Along with the September 2011 changes made to Facebook came many angry users. While Facebook has had complaints about changes it has made in the past, the latest round of changes has drawn criticism from even the most supportive Facebook fans, and many users have even vowed to leave the social networking giant for good as a result. The reason for this is because Facebook essentially changed the way the site operates, leaving many users in the dark as to how to even navigate the new system, let alone enjoy its new features.For many regular Facebook users, the draw to the site was its simplicity. Users posted status updates and could read their friends' status updates in a real time, chronological order via a news feed. This meant that site members could keep up with their friends, family, and coworkers in an easy to read list, all without having to search for information. If someone did not want to have a post or a particular person's posts in their news feed, they could simply choose to hide the post or hide all posts by a particular person. As well, Facebook tailored each ad to the specific post being read at the moment, allowing for more targeted ads relating to what the user found relevant.
Unfortunately, Facebook's ideas for the future of the site have left most users quite unhappy. Most users have a "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" mentality when it comes to internet sites, and unfortunately for Facebook, the site's developers did not share the same view. The new version of Facebook now sorts status updates and posts based on what they think you will want to see. As well, the site now forces users to classify their friends into different categories, such as close friends, schoolmates, etc., meaning users no longer see a list of all updates, and instead only see updates from the people Facebook thinks they should see. Facebook claims that this was done based on user feedback, and that the new layout allows people to see top news stories instead of just updates. While users are still able to see updates from everyone on their friend's list, they now have to sift through updates and fiddle with settings in order to make it a reality, and even then, the system still inundates a user with updates.
The ultimate problem that this will cause is for advertising on the site. Facebook has long been an advertiser's dream, as they could target specific ads to specific users based on specific posts. Now, because users are left sifting through various updates in various places, the targeted advertising methods that made the site so popular among the marketing community may be a thing of the past, leaving advertisers to seek the next big thing in social media. As to whether Facebook will hear the message or not is anyone's guess at this point, but unless they want to become the next MySpace, they may want to turning up their hearing aid.
The ultimate problem that this will cause is for advertising on the site. Facebook has long been an advertiser's dream, as they could target specific ads to specific users based on specific posts. Now, because users are left sifting through various updates in various places, the targeted advertising methods that made the site so popular among the marketing community may be a thing of the past, leaving advertisers to seek the next big thing in social media. As to whether Facebook will hear the message or not is anyone's guess at this point, but unless they want to become the next MySpace, they may want to turning up their hearing aid.
