Holding nose, it's back to Facebook
What should we do about Facebook?
No, I’m not talking in the global sense.
I’m referring to how this humble column — A Brand New Day — should connect with the social media giant that basically has done everything wrong.
Obviously, I want interaction with as many of you as possible.
And it’s great that you’ve sent along so many emails on such a variety of topics — everything from your favorite song of all time (“Unchained Melody” was North Idaho’s No. 1) to planning and development in Kootenai County.
Yes, we can live with emails alone, because you WILL write.
That’s neat, and I’m flattered.
BUT A few months ago, Press Editor Mike Patrick and I had one of our formal executive meetings (over Mexican food at Toro Viejo), and I suggested that we try to steer the column’s digital readers to Twitter rather than Facebook.
It’s important to note here that The Press has its own Facebook account, and it’s definitely worth following.
We were discussing something completely different, though, the fate of A Brand New Day online — since the column was gathering followers quickly on Facebook.
The timing of our conversation was worth noting, because it came fairly soon after the revelations that Facebook had peddled the personal data of 80 million members to Cambridge Analytica — the now-defunct outfit that was created solely to influence the 2016 election.
On top of that, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had been summoned to testify in Congressional hearings, and was forced to admit that, well …
Yeah, Facebook had screwed up in the name of greed, but would clean up its act in the future.
AT THAT point, the future of A Brand New Day’s presence on Facebook was left up to me.
Truthfully, I didn’t feel comfortable with the company.
How bad was Facebook’s treatment of its loyal users?
Global marketing consultants A.T. Kearney did a survey of 7,000 online users in December of 2017, and found that only 20 percent of respondents said they trusted Facebook’s ability to safeguard their personal information.
Rajesh John, a Kearney principal, suggested that if the survey were performed now, consumer skepticism and distrust surely would show up in even greater proportions.
It’s not the primary collectors of data that concern most people, the study discovered. We give that information voluntarily to Facebook, Amazon and dozens of other companies.
“The question is, is it being used by third parties that you don’t even know about? And if it is, are you informed? In the Facebook example, that didn’t occur,” John said.
NONE OF that surprised me.
I’ve long assumed that anyone who wants all my personal data badly enough can access it. Yes, teenage hackers in Cambodia, Ukraine, wherever.
The Russians have it, and the Chinese, maybe aliens from another galaxy. We’re totally exposed. Once you’ve shared your Social Security number, you’re naked to the world — figuratively speaking.
So I’ve totally given up on privacy, but it’s not my place to abandon yours.
So after my meeting with Mike, we killed the Brand New Day account on Facebook and decided I should try to chat with online readers through Twitter.
And …
It didn’t work.
AS MIKE put it: “It feels like only journalists are on Twitter. You’re just talking to each other.”
Yep.
So …
I’m back to encouraging conversations on Facebook.
Zuckerberg and his gang may be sleazy, but damn, that’s where online readers of The Press hang out.
So the official Brand New Day page is back, starting now. It’s pretty simple: BrandNewDayCDAPress
Hey, let’s ignore the hackers and just take advantage of Facebook’s fantastic reach and connections, OK?
I still want your emails, absolutely, but I hope we can also enjoy conversations with this new approach to Facebook.
You know, we could even think of it as …
A Brand New Day.
See you there.
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Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press.
A Brand New Day appears from Wednesday through Saturday each week.
Steve’s sports column runs on Tuesday.
Email: scameron@cdapress.com
Facebook: BrandNewDayCDAPress
Twitter: @BrandNewDayCDA