitter and the further integration with businesses, I can see where there could be a few tussles over privacy. (They’re happening already, actually.) Due to sheer size, penetration … ubiquitous use of a Facebook, might that lead to some sort of legal/legislated decision about Facebook, such as considering it a public utility? I dunno. Just wondering.

this essay misses the point of our protest. it has nothing to do with all of the wonderful people/business/object networking possibilities so well cited here.
that’s all well and good and, yes, inevitable. the problem is that in shifting toward the “realtime everything broadcast” model they have unnecessarily removed lots of functionality that many many people were thriving on. so many preferential options have been removed that it now feels more like force-feeding and less like a personal kiosk. the empowerment you cite may exist in some theoretical future situations (restaurant searching in palo alto) but meanwhile a huge amount of functionality and empowerment has been removed or buried under a landslide of massive triviality and disposable nonsense.

people may not be leaving, but i know plenty of folks who are trimming their friend lists down to true personal friends. it used to be fun and useful to have a kiosk visible to a large extended network. now it’s a burden to be inundated by every superpoke and hiccup from relative strangers. i fail to see the genius in this move.

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook (as has been documented). The very “future” of FB that you describe right now is already being provided to me by Yelp. I love Yelp. And one reason I love Yelp is that I don’t get slammed by marketers and advertisers. I just get the specific information I need. I used it very successfully this week to find a ski rental outfit that was close to my house and reasonable! And I knew immediately how well my friends “liked” it.

I always appreciate your enthusiasm, Robert. Always. I do think FB has staying power and a future. I am unsure I am quite as enthusiastic about it’s all encompassing future as you, though. I also know that the noise the past two weeks over the changes is just that, noise. People HATE change. The larger your online social community, the noisier it will be when you institute changes to THEIR playground.

Just how this particular playground will actually be of more service to me than as an illustrated news feed of my friends and family, I am unconvinced. But I’m willing to stick around to see.

More importantly, congratulations to you and Maryam. Babies are always worth celebrating and getting excited about!!

congratulations on the baby

where’s the geek to create ‘Peoplebook’ and give the PEOPLE what they want – is it you?

Robert, I think you’re confusing folks’ craving for “information about products” with an interest in marketing and advertising.

As a consumer in the Internet age I don’t need marketing at all. I can use the Web to look up an compare specifications, prices, and reviews from trusted sources. I couldn’t care less what the manufacturer has to say about why they think I should like a product.

Far more people go out of their way to avoid advertising than to seek it, illustrated by the rise of DVRs, the death of newspapers, and the implementation of no call lists and anti-junk mail campaigns.

Advertisers are scrambling to make up the deficit in revenue by seeking Web 2.0 outlets. But I believe the age of advertising is dead, and business who base their revenue model upon it should be wary of the plight of newspapers and network TV. Facebook may make billions still on ads, but customers will seek ways to shun them.

Ps: people watch superbowl ads because they’re entertaining, and visit malls to socialize. We tolerate the marketing in both experiences.

Great post.
it all makes sense now. =P
oh and, congratulations!

Great post.
it all makes sense now. =P
oh and, congratulations!

The common thread I read in all of the replies and to the original post is that FB is all about relationships. And that means human relationships. People that advertise without understanding their tribe = low quality spammy relationships. People on FB to connect with people from high school that still party til dawn = interesting, check out what we’re doing now relationships. People on FB to build their business and have nothing to do with friends from the past of current = looking to build relationships.

FB is a tool that connects us as humans. It’s a tool. That I, the user, choose how to use for my relationships. Take it for what it is, use it with the intent you have.

If something pisses me off, I click the x button. If someone approaches me to be a friend I have never met before, I ignore them – that’s not why I put my profile on FB.

The blessing of FB that Mr. Z is keeping in mind, is that while he’s growing his business, he’s aware that FB is about me being able to click the x button and that businesses still can advertise to me, their exact tribe market. Like threading a needle, or pulling a plastic bone out of the body in Operation, it’s a fine line to walk. Tip too far one way and he hits the buzzer and makes the nose light up red. Game over.

As a business owner, I LOVE the clear and easy way FB offers me the ability to place and incredibly targeted ad to the tribe of people I wish to reach. When I get an ad that is completely antithetical to my personal views or needs, it’s because I didn’t put in my religious views, or my political views and the businesses are marketing to the widest audience. I didn’t define my tribe. And, the company said, “let’s throw some seed and see what sticks,” to the biggest group possible – aka shotgun marketing. (We all know this doesn’t work too well.) If Robert isn’t getting car ads, then those companies aren’t actively advertising to his tribe in the FB medium – that means they are unaware of how to communicate, with you Robert, in the way you need to hear it. It means that the big clunky businesses aren’t as nimble as some of us that see the potential in using a tool like FB to advertise. Give it about 6 months to a year when the big old companies get the hint, hire a 20 year old and move into FB. Then you’ll get a car ad from them.

BTW: thanks for the post. congratulations. good luck on finding a car, insurance, shoes, etc.

I think the new design is the way to go. People can be afraid of change. There are many conservative people in our world that want everything to stay the same. But the world won’t let things remain in a static limbo. Existence is constantly shifting, moving forward, and evolving.

