Who remembers Facebook Notes? It existed as Facebook’s Bigfoot, some people heard of it, but too few really saw it. Looking over the social network’s history we’ve found out that this option dates up to the time there was a posting character number limit. In case this doesn’t ring any bells, I have to tell you that since November 2011 you have up to 60000 characters to make your post with.
So, in those times, when a Facebook status was barely larger than a tweet, it seemed like Facebook Notes was the next step which would allow you to share with your friends lengthier stories. Back to nowadays , it seems that Facebook is revamping one of it’s older options.
“We are testing several different updates for Notes with the purpose of easing how our users are creating stories using Facebook Notes”, was the declaration of a company spokesman.
A small part of platform users can already utilize the new version. You can set a cover image, the font is easier to read, you can upload and resize images and include links. Furthermore, in the new format, you can make your post visible to group of friends, or even just keep it to yourself. The feature has a pleasant aspect, different from the old Notes, which seemed cluttered.
It kind of looks familiar, doesn’t it? As many other tech journalists have outlined, the new option looks a lot like Medium, which should not surprise us, considering that Teehan+Lax, the company behind Medium’s initial launch version, has joined forces in the beginning of this year with Facebook.
How did it get here?
Basically, what’s the great advantage of turning Facebook Notes into a blogging platform? A big one, taking LinkedIn as example, whom lunched in 2014 it’s blogging option, encouraging different experts, that were already using the platform to share their expertise with other users. This step was a real success for LinkedIn, considering that, weekly, there are over 13000 posts generated. The network gained a lot by attracting new users, that came in as readers, and also it gained by increasing engagement.
It’s easy to see why Facebook is also approaching blogging. Could it attract new users or even increase fidelity among existing ones with these new long posts? Would Facebook Notes be a good tool for promoting products and services? The answer for both those questions is yes, with the condition of course that everything is done right.
Good or bad?
For personal posts, things are quite simple. They could be seen by anyone or by friends, following the same news feed appearance algorithms.
For brands, the situation is a bit more complex. Facebook Notes is an app that can be added optionally, and, in theory, all Notes updates will link to the page. The advantage being that the user will have an easier access to the information, instead of linking to an external site. The disadvantage is of course, that Facebook will retain the ability to change the game rules, so the brand will have to pay for the information to get to it’s followers, based on current promotion rules.
All these being said, the ability of reaching more people through a blog offered by Facebook remains something to follow an discuss about. Well, anyway, who can stop us to even try it?
Image source: www.techcrunch.com; www.wired.com
Sources: www.socialmediatoday.com; www.wired.com; www.thenextweb.com; www.techcrunch.com