By Jenna Starkey
According to today’s article in Mashable, Facebook has rolled out a “Big” privacy upgrade to iPhone. Of course my first reaction is it’s about time, and thank you. As the main program in my app arsenal, I depend on mobile Facebook to work just as seamlessly and effectively as the desktop version. All the minute Facebook changes usually just annoy rather than excite me, but I’ll take what I can get.
The article says that the update now lets users tag friends and places in posts and share external links and also makes it easier to control who can see what posts, matching the enhanced controls now available on Facebook.com. Great, excellent! Can’t wait to try it out! But wait, I just downloaded what I thought was the upgrade, and I’m not seeing the changes they speak of …
Funny thing is –I’m not alone. In the comment section below the article, about half of the 36 comments relate to already faulty updates or express downright frustration, bordering on anger, that Facebook hasn’t managed to release better upgrades (not to mention the folks upset about the lack of Android upgrades and the complete nonexistence of an iPad app.)
Alas, the flipside of that conversation comes in here … it’s been all of five minutes and I have just revisited the Facebook app store and downloaded the update you see in the image to the left. Low and behold – the updates work. Ah, what patience can cure. Though I’m still not really impressed.
The moral of my story is: practically the entire world is Facebook’s consumer and we have dang high expectations. It’s no question that everyone is relying on the ebb and flow of the platform’s upgrades and enhancements (with little to no patience I might add).
Either this lack of met expectation is something I just have to accept, or maybe this is something Facebook seriously needs to work on. It seems to me that consumers are the ones always pushing Facebook to evolve; waiting for it to surprise us when we only get annoyed instead. Yes, we love it. Yes, we continue to see its lasting potential. Apple and even Google have sure managed to surprise us and catch our attention with the continual evolution of products and features. Granted they are entirely different companies with entirely different offerings, nonetheless I still feel like Facebook can do a better job inspiring the consumer to reach its potential, instead of the other way around. Call me an Apple groupie, but I know, and everyone knows Facebook can get there too.
What do you guys think?
A little bit about me: I am a former loyal Blackberry user and passionate consumer of news that I can absorb in 140 characters or less. I admit to sleeping with my phone in my hand on a regular basis, and as much as I loved my Blackberry, I broke down and bought an iPhone so I could play Word-With-Friends and Angry Birds on my morning BART ride. In addition, I am currently saving money for an iPad, which I will use if for nothing else than to read magazines and The New York Times.
