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Facebook Pisses Off Users. Again.

July 14, 2010 40 Comments
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For all its cool connectivity features and business tools, Facebook can still manage to piss users off even when it’s trying to be helpful.

Whether it’s new privacy features gone mad, or redesigns to the site itself, Facebook always seems to divide its userbase between happy, non-chalant and hate. Now a new feature for Facebook Page admins – Getting Started – seems to be getting more criticism than praise.

I only noticed it when I jumped on to design the new Bonsai Interactive Facebook Page. Instead of the normal tabs along the menu like Wall, Info and Photos, there was also a new tab called Getting Started.

Bonsai Interactive Facebook Page

As it suggests, it offered some tips on how to set your Facebook Page up. Great – anything that helps new Page users get the best from their Page has to be great, right?

Hey, it’s Facebook – so, no, is the short answer.

Since I already know how to set a Page up, I went to hide the tab. And found that I couldn’t. There was no way for me to drag it into non-displayed tabs, nor was there an option for me to delete the tab either.

In fact, the only way I could get rid of the damn thing was to link my Twitter account to the Page, as well as my mobile phone.

Riiiiiight…

The social side of me wants to think that this is just a way to connect your accounts together and make it easy to populate your Facebook Page from either Twitter or your mobile phone.

The cynical side of me sees it as another way for Facebook to have more information about you, and then possibly open up that information (purposely or not) to mobile ad companies and Twitter spammers.

I opened up a Help Ticket on Facebook last Thursday, asking how to remove. As of writing this post, no-one from Facebook has actually answered.

But there are plenty of other frustrated users complaining about this “helpful” addition.

Facebook upsets Page Admins

Like I say, I can see the benefit of having a Getting Started tab, especially for new Page users. But not having a way to delete or remove it manually, while it takes up a tab that could be used for something more beneficial to the Page, seems kinda lame to me (I had to link my Twitter and mobile accounts and then remove access to get rid of the tab).

What’s your take on it? Have you seen this new feature yet, and is it useful or just another Facebook faux pas?

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About Danny

Danny Brown is Chief Technologist at ArCompany, helping clients turn social media intelligence into business results. He’s the co-author of Influence Marketing: How to Create, Manage and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing, described as "the book that will change the way we do business today." He’s an award-winning marketer whose delivered results for organizations like Microsoft Canada, BlackBerry, FedEx, Ford Canada and LG Electronics, and his blog is recognized as the #1 marketing blog in the world by HubSpot.

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Joel Kirkpatrick
Joel Kirkpatrick

Getting Started Tab: Update Anger at this tab is fading as FB makes adjustments behind the scenes. They have refused to insert any opt-out function, but are at least repairing the Fan counter triggers that make the tab disappear. It is beginning to drop of business pages all around the community, and users are finally moving away from the horrid topic. If your page is going to grow slowly, you are stuck (under about 18-20 Fans), but another happy change began showing up about 12 hours ago - Business pages are landing on the WALL for Admins, not the damnable tab. Small relief is relief. But FB has demonstrated to many users this last week, FB does not care what we get angry about. They don't care at all; and they should. They aggravated people who purchase ads on FB....how's that for biting the hand. Please make this update a bit more visible Danny, I'm still spamming everywhere else to let people know.

Danny
Danny

Hi Joel, Thanks for the update. One word of caution, though - I'd be careful of "spamming" folks, and make sure it's just maybe a quick update here and there (say, blogs that have mentioned the issue, or the group itself). Spamming is probably looked at even less favourably than the original problem, and you wouldn't want that to happen. ;-)

Ginny Cooper
Ginny Cooper

I'm the admin for 5 client business pages and the Getting Started tab showed up on one of them. I was about to follow Danny's suggestion above to link the Twitter account, then deny access, but didn't have to get to that point. I changed the page's business phone number to my own, performed the mobile test by acquiring the text confirmation code. Voila! Tab gone. Then I went back in and changed the business phone number back to what it needed to be. Thanks for the workaround Danny.