We mustn’t let the many get in the way of the few. We mustn’t let ourselves slow down.

>>Oh, wait, they aren’t leaving! How do I know that?
>> Because my wife Maryam is totally addicted to Facebook.

Geez, how pathetic is this Robert. I am glad you provided us with such great empirical evidence!! As usually, you’re just as clueless on things as when you worked here at MSFT. And you’re still doing your typical ass-kissing up to folks like Mr. Zuckerberg.

Redesigns have typically always been met with derision and this won’t change any time in the future.

However, an undercurrent to the ‘WAH, I HATE IT, CHANGE IT BACK!” roar are some very intelligent people who have taken the time to examine and use the interface and make some very valid usability suggestions. I, and most Web super-users, will never be so entrenched in “this is how we do it” to think that “this is how it always should be done,” that we don’t accept change.

But, by virtue of what we do — and there are untold numbers of us — there is valid feedback that Zuckerberg would be smart to at least take a peek at. Certain parts of the navigation are confusing and key features of the site are difficult to find. There are some style choices that make it difficult to parse what is a status or a comment on a link or a wall post. These aren’t “I DON’T LIKE IT, U SUCK” rants, but somewhat informed opinions.

Last redesign there was a transition period with the opportunity to offer feedback. I have to hope that at least 5% of what they got was of value to them — changes to the site certainly reflected a refinement process before the permanent switch. I find myself wondering why this couldn’t be done again.

Redesigns have typically always been met with derision and this won’t change any time in the future.

However, an undercurrent to the ‘WAH, I HATE IT, CHANGE IT BACK!” roar are some very intelligent people who have taken the time to examine and use the interface and make some very valid usability suggestions. I, and most Web super-users, will never be so entrenched in “this is how we do it” to think that “this is how it always should be done,” that we don’t accept change.

But, by virtue of what we do — and there are untold numbers of us — there is valid feedback that Zuckerberg would be smart to at least take a peek at. Certain parts of the navigation are confusing and key features of the site are difficult to find. There are some style choices that make it difficult to parse what is a status or a comment on a link or a wall post. These aren’t “I DON’T LIKE IT, U SUCK” rants, but somewhat informed opinions.

Last redesign there was a transition period with the opportunity to offer feedback. I have to hope that at least 5% of what they got was of value to them — changes to the site certainly reflected a refinement process before the permanent switch. I find myself wondering why this couldn’t be done again.

An aside to Dave Natriss:

“Jamie, just filter the ‘noise’ out if you don’t like it – is it really so hard to choose a filter from the left of the page?! ”

The filters are — or would be — useful, if a) all the filter possibilities are there. For example, a user cannot use a filter to just see status updates.

You can only modify the filter with the choices that FB stacks in the expanded mode. My experience, and that of my friends, is that the choices often feature applications what the user hasn’t even added.

Finally, Facebook removed the option to customize your news feed to choosing to see “more” of one type of content — say, photos — or less of another — particularly applications.

In these ways and in others it has reduced its user-friendliness.

As Robert says, perhaps user-friendliness is no longer part of the business model. While that may be the evolution of of a site’s “life,” the fact that Facebook has always pissed off its users does not mean that the users will continue to stay in an abusive relationship. Perhaps attrition will take a while, but that and new Internet “toys” will erode its audience. And, when the users leave, the businesses and “well known objects” will follow them.

Robert,

I think you’re giving entirely too much credit to Facebook. This has almost nothing to do with listening or not listening “to the masses” and everything to do with Facebook scrambling to create an environment that’s more friendly to marketers while simultaneously trying to out-Twitter Twitter.

Ever since Twitter spurned their takeover offer they’ve been throwing everything over the walls of the castle in an attempt to fend off a perceived attack on their user base. They should just stop it already, the two can coexist and compliment each other.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Facebook is great for what it’s primary value proposition is all about – providing an environment for me to maintain closer relationships with people & organizations that I care about. If Facebook forgets this they risk the very real possibility that another platform that better addresses this primary value proposition will rise from nowhere and render them the new Friendster – and it won’t be Twitter. But it will be a service that sits on top of and/or utilizes Twitter.

Facebook is fitting the wrong battle here.

BTW, congrats on the new addition to your family!

Robert,

I think you’re giving entirely too much credit to Facebook. This has almost nothing to do with listening or not listening “to the masses” and everything to do with Facebook scrambling to create an environment that’s more friendly to marketers while simultaneously trying to out-Twitter Twitter.

Ever since Twitter spurned their takeover offer they’ve been throwing everything over the walls of the castle in an attempt to fend off a perceived attack on their user base. They should just stop it already, the two can coexist and compliment each other.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Facebook is great for what it’s primary value proposition is all about – providing an environment for me to maintain closer relationships with people & organizations that I care about. If Facebook forgets this they risk the very real possibility that another platform that better addresses this primary value proposition will rise from nowhere and render them the new Friendster – and it won’t be Twitter. But it will be a service that sits on top of and/or utilizes Twitter.

Facebook is fitting the wrong battle here.

BTW, congrats on the new addition to your family!