Why I don't like you? Because I can't. I am no longer allowed to “Like” any pages outside of Facebook-generated advertisements. Ain't that a bitch? Yes, yes it is.
Just another example of the man keepin’ Justice down!
This bizarre little phenomenon affects many of my friends who are social media professionals. We hear you. We want to like your page. Hell! We want to like our own pages that we create. We’re not even allowed to do that.
What kind of madness is this?!
That's right, somewhere in the dark recesses of Facebook's algorithms, codes, bits and bytes, it says you are only allowed to like 5,000 things. Many of you already hit the 5,000 friends limit. That leads a lot of people to create a Facebook “page” in order to accrue more than 5,000 friends, fans and followers.
I understand Facebook's desire to create certain profile limitations in order to minimize abuse. But it’s a dated goal overshadowed by the fact that the platform is no longer a stumbling toddler. It has evolved into a gangly teenager in need of some social coaching. Eventually all of you will hit 5,000 likes, so it’s time for Facebook to reassess those limitations.
I’m confused by the limit because it seems like Facebook would benefit from having MORE data about user interests. The profiling algorithm utilizes “likes” as keyword granularity to define who you are and what advertising you should see. When it comes to data mining and selling – bigger is always better.
Let's also not forget that this is what I do professionally. I craft brands online in a social environment and integrate variable forms of marketing to interconnect with one another. You know how hard it is to kick start a brand I can't even like?
At this point I’ve probably told this story more than 5,000 times. Therefore I finally had to put up an article to reference when people ask me to like their page. It's not because I'm a douchebag. My friends, fans and followers can give you a thousand other reasons why they think I’m a douche.
For the record: It’s not because of my bleached tips and oiled pecs. If I had such things perhaps I could earn the moniker.
It's time for Facebook to take a left turn off Holier Than Thou Boulevard when it comes to limitations. And why am I most upset about this position? Because Facebook still allows me to like the advertisements it serves up to me. What this says in short is, "You are no longer allowed to like the things you like unless they're what we tell you to like." Give it some thought, and bear in mind that all animals are not created equal.
The designer and developer in me understand that limitations had to be set in the early days of this social channel. But that’s par for the course with any development project. Just get it out the door and you can fix it with version control. So fix it!
There was a time when I really needed that floppy drive in the side of my 32-pound laptop. Not so much any more. So thankfully it was versioned out. Of course now I can’t access my resume in AppleWorks from 1991.
The business world weeps.
So let this article stand as a beacon to all of my friends, fans and followers that while I really do want to support your online efforts – at the time of this post I cannot.
I ain't just me folks - Supporting links:
Has this happened to you yet? Release your hate unto me!