what Facebook was for

So, Facebook changed its algorithms recently. And from what I hear, it appears that the strength of your posts, and the presence of an interesting, lively, traction-forward wall rests heavily on how frequent your posts are commented on or shared by your friends, or how much engagement there is on it.

 

What it means, I suppose, is that Facebook Business is moving beyond a platform to dump pure selling videos or self-help motivational videos. It is no longer entertaining content creators who reflect nothing of their lives but use (abuse) the platform as a means of dishing out advice that no one is interested in.

 

A quiet shock to many, I would agree.

 

No one expects that what they've been doing all this while is no longer relevant, and that they are in fact, subject to algorithms on Facebook's side. And no one wants to wake up one day to find that all their painstaking efforts to make videos and produce content is no longer valued by a d*** AI.

 

But with the avalanche of well meaning advice, over eager plugging and numerous suggestions on the platform, with all the same old, same old posts, it should not be surprising that Facebook would one day decide that they had enough of all this insincere s***.

 

Truth is, Facebook exists because a bunch of computer geeks decided that they were tired of being left out of all the happenin' stuff and wanted a platform to let others know who they really were, and hopefully be able to interact and engage with each other before getting to meet face to face. It was built for the sake of introductions and connections. It was created as a means to safely open up and take a tentative step in getting to know others.

 

Would it then not be very awkward if this root reason got sidelined for the sake of B2B and B2B alone?

 

I'd say so.

 

After all, Facebook was created to be personal. It was created as a platform for just about anyone to be able to share their lives, their opinions and beliefs with as many as possible. It was hoped that old friends and people long forgotten would have a chance to reunite and reconnect again. 

 

So, it would make no sense to have cold, calculated, unfeeling, lecturely material dominate the space in lieu of sharings, pictures, videos and games. It would make no sense if what was being shared was just an anchored belief, a personal opinion, a shared thinking amongst the community, or amongst the friends and followers fpr the sake of messaging and messaging alone. If the goal was to make it personal, human and interactive, then that was what they were going to do.

 

The game is changing fast, and Facebook marketers and influencers have been fast to catch up. Where sponsored posts translated into applicable data, they know that now they hardly pop up and that, even when they do, they get scrolled over. You don't even get click rate. So they've changed their styles. Instead of deader than dead copywriting on the posts, now they give the brands a voice. Or they give them a character.

 

Anthropomorphic branding is not new. Neither is characterization and humanization. It's all been done in different ways. Luxury brands are described as having certain properties and attributes as if the House were a person.

 

Frankly I'm rather supportive of this whole personalization thing. Not just because it is part of my bread and butter.. :P

But because humans all crave for interaction, and more and more we find ourselves yearning to interact with our favorite brands. It is like we'd want to know what Gucci would say about us and to us. Or that we'd want Bottega Venata to recognize that we love their bags but yunno, are far below the attainable threshold. We'd want the brand of Estee Lauder or Philosophy to be our friend. We'd want Patek Phillippe to accept us as we are, customer or no. And we'd be happy to have it all online.

I'm not just talking luxury. Tech, apps, everything falls under the same category. These guys below, they're the characterization of a few personal safety apps that are currently used in Thailand, South Korea, Israel and India.  

 

But beyond all that, I'm a believer of Facebook as a means to show how one's life is, and what one lives for. I've been on social media for ten years and throughout I've maintained that my online presence is just so that I can get to know others better, and others can come to understand me better.

 

Sometimes we don't have the time to go about and catch up with friends. Facebook comes to the rescue. I've developed deeper friendships with former classmates. I've gotten to know some iconic personalities better because they're on Facebook and their sharings intrigue me every time. And I've come to appreciate a variety of lifestyles and beliefs better, simply because of Facebook.

 

They're incredibly original, all of them. Which is the key thing about social media and Facebook. Every post that I have there is original. There is no stock picture. There is no stock post. There is no borrowing from other sites. I either write my own s*** or I don't write at all. And with every link shared, there is an opinion. 

 

There's just one thing though.

 

There's very little traction. Some posts get zero response. Some posts get five or six likes and that's it. But it doesn't matter. Engaging the online audience requires a strategy and I haven't done mine. Simply because my Facebook was not meant to be monetized upon. It wasn't created with the goal to upload only thematic content. I don't boost it. I don't quite do all the engagement stuff. I don't share it to sites. I literally chuck my stuff up there and leave it be.

 

And I'm happy it being this way. :)