I've been a Facebook user for several years. For a time I would spend a couple hours a day there. As with many social media sites, it is sometimes the only way I interact with distant friends and relatives. Sometimes it was the only way I know what's going on in their lives. Facebook used to be one of the best social media sites for that. Used to be....
This past year or so I have become totally fed up with Facebook. Many people don't realize it but once upon a time, in its earlier years, you got to see every single post your FB Friends posted. Yes, 100% of what your Friends said or shared or did would show up in the main feed. If you're new to FB you may not realize that's the way it used to be. If you're not new to FB you may not have realized things have changed.
You ever wonder why Aunt Matilda never seems to be on FB anymore? I bet she still is. You just never see her posts anymore. She used to post a lot about gardening, and canning her fruits and vegetables. While you enjoyed reading about her daily life, you aren't really into gardening and canning so you didn't normally Like or Comment on her posts. Now she no longer seems to be posting, right?
Well, she's probably not gone. But, because you didn't Like or Comment much, Facebook has decided for you that you are no longer interested in reading her posts. Therefore they are no longer visible to you. Yes, Facebook has decided to determine what you should and shouldn't be allowed to see.
Why is this? Why can't you see all Aunt Matilda's posts whether you Like and Comment on them or not?
Well, I can't say for sure since I don't work for FB. But from what I've read in articles and blogs there have been a lot of changes to the way FB determines what you get to see and what you don't, and it's most likely all about money.
You see, from the beginning, FB promised it would always be free to use. As they grew, however, they saw lots of ways to make big bucks. That's fine, we all want to make lots of money. But at first it was just from advertisers. Then, greed started to creep in. As they got millions of users, they wondered if there wasn't a way to make money off them too. But, since they had promised FB would always be free, they couldn't start charging us to use FB. So, they had to figure out a work-around, another way to get money out of users and still tell them FB was free to use.
This is when the algorithms started kicking in, deciding for you which posts you saw and which you didn't. They
claim it was to reduce the clutter on your Feed, preventing you from having to filter through posts you weren't interested in. Interestingly, though, it coincided with their introduction of the Pay to Promote feature. Previously, all your Friends saw all your posts. Now your visibility has been reduced to about 20% of what it used to be, and so it is with your Friends.
So, Aunt Matilda is probably still posting about her peach cobbler, but you just don't see it anymore. But, with the new Pay to Promote feature, she could pay money to make sure you see more of her peach canning techniques! Of course, she probably doesn't know you're not seeing them. And she's probably wondering why you're never on FB anymore either.
OK, but enough ranting about FB. This post was actually to talk about a new social media site that I think is going to be a big thing. It looks and feels pretty much like FB but with a couple of big differences.
So far, at least, they do not try to decide for you what you can and can't see. You see all your Friends posts. Second, they have decided to actually share their success with you, the user, rather than try to squeeze more money out of you. They make money from advertisers, just like FB does. But instead of keeping it all for themselves, they share a little of it with us, the users, because we're what makes that ad revenue possible. Yes, post and Share and Like and Comment just like you would on FB but now you could actually earn money for doing that! How cool is that?
Let me warn you, Tsu launched only a few weeks go, so there are still some kinks to work out. So don't be surprised if there are a few glitches, and lots of changes, still to come. But I have a feeling it's going to be a successful thing in the long run, and it's exciting to get in on it this early!
But you can't sign up that easy! Registering with Tsu is by invitation only. You can't go directly to Tsu.co and sign up. You need a Friend's link. So I'll provide you with mine here. Come check it out and Follow me there. It's totally free to sign up. And you might just earn a little pocket change in the process.
www.tsu.co/ForestWildlifeArt