With the huge backlash over Facebook and the two new features released yesterday, it showcases two of the features of the Internet that can be as big an advantage to a website as they can be a disadvantage. It’s tough to comment on specifics about Facebook itself and the recent changes to the site, having never used the site myself, but there are some huge factors at work here.
When the website first opened, it focussed on university students. First at Harvard University, then spreading toÂ? other Ivy League schools and prominent universities. Rather than a completely open social network, the site only allowed users with E-mail addresses from universities to register. Similar to MySpace, Facebook has been one of the fastest growing websites, but because of the specific demographic that is represented by the users, Facebook has been able to monetize their userbase through advertising quite effectively. According to TechCrunch:
about 85% of students in supported colleges have a profile [on the site]. [Of those who are signed up,] 60% log in daily. About 85% log in at least once a week, and 93% log in at least once a month.
Since the release yesterday, many of the users have shown their lack of appreciation for the new features. From a group called “Students Against Facebook News Feed” toÂ? a site boycotting FacebookÂ? and even petitions aginst the website. First, this illustrates the mob-mentality that is so prevalent on the Internet. It can be as good as it is bad. Having been the driving force that allowed Facebook to become what it is today, it’s difficult for the website to complain about the response. But secondly, it shows how a website can potentially lose control over itself and its direction.
The mob can have enough clout to make these kinds of changes incredibly dangerous for any company. Yahoo! obviously has to tread softly when making any changes to their site, as does Microsoft, AOL,Â? and Google. As some of the top sites, it’s too difficult to offend your users and risk losing them, so any changes must face intense scrutiny before taking effect. The changes on Facebook aren’t even that significant. The information provided was already available before the change to anyone who it’s available toÂ? after the change, and yet there’s still a very negative response. Any new features or changes to the site are going to be looked at much more closely, and may even require test groups to help prevent this type of backlash in the future.
Although it’s difficult to accept losing control of your work, it’s important to realize the importance of the customer - and in this case, the non-paying customer is what generates the paying customer. Two very distinct groups need to be kept happy, and this may mean that the site cannot introduce change without risking one or even both of these groups of customers.
IÂ? often visit Yahoo!’s The 9, nearly daily, and look forward to the content, which definitely includes the host and my net-girlfriend, Maria Sandstone (it’s even better since I’m not positive what her name is). Today when I went to visit the site, the video was very pixelated and seemed to be much lower quality. I suggested tht the demand for the feed may have caused a change in the quality being presented. Although theÂ? feed seems to be high quality again (too high demand when I first watched, maybe?), it’s the same situation. If Yahoo! were to make a significant change to what I’ve come to expect, it wouldn’t be too long before I found another source that facilitates the same needs. In this case, a quick break from work, and a rundown of some net-things that I might not be aware of otherwise.
With theÂ? rise inÂ? user-generated content, we will only continue to see the users starting to have more say in their web experience. It’s a slippery slope, and can lead to a great deal of headaches for websites that depend on their users and the content provided by these users. Because these users tend to be so fickle, especially if they don’t get what they want or don’t like what they get, it creates a lot of room for opportunity in these niche markets that otherwise seem full. Not to suggest that MySpace, Facebook or any of these other sites will be swept away or become mere memories, but the same mob that made these sites is the same mob that can break these sites, especially if they decide the has broken itself.