Danny
Danny

Hey there Ginny, Glad to hear you got it sorted. Just seems a bit of a shame that you have to go to that kind of effort just to get rid of a tab, that should have a manual remove option to start with. Hey ho. :)

Joel Kirkpatrick
Joel Kirkpatrick

Getting Started Tab: Update

Anger at this tab is fading as FB makes adjustments behind the scenes. They have refused to insert any opt-out function, but are at least repairing the Fan counter triggers that make the tab disappear. It is beginning to drop of business pages all around the community, and users are finally moving away from the horrid topic. If your page is going to grow slowly, you are stuck (under about 18-20 Fans), but another happy change began showing up about 12 hours ago - Business pages are landing on the WALL for Admins, not the damnable tab.
Small relief is relief. But FB has demonstrated to many users this last week, FB does not care what we get angry about. They don't care at all; and they should. They aggravated people who purchase ads on FB....how's that for biting the hand.
Please make this update a bit more visible Danny, I'm still spamming everywhere else to let people know.

Danny
Danny

Hey there Ginny,

Glad to hear you got it sorted. Just seems a bit of a shame that you have to go to that kind of effort just to get rid of a tab, that should have a manual remove option to start with.

Hey ho. :)

Ginny Cooper
Ginny Cooper

I'm the admin for 5 client business pages and the Getting Started tab showed up on one of them. I was about to follow Danny's suggestion above to link the Twitter account, then deny access, but didn't have to get to that point. I changed the page's business phone number to my own, performed the mobile test by acquiring the text confirmation code. Voila! Tab gone. Then I went back in and changed the business phone number back to what it needed to be. Thanks for the workaround Danny.

Danny
Danny

Hi Joel,

Thanks for the update. One word of caution, though - I'd be careful of "spamming" folks, and make sure it's just maybe a quick update here and there (say, blogs that have mentioned the issue, or the group itself).

Spamming is probably looked at even less favourably than the original problem, and you wouldn't want that to happen. ;-)

Joel Kirkpatrick
Joel Kirkpatrick

Update: Facebook is responding live to the user group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128794247162933 The person posting has FB listed as employer, and he is speaking about their code targets which drive the existence of the Getting Started Tab. He has caught our attention today, but he is in danger of being eaten.

Warren Whitlock
Warren Whitlock

I didn't get upset like this, but it is annoying. Another corporate approach to being helpful

Warren Whitlock
Warren Whitlock

I didn't get upset like this, but it is annoying. Another corporate approach to being helpful

Siddique
Siddique

Thanks for sharing. Yes it is painful.

Siddique
Siddique

Thanks for sharing. Yes it is painful.

Rhonda Hess
Rhonda Hess

Does FB ever bother to survey it's members for the improvements they want? They seem to take a hit and miss approach to "upgrading", with more misses over the last year.

Rhonda Hess
Rhonda Hess

Does FB ever bother to survey it's members for the improvements they want? They seem to take a hit and miss approach to "upgrading", with more misses over the last year.

Ching Ya
Ching Ya

Nice one there, Danny. :) I think you speak for a lot of us here. Seems to me this has been affecting several accounts, not mine but some of my clients' accounts - especially those that aged not over 6 months. Then someone said despite their pages been >6 months, they still have it. Possible it's a test drive, or it just might disappear like what we had in our profile acc? (remember seeing something similar but then just gone one day).

Don't know why is it hard for them to understand it's either an option to 'remove' or 'opt in' for the users will solve most complaints?

Danny
Danny

I think that's the most annoying part of it, Ching. Like most are saying, there's definitely a benefit in the guide - but for the love of all that's sane, don't force people into actions to remove...

Ching Ya
Ching Ya

Nice one there, Danny. :) I think you speak for a lot of us here. Seems to me this has been affecting several accounts, not mine but some of my clients' accounts - especially those that aged not over 6 months. Then someone said despite their pages been >6 months, they still have it. Possible it's a test drive, or it just might disappear like what we had in our profile acc? (remember seeing something similar but then just gone one day).

Don't know why is it hard for them to understand it's either an option to 'remove' or 'opt in' for the users will solve most complaints?

Ching Ya
Ching Ya

Nice one there, Danny. :) I think you speak for a lot of us here. Seems to me this has been affecting several accounts, not mine but some of my clients' accounts - especially those that aged not over 6 months. Then someone said despite their pages been >6 months, they still have it. Possible it's a test drive, or it just might disappear like what we had in our profile acc? (remember seeing something similar but then just gone one day). Don't know why is it hard for them to understand it's either an option to 'remove' or 'opt in' for the users will solve most complaints?

Danny
Danny

I think that's the most annoying part of it, Ching. Like most are saying, there's definitely a benefit in the guide - but for the love of all that's sane, don't force people into actions to remove...

