Unless you’ve been living under a rock with Patrick Star, you probably know about the new changes that have been rolling out the past few weeks at everybody’s favourite online ecosystem, Facebook. Prior to today, most of the changes have been meeting with grumbles, but today’s complete overhaul of how one’s newsfeed functions was met with a serious roar, myself included. There has been talk of moving to G+, an irony given that competition with Google is the impetus behind these changes. But is packing up the kids and moving to G+ that easy? And should you move versus sticking it out or even actively lobby to get FB to change things back?
Like it or not, Facebook has permeated our culture. On the EBSQ forums, the joke is often, “Where’s the like button?” in response to an awesome post. We’ve built patron voting around FB’s systems. We’ve even considered further integrating with using FB as an alternate way to register/log in, and even as a basis for a comment system, since this is becoming a very common practice and lowers the barriers of participation for artists and patrons visiting EBSQ. Having a Facebook page is becoming as required/expected for businesses this decade as a web page/blog became for businesses at the end of the last decade. And that’s just the reliance on its technology. Facebook is where everybody is. Everybody. (Well, except for my dad, but that’s probably a good thing, lol. ) As a business owner and a very social being, I’m locked into the ecosystem.
What about you? Are the latest changes a deal breaker for you and/or your art business?
Art & News from EBSQ 
very cool angel! Is it woodburned?
I don’t have Facebook, and don’t want it. I know I miss out on a lot of things, but the more I know about it, the more it bothers me. I’m wary of any site that gathers that much information about your preferences. Unfortunately it’s the way of the world…
Yes, the piece above by Lynn Dobbins is wood-burned pyrography. I’m glad you liked it!
I think a lot of people agree with your stance regarding the direction of today’s technology. Thanks for your feedback!
Nope, definitely not a deal breaker. I’m not that insane about Google, since it’s so invasive, and after the Google Wave fiasco I just don’t think Google + is going to be The Big Answer. Facebook can be a pain, and I HATE having to relearn where things are–it’s a waste of my time better spent making art–but I’m there, and mostly it works. And face it, it IS free. 😀
Time spent relearning something that you were familiar with the day before is indeed time wasted for many, particularly since everyone seems to be finding the changes make the site LESS useful.
Making art = ALWAYS a better use of time!
I was plenty annoyed this morning, and a friend is trying to get me on something called Diaspora. I like the name, but it looks just like Facebook and my photo didn’t load right. So the jury is still out on that. I’ll probably stay on Facebook anyway, unless everyone bails.
I do like Branch Out, and was thinking about migrating my ex-colleagues on to that, but I don’t even know if it’s still there. it was a good alternative to Linked-In, which used to be good but now they’re letting everyone contact you.
The main thing I like about Facebook is its versatility. I use it differently with different people. Chat with far-away people is priceless, because it is free and doesn’t depend on time zones, and is more immediate than email. It’s a great way to communicate with my mom’s caretakers. FB is a good gateway to other sites such as EBSQ and Etsy for people who are looking for my art.
When you’re using a venue to market your art, it’s always helpful if there are enough people using that venue to make your marketing efforts worthwhile. That’s why right now, FB is the place to be. There’s been a lot of talk of bailing, but I haven’t personally noticed anyone doing so.
I noticed that you mentioned something about possibly using FB as a comment system for the EBSQ forums. I hope that doesn’t mean we’ll lose the nice cozy privacy of the EBSQ forums? I like the fact that the “world” isn’t listening in on the EBSQ forums, as
it is on FB.
I wasn’t talking about the forums. I was talking about adding the ability to comment on art. Rest assured, the forums are staying as is! Sorry to have worried you!
PS: Loved the pyrographied angel too, put it on my fav list.
Good. Unworried now 🙂
We’ve always tried to err on the side of privacy. We haven’t always gotten it right, but we know it’s a serious concern and one we totally respect.
I don’t LIKE G+, so I’ll likely stick w/FB. I suspect most people will simply adapt. I already have to some degree. For example, if you hover over a person’s name in the news feed, then hover over the Subscribed button, you can deselect which bits you want to see from them. I don’t care one whit about game stuff, so I’ve been telling FB via the aforementioned method to sod off when it comes to gaming “news.” That feature would be a LOT better if I could do a mass deselect rather than needing to mess with each person, but at least I can turn SOME of the noise off with a bit of effort. I preferred the former interface, and believe FB made a reactionary choice that wasn’t in their best interest, short term. Long tern is TBD.
I see some people calming down, and others leaving. One big concern is that items that were previously hidden (like gaming) are appearing again, and in some cases, previous privacy levels have been reset. I think a lot of the new stuff should be opt in rather than opt out, and like you, agree it would be nice to see a master control to hide all games, for example, rather than having to do it for every single person on your list.
Not necessarily a deal breaker but I am working on building connections on G+. It used to be that MySpace was the big deal for social networking and then Facebook came along, it seems G+ will be the new hotspot so I’m definitely investing time there.
I’m finding that, with the new rolling newsfeed feature, I still visit FB to catch up on other people’s news, but I am much less likely to leave a comment or or “Like” something – because then it means that everyone’s friends friends can see that with just a mouse over. It’s not an intention choice to “boycott” FB – I just find myself naturally protecting my privacy. I wonder if others are feeling this way and if it will impact the way FB is actually used.
Also, I find that my Artist page isn’t getting all the updates that my personal page is getting. Like the new “subscribe” – I would love that on my Artist page, but not on my personal page.
I agree, Melanie. By the same token, I sometimes feel bad about imposing political stuff on friends and family who might not share my opinions. I sometimes wonder if Facebook is trying to create drama or even dissension among its members.