There is an assumption in our society that everyone has a Facebook account. The reality is this couldn’t be further from the truth. Here are some points on why putting all of our eggs into Facebook is a HUGE problem:
- If Facebook is the only place companies go to send updates, this would mean Facebook is a monopoly and needs to immediately be dismantled.
- Facebook has not demonstrated that they have our societal values as a priority. The purpose of Facebook, especially now they are public, is to profit from the data their users give them – for free.
- Facebook is just like any other web site and experiences outages (accidental and caused by hackers) more than the radio or other forms of media.
- Is Facebook really the best “platform” for dispersing information? What about email, weblogs, and other systems? Diversification ensures survivability.
- People, like myself, who don’t find Facebook as beneficial as having true one on one contact, are left in the dark. One could argue this is discriminatory toward those who choose more personal relationships.
- In the end, the electricity goes out, so does Facebook and a bunch of other things. Ink or pencil and paper will survive.
- There is very little in evidence that shows Facebook is beneficial to company revenue.
I hope this gets you, the reader, thinking about the role Facebook should play in our future. I would argue that any business or entity that only offers updates through Facebook are just being lazy and not investing the true potential of their business.
As a solution, members of the media and anyone trying to disseminate information to the public should follow an example from Lois Capps:
“Please keep in touch with me through my website, by liking my Facebook page, following me onTwitter, or sending me an email.”
Website updates along with Twitter updates and blog posts should not be overlooked and replaced with Facebook, period. To do so is lazy.
Aric Monts-Homkey 