A few days ago, Mashable put out an article about Facebook wanting to charge you $100 to send a message to its founder Mark Zuckerberg. But, I just discovered that Facebook also wants to charge the same fee for contacting me. Huh?
Listen, Facebook. This isn't cool.
Why?
Journalists are supposed to give a voice to the voiceless. I don't see how this helps our cause. How are people who don't know me supposed to send me story ideas? I'm sure viewers will only take this out on me... and I surely am not going to get a cut of this $100. And, even if I could, I wouldn't want it.
My media ownership group also required all of its employees to set up a Facebook page. So, if this rollout comes to my page, will the station take some accountability for the messages? Certainly not; that is insane.
I am just a local gal trying to cover the local news. As much as I'd like to think of myself as a really cool person, I'm simply not. I have always been accessible to people who want to be in touch, and this is really discouraging.
And, let this be a lesson to anyone out there. If it can happen to me, it can surely happen to anyone - journalists, public figures, actual cool people...
Why didn't Facebook give me a heads up? I might understand this more if there were verified Facebook users or a special designation given to those who come with $100 messaging. But again, I would've opted out.
This is troubling to me. Most of my viewers are still using Facebook.
UPDATE, 11:54 a.m. :
There's been a lot of discussion on Google Plus and Facebook since I wrote this post. A couple of things here - I understand that the messages can still come through to my "other" inbox. But, again, I don't want my accessibility to be associated with money. I do not take gifts or money for my work (payola), and I can't guarantee someone out there will know Facebook is behind this $100 fee.
Final thoughts, 24 hours later:
After a long day of talking about this post, I have some final thoughts in addition to what I posted above.
I realize this is only a test and that Facebook has to make money. That being said, I feel strongly that a journalist's accessibility should not be tied to money. In a real world perspective, if you walked up to me and offered me $100 to pitch a story, I would turn you down. I know it's under Facebook's discretion, but I would hope FB makes ethical decisions.
Another point - if you paid $100 to spam me, how much unsavory content would I have to endure? Would I have the opportunity to report it? Are spammers with $100 to burn better than poor people who may have a good idea?
The other box is a great idea, however I recently checked my other box and it had several legitimate messages that I missed. Why does it matter if I have an other box when I still need to check it everyday?
I finally found the way to get to the other box via mobile, but it wasn't a way that you'd assume. Either way, I know this isn't the end of the world, but I do hope people voice their concerns if they have them. I'm not looking for a fight, I'm just looking for some consideration.
CONTACT ME FOR FREE:
Twitter: @MichelleLiTV
Michelle on Google Plus
Email: mli@wect.com
PS - Thanks to my Google Plus friends Brian Parker and Stormy Henderson for bringing this to my attention. Also, as with every post on this site, this is MY opinion alone.
Why?
Journalists are supposed to give a voice to the voiceless. I don't see how this helps our cause. How are people who don't know me supposed to send me story ideas? I'm sure viewers will only take this out on me... and I surely am not going to get a cut of this $100. And, even if I could, I wouldn't want it.
My media ownership group also required all of its employees to set up a Facebook page. So, if this rollout comes to my page, will the station take some accountability for the messages? Certainly not; that is insane.
I am just a local gal trying to cover the local news. As much as I'd like to think of myself as a really cool person, I'm simply not. I have always been accessible to people who want to be in touch, and this is really discouraging.
And, let this be a lesson to anyone out there. If it can happen to me, it can surely happen to anyone - journalists, public figures, actual cool people...
Why didn't Facebook give me a heads up? I might understand this more if there were verified Facebook users or a special designation given to those who come with $100 messaging. But again, I would've opted out.
This is troubling to me. Most of my viewers are still using Facebook.
UPDATE, 11:54 a.m. :
There's been a lot of discussion on Google Plus and Facebook since I wrote this post. A couple of things here - I understand that the messages can still come through to my "other" inbox. But, again, I don't want my accessibility to be associated with money. I do not take gifts or money for my work (payola), and I can't guarantee someone out there will know Facebook is behind this $100 fee.
Final thoughts, 24 hours later:
After a long day of talking about this post, I have some final thoughts in addition to what I posted above.
I realize this is only a test and that Facebook has to make money. That being said, I feel strongly that a journalist's accessibility should not be tied to money. In a real world perspective, if you walked up to me and offered me $100 to pitch a story, I would turn you down. I know it's under Facebook's discretion, but I would hope FB makes ethical decisions.
Another point - if you paid $100 to spam me, how much unsavory content would I have to endure? Would I have the opportunity to report it? Are spammers with $100 to burn better than poor people who may have a good idea?
The other box is a great idea, however I recently checked my other box and it had several legitimate messages that I missed. Why does it matter if I have an other box when I still need to check it everyday?
I finally found the way to get to the other box via mobile, but it wasn't a way that you'd assume. Either way, I know this isn't the end of the world, but I do hope people voice their concerns if they have them. I'm not looking for a fight, I'm just looking for some consideration.
CONTACT ME FOR FREE:
Twitter: @MichelleLiTV
Michelle on Google Plus
Email: mli@wect.com
PS - Thanks to my Google Plus friends Brian Parker and Stormy Henderson for bringing this to my attention. Also, as with every post on this site, this is MY opinion alone.
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