There’s a lot that’s happened with Facebook in recent times. The Oversight Board has called on users to express their opinions regarding the platform’s two tier system, on the other hand, creators are being invited to join the Reels Play program, pages now display other organizations that they are affiliated with, and the platform now suggests optimal times for posting.
There’s a lot of information to break down, so let’s waste no time and go down our four item list sequentially. Starting us off is the Oversight Board’s asking for user opinion. With new information form Meta’s offices practically hemorrhaging from the massive leak led by whistleblower and ex-Facebook employee Frances Haugen, there’s a new controversy attached to the company with each passing day. The Oversight Board, an organization created by the social network that acts independently of Meta’s other employees including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, was created in early 2021 to address major issues that might require an outside perspective. The specific grievance being brought up this time around is the platform’s two-tier system, with essentially segregates users into two separate categories. One is the typical userbase, which is held to the typical standards that Facebook’s policy has for users. The other consists of celebrities, content creators, politicians, and other figures of fame and influence. This second group is often forgiven for infractions against the policy system, and is left off with mostly slaps on the wrist.
This naturally has drawn a lot of ire from the Facebook community and netizens at large, with people rightfully calling it out as a hypocritical move on the social network’s part. The Oversight Board, accordingly, has opened up a review process for the matter. Users are now being invited to share their opinions and comments on the matter, with a dedicated space on the Oversight Board website being set aside for such statements. Comments will be entertained until the 4th of January, 2022, giving users just over a month to leave their opinions on the matter clearly and concisely.
Now coming to features space, Reels is a format that’s proving to be extremely lucrative across Instagram, and now Facebook’s apparently looking to get in on some of that action as well. However, asking creators to migrate and expend extra time and energy creating for Facebook when they already have a dedicated space and audience on its sister platform is going to take some doing. Some incentive would also help matters out a lot, and that’s where the Reels Play program comes into play. Much like the creator programs that YouTube and Snapchat has created for its users, Reels Play invites users to create content on Facebook, and expect monetary awards and relevant gain in return. The monetary rewards can help users purchase a proper set-up, equipment, and also compensates them for the time taken in order to establish their presence across an entirely new social media site.
With all of the criticism that Facebook’s been receiving regarding transparency and whatnot, the social network is finally deciding to do something about it. Yay! What it’s deciding to do, however, is completely limited to Pages on the platform instead of its own company policies and whatnot. Time to muster up a much less enthusiastic “yay”. It’s oftentimes difficult to gauge whether or not a page truly aligns with your beliefs. More importantly, it’s also annoying when a completely innocuous and fun looking page is secretly funding or being affiliated with something rather monstrous. I mean, remember when everyone found out that Chris Pratt funds a church that actively conducts conversion therapy? Yikes. Well, with this new interface change, Pages are now invited to clearly declare their respective affiliations and the like. Of course, they can choose not to, but most worrisome individuals often declare their mental ideas with vocal pride and enthusiasm, so I imagine Pages won’t be too different. The Proud Boys keep vocally aligning themselves with Nazi ideology, so what do I know at this point, right?
Finally, Facebook now also suggests optimal times for posting. These optimal times are the answer that perhaps every admin of a major Page or group has at one point or another Googled up. Of course, there is no straightforward answer, with optimal timings changing according to regions and target audiences. Not much information has been revealed regarding this particular feature, but one can assume that perhaps the Facebook algorithm will take such metrics into account when suggesting timings.
Read next: Facebook Might Start Locking User Accounts With Large Followings
There’s a lot of information to break down, so let’s waste no time and go down our four item list sequentially. Starting us off is the Oversight Board’s asking for user opinion. With new information form Meta’s offices practically hemorrhaging from the massive leak led by whistleblower and ex-Facebook employee Frances Haugen, there’s a new controversy attached to the company with each passing day. The Oversight Board, an organization created by the social network that acts independently of Meta’s other employees including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, was created in early 2021 to address major issues that might require an outside perspective. The specific grievance being brought up this time around is the platform’s two-tier system, with essentially segregates users into two separate categories. One is the typical userbase, which is held to the typical standards that Facebook’s policy has for users. The other consists of celebrities, content creators, politicians, and other figures of fame and influence. This second group is often forgiven for infractions against the policy system, and is left off with mostly slaps on the wrist.
Now coming to features space, Reels is a format that’s proving to be extremely lucrative across Instagram, and now Facebook’s apparently looking to get in on some of that action as well. However, asking creators to migrate and expend extra time and energy creating for Facebook when they already have a dedicated space and audience on its sister platform is going to take some doing. Some incentive would also help matters out a lot, and that’s where the Reels Play program comes into play. Much like the creator programs that YouTube and Snapchat has created for its users, Reels Play invites users to create content on Facebook, and expect monetary awards and relevant gain in return. The monetary rewards can help users purchase a proper set-up, equipment, and also compensates them for the time taken in order to establish their presence across an entirely new social media site.
ICYMI:
— Jeff Higgins (@ItsJeffHiggins) December 2, 2021
The Reels Play bonus program is rolling out from Facebook letting creators earn money for their reels.https://t.co/DYDxzjjbkO pic.twitter.com/pwtPyvRUR2
With all of the criticism that Facebook’s been receiving regarding transparency and whatnot, the social network is finally deciding to do something about it. Yay! What it’s deciding to do, however, is completely limited to Pages on the platform instead of its own company policies and whatnot. Time to muster up a much less enthusiastic “yay”. It’s oftentimes difficult to gauge whether or not a page truly aligns with your beliefs. More importantly, it’s also annoying when a completely innocuous and fun looking page is secretly funding or being affiliated with something rather monstrous. I mean, remember when everyone found out that Chris Pratt funds a church that actively conducts conversion therapy? Yikes. Well, with this new interface change, Pages are now invited to clearly declare their respective affiliations and the like. Of course, they can choose not to, but most worrisome individuals often declare their mental ideas with vocal pride and enthusiasm, so I imagine Pages won’t be too different. The Proud Boys keep vocally aligning themselves with Nazi ideology, so what do I know at this point, right?
New? Facebook enhanced Page transparency info by showing "organizations that partnered with this page"
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) December 2, 2021
h/t @grigg_digital pic.twitter.com/yIcHIhBKSs
Finally, Facebook now also suggests optimal times for posting. These optimal times are the answer that perhaps every admin of a major Page or group has at one point or another Googled up. Of course, there is no straightforward answer, with optimal timings changing according to regions and target audiences. Not much information has been revealed regarding this particular feature, but one can assume that perhaps the Facebook algorithm will take such metrics into account when suggesting timings.
New! Facebook auto-suggests optimum times to schedule new posts or stories ✨🕚
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) December 2, 2021
h/t @Gini_L pic.twitter.com/IsHfWsQsho
Read next: Facebook Might Start Locking User Accounts With Large Followings