Facebook rolled out a new feature to it’s Asian-based users whereby fans of a business page and initiate “private” communication threads with the page admins that do not appear in the “public” feeds. I use quotes hear as everyone familiar with Facebook and the web should understand that nothing you do online on a social media site is necessarily fully private and secure.
Regardless, this new feature enables users to send semi-private messages to the admins. The reason this is important is that prior to this point, if you wanted to have a conversation, you had to do so primarily through the wall (there are Facebook apps and other things that provide alternatives, but the wall is the main area). If your comments or messages were not particularly relevant to the community, you may have decided to not post your thoughts; or the community might have been distracted from your thoughts. Therefore, this alternative method for posting might come in handy – especially regarding customer service.
If you wanted to engage a retailer about the details of your order, do you need 25,000 other fans on the page to see the details of your order and the conversation? Probably not; but now you have a channel for doing so.
One interesting side effect of this is that it may reduce the volume of comments on the page, making it appear that the admins and community don’t engage regularly. It could also prevent the company from showcasing its excellent customer service. Though, on the contrary, if the company runs into several issues that are all handled privately, that might actually be a good thing!
I’m sick and tired of reading bullshit comments on websites, typically written by uneducated, non-expert people hiding behind a shroud of anonymity offered by the web and forum-based review and rant-oriented sites.
It’s time we hold these sites accountable for pedaling their filth, or better yet, hold the people who write and contribute this brain-less comments more accountable.
Of course I’m talking about the people that to go various websites and quasi-anonymously bash companies, people, products and/or services. This is often done with out merit, supporting facts or any other sources.
The internet, for some reason, has given uneducated, every day people the perception that they are experts on virtually everything. Take WikiPedia for instance. This site gets contributions from millions of people on subjects they are not experts on.
Look at Yahoo Answers for instance… People (not all of them), post legitimate questions on this site (usually because they are too lazy and don’t know how to perform proper research, or don’t really want to seek the truth). However, anyone can answer these questions. And everyone does, providing poor quality answers that lack primary-source references, facts any other data to support the answers.
We need to implement new technology (and laws) that require posters to reveal their true identity. People must be accountable for what they say. If we held people accountable, there would be more civility (because less garbage would be published) and we would be a more productive society that had less hate and animosity.
Have you read the comments on a political story posted to Yahoo.com lately? The discussion forums are ridiculous and tragic. It’s a pile of shit, yet Yahoo continues to propagate it. Imagine if you these posters had to reveal their real identity. How many would post the exact same comments? Almost no one.
I propose that the three credit bureaus combine to create a “web verified” identity that people must use when posting comments. It would be backed by the crediting agencies who would verify that you are who you say you are. Then, when you post a review of a restaurant on Yelp, comment on a political story on Yahoo, or review a business on Google Places, you have to sign in with your real identity that explains who you are and what you do.
With such a system in place we would protect kids from being attacked by bullies, businesses from being attacked by anonymous trolls (and give businesses the opportunity to make good on their mistakes), and finally, eliminate a lot of the mud-slinging and lack of civility in our society.
Fake Reviews being Spotted by Cornell's New Software Project (Credit: Myle Ott, Cornell University)
One step in the right direction is a project being conducted by Cornell University software engineers to root out fake reviews. Their experimental technology has proven successful in identifying reviews that lack authenticity. This is another step in the right direction.
Businesses, one after another, are creating Facebook pages with the hopes of driving people to “like” them. However, many businesses fail to realize just having a page, and just obtaining likes are on the first steps. You need to drive engagement to captivate your audience and drive the viral nature of the Facebook feed. Without providing meaningful interaction, your Facebook experience will be DOA.
Ilana Rabinowitz wrote a fantastic article with many great examples about engaging with your Facebook followers and increasing comments. I strongly recommend the article as a great place to get started with understanding the importance of doing this and how to get started.
When leading instructional sessions on blogging, I often discuss the value of comments and how most blogs these days are not “if you write it they will come”, but rather “when you write it, no one cares”. While pessimistic, it’s quite true. If you want to people to find and read you blog, you need more than just high quality content, you need a marketing strategy. One of the ways to market your blog is to get comments. But, how do you get comments when no one knows your blog exists?
Well, you start by commenting on other people’s blogs first. When you do, you want concise comments that reference your blog.
Next, you want to write about what other people are writing and then reference their posts. This will encourage other blogs to read and follow you.
This takes time and effort, but doesn’t cost a thing.
Here’s a great post by HubSpot on this very topic:
Dan Soschin 