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If you have been following the news over the last while, you will know that Facebook has some major issues, the latest from a few days ago being a bug exposing the photos of 6,8 million users to 3rd parties.
The issues are not small. Each of the three discussed in this NYT piece (Facebook’s Three Big Problems) have the potential to sink the company.
I have a sense that unless Facebook can correct it’s current trajectory something big is going to go wrong, that it may cross a line that it’s community of users (us) finds unacceptable and may then lead to a mass exodus from the platform. This by the way applies equally to WhatsApp and Instagram.
I think a very important question to ask if you are using these platforms for business is, if you had to leave for some reason, what are your alternatives? For example, what would you use instead of FB Groups, a Page, instant messaging, or WhatsApp groups?
It would be prudent to explore those options so you have a plan B in place. You never know when you may need them.
On a personal note, I think it’s really important to reflect on what data you are giving Facebook across all its family of apps. Do you know what permissions the apps have? Are you ok with that? (Read this explainer on app permissions if you want to understand these questions)
Also just as a general reminder: don’t push send on anything that you wouldn’t be happy about being displayed on a billboard along with your photo on the busiest highway you know, or which can be found on a Google search 10 years from now.
Understand as we use these digital streets that the potential for a crash is real and that just as when you drive on a real road, you have to do everything in your power to mitigate your risk of becoming a casualty.
What are your thoughts?