One Moment, Please… Why did Facebook use print media?

Over the past several weeks, many of our readers have probably heard about the data privacy issues relating to Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, and how the information from more than 50 million Facebook users was utilized to influence the election that resulted in Donald Trump claiming the title of President of the United States of America.

Yes, Facebook made all user information available to Cambridge Analytica to influence the election via the social media platform.  But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  If you have had the Facebook Messenger application installed on your Smartphone, Facebook has had access to everything: your text messages, your phone calls, your voicemails, your Internet browsing.  Everything.  That’s what was provided to Cambridge Analytica, so they could profile individuals for targeted messages.  The psyche of users was compromised.

My Facebook experience

For me, I believe I first joined Facebook in 2008.  I had never taken an interest in any other social media options, so I never signed up for Myspace — which is apparently still ticking.

When I joined Facebook, I was amazed at how I could connect with high school classmates whom I hadn’t seen for more than 20 years.  And, I was able to see whatever they wanted to share, such as their career path, family photos, their vacations, and whatever else they wanted to present.  I was connecting with old friends from all over the world.  It was truly amazing.

And, I would say, I spent more time on Facebook — non-constructive time — because I was amazed at how I could stay in touch with people in the virtual world.

But, as the years have gone by, I have found myself less and less impressed with Facebook.

I have come to several conclusions.  I once wrote an editorial about how Facebook was becoming over-commercialized, and that won’t change.  Even the non-sponsored content, coined “click bait,” has taken over the social media goliath.  I’m sure Facebook users can relate to one of these headlines: “He was about to give up, and then this happened…”  Anything to get your attention!

Facebook has pretty much made stalking an acceptable norm of our society.  It’s not just users stalking other users.  It’s advertisers stalking users with targeted ads.

The people I see and talk to in person or on the phone are the people who matter the most to me.  These are real people in my life.  I have often heard people talk about their “Facebook friends.”  I’d rather spend more time in the real world.

I think Facebook has brought out the worst in our society: narcism, boasting, complaining, arrogance, etc.  For me, I have found that sometimes I like people more when I don’t know how they think.  When I see people sharing posts on Facebook from non-credible sources and they claim this information is true, it makes me cringe.  I don’t want to feel that way.  I’d rather be oblivious to their opinions.

I have also concluded that I don’t want my children on Facebook anytime soon.  In general, I think children have been given access to too much technology at too young of an age.  These kids are not mature enough to be able to handle this responsibility.  I’ll elaborate more on that subject in a future commentary.

Credibility issues

Maybe I’m just becoming an old fuddy-duddy.  I’m sure there are many others who love Facebook, and they may be pausing in the middle of this commentary to “unfriend” me.  Totally understandable.  I would, too.

But, aside from my disdain for what Facebook represents in our society, I think there is a much more significant issue at hand.

CEO and Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg has refused time and time again to testify before our U.S. Congress regarding data privacy issues and Russia’s tampering with the presidential election.

It wasn’t until this past week that Zuckerberg agreed to meet with Congress.  Why now?

Well, Facebook’s stock fell 14.8% within the past week, meaning the valuation of the social media giant decreased by more than $50 billion within a matter of days.

I guess money talks.

Zuckerberg realized if he wanted to save face for his company, he had better meet with Congress with hopes of rebuilding trust among his users.

But, what was even more significant within the past week relates to how Zuckerberg attempted to rebuild trust by using traditional print media.

“We have a responsibility to protect your information.  If we can’t, we don’t deserve it.”

That was the lead to a full page ad that Zuckerberg ran in seven British newspapers and three American newspapers, including newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and New York Times.  Hey Zuck, where’s our full page ad?

What I find most interesting is that Zuckerberg used newspapers to build trust.   

Why didn’t Zuckerberg save a few pennies on full page ads and reach out to his users utilizing Facebook?

That’s because newspapers have credibility.  Facebook does not.