WTF Facebook?!

A few weeks ago I was asked to look into the possibility of creating a Facebook group for one of the campaigns my organization is working on.

Now, I’m not a regular visitor, so I was curious when I logged in and found that I had the option to try the new Facebook.

Why not?

I was utterly confused, I feel like I’m a pretty tech-savvy individual. Sure, I won’t be able to fix your computer, but with basic Internet applications, I’m a-ok. With this new Facebook, however, I felt like how my mom, no even how my grandma, would feel trying to send me a text. I had no idea where anything was or how to find any of what I was looking for.

My curiosity quickly faded and I happily switched back to the old, reliable Facebook I had known for four years.

A few days later, there I was, again on Facebook, and this time there was no option. I frantically looked around and was astounded – the new Facebook was here to stay.

My first reaction was seriously Facebook, WTF!?

I’m not the only one that seems to have had this experience. Scott Sanders, a student at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, was so outraged that he even launched a petition which has reached 1.5 million signatures.

I understand the frustration Scott, and I applaud your call to action to get our old Facebook back.

But, let us look back to two years ago when Facebook added the News Feed feature. I remember I was so enraged with Facebook. How dare they announce to me what the guy I used to like is doing. I don’t need to know that!

Two years ago we were again starting petitions and groups against the new feature.

But why all the outrage over a technology upgrade? It seems that our Generation can take a stand against Web sites, but for other actually more important issues that affect our work, we’ll leave it up to someone else.

Because over time the News Feed issue was forgotten. Just like how over time the old Facebookwill die away and we’ll forget what it even looked like, much like how you forget what someone looks like before they get a haircut.

Change is the only thing left in this world that will be consistent and how well you respond to it will depend on how well you adapt, even it it’s for something as seemingly insignificant as Facebook.

-Aida