What Happened to the Scheduling Option for Facebook Pages?

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

New Changes in Facebook

One thing we can always be certain of with social media—change is inevitable. 

Facebook Changes, Terminology, and Best Practices Screencast

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

As I've shared in earlier posts, a lot of things have changed on Facebook in the past couple of weeks. This screencast is going to help writers continue to engage effectively on this valuable platform.

Facebook Changes and How it Affects Users

I have to admit, the title of this post, along with the truth it reflects, just makes me tired. It has become almost a full-time job just trying to keep up with Facebook changes. So why is Facebook rolling out so many new changes and tweaks? In my opinion, it’s because of Google Plus. Those who developed Google + have addressed some of the major headaches associated with Facebook. Now Facebook is in a desperate game of catch-up. Personally, I think they’re fighting a losing battle. I already prefer Google + in its simplicity and ease of use.

BUT, we have to remember that the majority of our audience is still active on Facebook. Because of that we need to continue to have a Facebook presence and today I’ll try to help you navigate some of the changes they’ve instituted.

First, there is no longer an Edit Page button on your profile page. This left me totally confused until I accidently clicked on my name to the right of my profile picture and discovered that led me to another page with editing options.

Second, Facebook is starting something new with Timelines. This is good for advertisers, but iffy—at best—for the rest of us. Now, in various places on the web, you’ll have the option to give permission for that site to add this or post to your Timeline. Translated, this means anything you do on that website will be reported on Facebook. For example, if you’re reading the Huffington Post site and give permission for it to post to your timeline, your Facebook followers will know EVERY article you click (or accidently) click on. Can you see the possibilities for embarrassment? Even without potentially embarrassing scenarios, it’s very invasive.

Third, the way we interact with friends. In the past, all of our friends have shown up equally in our Facebook feed. Now, Facebook is deciding who we want to hear from—without asking our opinion! There is no way to set, updates from all. Now we must subscribe to our friends and tell Facebook how often we want to see them in our feed.

Fourth, hiding posts. It used to be possible to just hide certain posts. Now we must unsubscribe to that particular story. And in some cases we don’t have that option, only the option of unsubscribing to that individual.

Needless to say, this isn’t all the changes made to Facebook. I’d have to write a book to cover them all, and then they’d be obsolete by the time it was published. Be sure to let me know any questions you have about the most recent changes and I'll see if I can find the answer.

Just don't forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie