The End Is Nigh?

For the last 48 hours or so, Facebook has been full of moaning, complaining, bitching and general shouting and screaming. Not because the leader of Country X has spent all the money. Not because the leader of Country Y has removed everyones freedoms. Not because a readily available drug isn't available to the general population due to the cost...

No, everyone has been screaming about their news feed changing.

Now, I GET that people don't like it.  I GET that people don't like change.  What I really DON'T get is the fact that the tens or hundreds of millions of people are screaming, shouting, making groups, sharing images, making suggestions over and over... Because of a change.

For one thing, remember last year - and a year or two before that - when they overhauled how the news feed worked? Remember all the screaming and shouting then? And remember what Facebook said about it?

Yep, that's right, they said NOTHING.  They didn't put it back, they didn't change it, they didn't revert it.

And what did the entire world of shouting, screaming, crying people do?

Yep, that's right, they did NOTHING. They accepted it and dealt with it and just used Facebook as it was presented to them.

In a months time, you might still hate it, but you will leave the groups entitled "One Million Users Against the New Facebook Layout" and you will know what you are doing and where the buttons are and everything else.  And everyone that is "Going to quit and go to Google+, Twitter, Diaspora (when it's out)" or even those that are "Going back to MySpaz/Bebo" your strong words and stomping will achieve nothing.

Why?

Because in the long run, you will be back.  Don't shake your head, you WILL. Because if out of your 500 friends, only six of you go elsewhere, you will want to talk to all your OTHER friends that are just sucking it up and dealing with it. So you will "Pop back to Facebook to say Hi" and then you'll realise "Ooooh my crops/birds/mafia things" or whatever need looking after, so you will "Pop back to sort your farm"

Before you know it, you'll be popping back 12 hours a day and forgetting MySpaz/Bebo ever existed.  Again.

There's a reason everyone uses Facebook - it's because Everyone uses Facebook. You could be quite happy back over on whatever other social site, but all your friends are in one place, so that's where you are.

My friend Michele Apolito put it very very well in the early hours of this morning...

If facebook changes was the only thing that mattered today, then you have had a great day. I have read posts about heart babies becoming heart angels, heart babies needing transplants, heart babies having surgeries and even about heart babies that are thriving and doing well (smile). Kind of makes this facebook thing pretty damn trivial. My thoughts and prayers turn to my fellow heart families tonight.

I'm taking a break from Facebook for the next week or so, until everyone has chilled out a little bit and put things into perspective. It's a website, for goodness sake.