For any that haven't been following, facebook hit a bit of a defining moment this week and I think that they could not have handled it better. They recently launched what is called a mini-feed that basically allows any of your friends to see everything that you do on the website. If you write something to someone on their wall, your friends know about it. If you add a picture, your friends know about it, etc. Facebook thought that this was a great idea and way to enhance the community atmosphere of the social networking site. However, what they didn't take into consideration was one thing that sets them apart from other social networking sites, that is privacy. I've written on the differences between facebook and myspace before and in researching for that post, I found that privacy was one thing that many users regarded highly with facebook. I never occurred to me that this would ever be an issue with such a site.

Well, what happened was that facebook users basically revolted. Some reports say up to 600,000 complained (all in the course of a week). Facebook quickly created privacy settings for the mini-feed, allowing people to turn it off for some or all items. The open letter from Mark Zuckerberg to facebook users starts: "We really messed this one up." There are two lessons to take from this facebook story. First, they handled it extremely well and as a result are in little danger of users searching for a new site or competition being able to steal anyone away. Because the very first line is that they have messed up and they have spent two days trying to correct it, users will be very forgiving. A reiteration of core principles helped to remind users of why they chose facebook in the first place, whether they were conscious of it or not. The second lesson might be hidden. The fact is, facebook quickly changed, working around the clock, something that the users did not agree with because the users were able to voice their opinion and be heard. We are living in a day where people are tired of talking to computerized customer service lines, tired of phone trees, tired of talking to someone on the other side of the world, and companies are tired of paying ridiculous rates to offer live customer service based in the US. Perhaps facebook has a model here that many other corporations can adopt or at least adapt to their needs. Imagine a social network built around a company brand name and that network being the most powerful influence on company policy and practices. Imagine knowing almost instantly how a new product will be viewed in the marketplace and having access to your customer base with a few strokes on the keyboard. If television commercials are based on the idea that TV producers will produce a captive audience and advertisers will pay for access to that audience, then social networkers will soon be the ones that control the marketplace and be in place to make a lot of money. Just a thought.