The week before Thanksgiving, Facebook sent me and everyone else who has a Facebook account an email with some info on how they are updating their Terms and Conditions.
If you were busy and just ignored the notice, you were in the majority.
Terms and Conditions are there on nearly everything you use online or on your computer, phone, etc. But we blindly click yes and don’t read them.
Yes, I said we because I don’t read them either.
They’re scary. All the data they collect from us, the permissions we give them, we become an open book to Facebook and all the others.
But it’s also a trade off. We give them access to our stuff and they give us access to their programs.
By the way, if you are running a business and think that the only online presence you need is a Facebook page and other social media, think again.
As you read the details of what Facebook’s latest round of changes means for us as consumers, flip it around and see what it means to you as a business owner.
In short, they want you to pay for your stuff to show up on Facebook.
This is not new. It is a continuous movement. In the summer of 2013 when I managed the social media for a multi-million dollar internet retailer, I saw how suddenly they changed the organic reach of my Facebook posts. They dropped by 50 to 90%. Fortunately I had a budget to spend and I changed my tactics to accommodate the Facebook changes and I actually increased our reach by refocusing the cash I was spending.
What help with your online visibility? Contact me.
And in case you missed the email from Facebook last month:
| Hi Scott, |
| We wanted to let you know we’re updating our terms and policies on January 1, 2015 and introducing Privacy Basics. You can check out the details below or on Facebook. |
| Over the past year, we’ve introduced new features and controls to help you get more out of Facebook, and listened to people who have asked us to better explain how we get and use information. |
| Now, with Privacy Basics, you’ll get tips and a how-to guide for taking charge of your experience on Facebook. We’re also updating our terms, data policy and cookies policy to reflect new features we’ve been working on and to make them easy to understand. And we’re continuing to improve ads based on the apps and sites you use off Facebook and expanding your control over the ads you see. |
| We hope these updates improve your experience. Protecting people’s information and providing meaningful privacy controls are at the core of everything we do, and we believe today’s announcement is an important step. |
| Sincerely, Erin Egan Global Chief Privacy Officer |
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