Facebook recently launched Facebook Stories. It's a website "dedicated to sharing the extraordinary, quirky and thought-provoking
stories and ideas from the more than 950 million people around the world
who make up Facebook's community."
The plunge of Facebook stock after its IPO seems to indicate that it has more of a cultural significance than an economic one, so I'm not surprised to see that they're employing user stories to promote their social clout. The
first story, about a man who completely lost his memory after he contracted tubercular meningitis, then used the "people you may know" function to piece his life back together, is
a remarkable example of Facebook's power.
Congrats to the team who conceived of this and put it together. I just hope that they are able to nuance the messaging and positioning on the site so that it doesn't come across as a platform to say "thank goodness we're here," (which is somewhat sinister in a Big Brother-y sort of way), but more of a means to show how people are using Facebook to make a real difference in each other's lives.
And for Zuckerberg et al, that's always a thin line to walk...
Congrats to the team who conceived of this and put it together. I just hope that they are able to nuance the messaging and positioning on the site so that it doesn't come across as a platform to say "thank goodness we're here," (which is somewhat sinister in a Big Brother-y sort of way), but more of a means to show how people are using Facebook to make a real difference in each other's lives.
And for Zuckerberg et al, that's always a thin line to walk...
Natalie Zensius is a marketing communications strategist with experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Learn more about Natalie at http:www.linkedin.com/in/nzensius.
