Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,
Thank you for giving me
an update on the upcoming changes for Facebook. Like 99% of Facebook users, I never made it
past the first couple paragraphs, but I’m sure it’s all good. I know our well-being
is your primary concern so I have no need to read the fine print.
Just curious, though. How did you know what changes we wanted
without asking us? I don’t recall ever seeing any of my Facebook friends making
a suggestion and you commenting, “Ooh, good idea.” Where then did your ideas for
changes come from?
Surely they were not made out of financial interests. I mean, you’ve
already made more than enough out of this business venture than you ever
dreamed possible, right? After all, the idea wasn’t yours and the necessary algorithm
wasn’t yours, so I’d say you’ve done very well for yourself, far better than
the people who had the idea for Facebook and the initial formula. You wouldn’t
be that greedy or self-centered, would you? Oh, I know your personal net worth
has fallen $11 billion since the news of Cambridge Analytica broke, but that is
a mere blip on the screen. People have short memories and the fact that you’ve
been using users’ data in ways they never imagined won’t stick in anyone’s mind
for too long. Technology such as Facebook has wiped out any sort of long term
memory or capacity for sustained action.
And surely the Facebook changes are not occurring because of government
pressure. I know you’re better than that. Facebook was your creation (sort of),
and I know you hold it to be a sacred responsibility to insure that it is used
for the betterment of humanity. That is, after all, why you (sort of) created
it, isn’t it? Oh, I know it was originally envisioned to be a hookup site for
coeds, but it has matured since then, just as you have. It has become far more
than its originators intended, and is now a platform where people from all over
the world can share ideas and information in order to make the world a better
place. Oh, initially we didn’t know what to make of it and got in a lot of
fights with relatives and total strangers over politics, but most of us have
grown in our understanding of internet etiquette since then. We, the myriad
users of your (sort of) creation, have made Facebook something far beyond what
it was originally intended. Surely you must see how cool that is. Surely you must have a glimpse of its potential in making the average person more engaged and empowered. And surely you must see that as a good thing, right?
I have faith in you, Mr. Zuckerberg. I have faith that you are not
in this just for money or prestige. I believe you will accept responsibility for
your (sort of) creation just as you accepted $75 billion for its success. Such
a brilliant man as you must be humbled by the good fortune and the position you
have found yourself in. So, confident that you wish to serve Facebook users as
they would wish to be served, I offer you a few suggestions:
1. If someone likes a page I create, they should be able to see all
of my posts, not just random ones. This is very confusing and inconvenient for
both the follower and the followed. It’s like sending things in the mail with
no idea if they will ever get to the addressee. For someone who liked a page,
it’s like subscribing to a magazine and only getting a couple of issues. This
is a direct communication between two parties, there is no need for you to get
in the middle.
2. It is not your job to decide what news or posts I am permitted
to see. Your job is more that of a postal worker than a censor, a really,
really really well-paid postal worker. A postal worker does not rifle through my
mail and throw away what he deems inappropriate.
3. I would like to know how others see my posts. I notice sometimes
on my feed I get to see conversations between a Facebook friend and an utter
stranger. I also notice sometimes that a friend will end up responding to
something I wrote on someone’s post who is a complete stranger to the other
friend. Why does this occur? It has the effect of dampening discussion because
we can never assume who is reading what we write, and I can’t help thinking
this might be intended. Please assuage my perhaps irrational concerns by making things more clear.
4. Make Facebook users feel they can trust you. This goes way
beyond branding and marketing. Such things are superficial and, quite frankly, are means to manipulate consumers. We see through your behavior the person you
really are rather than the image you seek to present to us. We know in our guts
even if not on a conscious level. And quite frankly, anyone who has earned over
$50 billion from selling our data and subjecting us to advertising and
manipulation isn’t someone I want to put my trust in. You have profited obscenely
handsomely from your relationship with us, and so long as you do not give back in
a very real and meaningful way, you have no cred with us.
Another way to earn our trust is to stand up to the powers that be
who seek to tell you how to run your business. When you sit in front of congress
and they are telling you what to do, you should make it clear that you are not
a government agent and it is not your job nor your inclination to impose
censorship. Instead, what we saw was a man who was willing to go along with
anything in order to maintain and grow his already obscene personal wealth. No
amount of marketing and “average Joe” posts are ever going to wipe that image
out of my mind.
I want to believe, Mr. Zuckerberg, I want to think that there is
something more to you than a person who is willing to do whatever it takes to
make as much money as he possibly can. But you have to show me a sign, a very
real and palpable sign. It will have to cost you, not only in dollars but in
the smooth and cozy relationship you have with the powers that be who also put
their own interests above the rest of society. This is how trust is built, Mr.
Zuckerberg. It costs. At quite a young age, you’ve already won the game of
making money. It is time to move onto a more meaningful existence.
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