Years ago, the happening place to be was Myspace. That time as come and gone. When you hear the name Myspace now, most people look at you puzzled and ask, “is that still around?” Facebook swiftly took over the Myspace crowd. It was easier to use, the pages are clean and free of glitter and auto play music. The crowds quickly flocked to Facebook and this new, amazing place to reconnect with people from their past, keep up with friends and play lots of time-consuming games.
Working in Social Media for many years, I’ve watched sites come and go. That’s how the Internet is…..things come and go as the times change. Back when, no one thought Myspace would go away..and though they are trying to hang on, I don’t think they can ever make a come back. I thought Facebook was in it for the long run…..until recently.
For what seems like years (and it may have been) there have been posts going around about Facebook beginning to charge. It was all a hoax and we all knew there was no way Facebook could start charging. WE WERE WRONG! They ARE charging.
They started charging on fan pages first. Promotion costs depended on the amount of fans you had. I have 7,676 fans on my page. You would think, since they have already opted to see my posts that they would see it. But they will not. You see, I’m lucky if I get 500 of the 7,676 fans to see my posts….if I want ALL my fans to see it, that will cost me $30 per post! That is INSANE!
This isn’t a huge deal for large businesses, but for the smaller guys, like me, this makes make Facebook really a pain! I can’t compete with the big guys and pay $30 each time I share an article I wrote or anything else. I don’t understand why Facebook is charging me let the people that already agreed to see my posts. I could understand if I paid for my posts to go to non-fans…but these people agreed to see what I have to say!
What would be better?
Why doesn’t Facebook have a monthly subscription for businesses? If you have a fan page, you pay, say $10/month. I would pay it. All my fans could see my posts and Facebook would make a little money. I think that’s much smarter. If every fan page was paying a fee, Facebook would be doing just fine.
What about personal pages?
Facebook is beginning to charge personal pages for sharing photos and things as well. This hasn’t rolled out to me, yet. My husband has it on his. He is asked if he wants to promote pictures, etc. Now I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay to share pictures of my kids birthday or whatever else.
What will take it’s place?
I’m really not 100% sure what will take it’s place. It might be Google+ or could be something new. I kinda wish that Google+ would take off though. I love the lists you can create and put people into. I love how it is integrated with everything else I use. When I am in my Gmail account, I get a notification if someone adds me, comments, +1s or whatever else. I love that when I share one of my articles on Google+, it helps me to be indexed in Google faster. I love that when I share something, I just choose a group to send it to. I don’t have to share with everyone or pick people individually.
I could go on and on with why I love Google+, but that is for another time. For now, I see that as the only alternative to Facebook.
Will you stick around if Facebook begins to charge you for sharing all of your posts with your friends and family?
About Amber
No, I will not stick around on Facebook. I’ve tried to close out my account a couple of times, but I have found out you can’t really close your account, or unsubscribe from Facebook. The thing I really hate is how businesses will “post on your behalf”. It took a while b4 I found out how to tell them no. My page is still cluttered with ads, I don’t go there much any more. And no I do not post any pic’s. These are mostly private. Google+ is pretty good, but been burned twice, my space, and Facebook, my heart is not into really using it.
I completely understand what you are saying! Myspace was horrible and Facebook is getting worse by the day. These types of sites will be always be a way to connect with friends, brands, products…but they will always change. Nothing lasts forever when the Internet is involved.
I def will not pay to use facebook, its not that great!