I think Time magazine ironically, and certainly unintentionally, hit the nail on the head in portraying the interesting turns that have occurred at Facebook. 2010 Time Magazine Person of the Year - Facebook Founder and CEO - Mark Zuckerberg. 2011 Time Magazine Person(s) of the Year - The Protester.
Facebook had provided a launch pad like no other for groups to form, messages to be heard, and entire public opinions to be changed!! It starts with little things like fans of Betty White creating a "movement" to push the people at Saturday Night Live to invite her as a host - success!! It grew into such large things as the foundation and communication line for much of the "Occupy" movement in 2011...the odd twist that Zuckerberg built the stage for "The Protester".
I saw amazing things happen as people took to the internet to "get the word out". There was a mother from my hometown that was stripped of her parental rights by her heartless ex that refused to let her kids be around her as she courageously fought a losing battle with cancer. Donations, meals, plane tickets, hotel rooms, music albums dedicated, and more all started with one post from a very kind and loving friend that wanted her tragic story to be heard. I have seen animals get adopted, abusers get arrested, fugitives get found, families reunited, all from the power of a simple post to Facebook.
The power doesn't end there. Athletes have watched how a seemingly innocent post among friends can get blown out of proportion to a level of fines and suspensions!! Twitter seemed to be the curse of the 2012 London Olympics!! People are now fully aware of the power that is now at their fingertips as a user of Facebook and social media. Small businesses can be made or broken by customer praise or criticism left on their pages. As I wrote in the previous article, even large companies like Netflix are not immune to the public outrage that is now possible. Even Bank of America referenced the overwhelming negative opinion that swarmed the social networks when they backtracked their plans to charge fees to all debit card users. Starbucks, made quick changes to their food and beverage line, when a public outcry in social media, by the vegan community, brought attention to the use of a (very common) beetle extract used as a red food dye.
It seems one company however, seems to be very stubborn in sticking to their guns that they know better than the millions of daily users. Facebook.
Stay tuned for the final part of this series - Facebook Part3 - Nightmare on Wall Street
Facebook had provided a launch pad like no other for groups to form, messages to be heard, and entire public opinions to be changed!! It starts with little things like fans of Betty White creating a "movement" to push the people at Saturday Night Live to invite her as a host - success!! It grew into such large things as the foundation and communication line for much of the "Occupy" movement in 2011...the odd twist that Zuckerberg built the stage for "The Protester".
I saw amazing things happen as people took to the internet to "get the word out". There was a mother from my hometown that was stripped of her parental rights by her heartless ex that refused to let her kids be around her as she courageously fought a losing battle with cancer. Donations, meals, plane tickets, hotel rooms, music albums dedicated, and more all started with one post from a very kind and loving friend that wanted her tragic story to be heard. I have seen animals get adopted, abusers get arrested, fugitives get found, families reunited, all from the power of a simple post to Facebook.
The power doesn't end there. Athletes have watched how a seemingly innocent post among friends can get blown out of proportion to a level of fines and suspensions!! Twitter seemed to be the curse of the 2012 London Olympics!! People are now fully aware of the power that is now at their fingertips as a user of Facebook and social media. Small businesses can be made or broken by customer praise or criticism left on their pages. As I wrote in the previous article, even large companies like Netflix are not immune to the public outrage that is now possible. Even Bank of America referenced the overwhelming negative opinion that swarmed the social networks when they backtracked their plans to charge fees to all debit card users. Starbucks, made quick changes to their food and beverage line, when a public outcry in social media, by the vegan community, brought attention to the use of a (very common) beetle extract used as a red food dye.
It seems one company however, seems to be very stubborn in sticking to their guns that they know better than the millions of daily users. Facebook.
Stay tuned for the final part of this series - Facebook Part3 - Nightmare on Wall Street
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