Monica McPherrin
Monica McPherrin

I set up new account for clients and this stupid thing took me off guard. I know how to connect to twitter and mobile if I want to but in my case, my clients don't want it linked to their cell phone and I sure don't want it linked to mine. There absolutely needs to be a way to close that tab. Hopefully Facebook will listen to the masses and add that option soon.

Danny
Danny

What's "funny" is that this kind of annoyance could put more folks off setting up a Page, as opposed to using the great features a Page can offer once set up.

Kinda counter-productive from Facebook's point of view, I would have thought.

Monica McPherrin
Monica McPherrin

I set up new account for clients and this stupid thing took me off guard. I know how to connect to twitter and mobile if I want to but in my case, my clients don't want it linked to their cell phone and I sure don't want it linked to mine. There absolutely needs to be a way to close that tab. Hopefully Facebook will listen to the masses and add that option soon.

Danny
Danny

What's "funny" is that this kind of annoyance could put more folks off setting up a Page, as opposed to using the great features a Page can offer once set up. Kinda counter-productive from Facebook's point of view, I would have thought.

Lara Solomon
Lara Solomon

Thanks for the article Danny, very annoying indeed, especially as I have had a page for 2 months and am getting it.

I agree that this is a really unhelpful addition to a page, especially for people who set up pages all the time. It makes me wonder about the social side of Facebook, and whether they listen to their customers.

Danny
Danny

Judging by the feedback coming through on this, along with the groups and non-appearance of a FB rep in the forums, it would appear not so much... ;-)

Lara Solomon
Lara Solomon

Thanks for the article Danny, very annoying indeed, especially as I have had a page for 2 months and am getting it.

I agree that this is a really unhelpful addition to a page, especially for people who set up pages all the time. It makes me wonder about the social side of Facebook, and whether they listen to their customers.

Lara Solomon
Lara Solomon

Thanks for the article Danny, very annoying indeed, especially as I have had a page for 2 months and am getting it. I agree that this is a really unhelpful addition to a page, especially for people who set up pages all the time. It makes me wonder about the social side of Facebook, and whether they listen to their customers.

Danny
Danny

Judging by the feedback coming through on this, along with the groups and non-appearance of a FB rep in the forums, it would appear not so much... ;-)

Ari Herzog
Ari Herzog

Huh? This tab only applies to new pages you create, not existing pages? Wouldn't it be more sensical to have all pages have the same structure?

Danny
Danny

Hi Ari,

It's on existing too by the sounds of some of the feedback.

I'd already created the Bonsai page and went back to edit when it appeared.

Ari Herzog
Ari Herzog

Huh? This tab only applies to new pages you create, not existing pages? Wouldn't it be more sensical to have all pages have the same structure?

Danny
Danny

Hi Ari, It's on existing too by the sounds of some of the feedback. I'd already created the Bonsai page and went back to edit when it appeared.

Kim Woodbridge
Kim Woodbridge

Really? You haven't received a response from Facebook? Shocking! Oh, that's right. Only big companies with a bazillion dollars actually receive Facebook customer support. ;-)

I haven't seen that tab yet but I haven't set up a new Facebook page in a week or so.

Danny
Danny

Who knows, Kim, maybe the Big F will have listened and improved it by then. Ahem... moving on... ;-)

Kim Woodbridge
Kim Woodbridge

Really? You haven't received a response from Facebook? Shocking! Oh, that's right. Only big companies with a bazillion dollars actually receive Facebook customer support. ;-)

I haven't seen that tab yet but I haven't set up a new Facebook page in a week or so.

Kim Woodbridge
Kim Woodbridge

Really? You haven't received a response from Facebook? Shocking! Oh, that's right. Only big companies with a bazillion dollars actually receive Facebook customer support. ;-) I haven't seen that tab yet but I haven't set up a new Facebook page in a week or so.

Danny
Danny

Who knows, Kim, maybe the Big F will have listened and improved it by then. Ahem... moving on... ;-)

Margot
Margot

Grrr! I am new to Facebook but it has frustrated me from the beginning. This latest move is truly a "dumbass move." I've already set my page up with Selective Tweets - don't need their help now! How about fixing the things that don't work like the page change username box. It took days to find someone who knew the work around. This week I'd love to put Facebook and Microsoft in one room and throw rotten tomatoes at them. And maybe Apple too!

Danny
Danny

Haven't seen that option yet, so I'm guessing either a request to Facebook (ha - good luck!) or start from scratch.

If I find out any different, I'll update, mate.

Jim Hayward
Jim Hayward

Thanks for your quick response Danny.
Can you change the name (The title, not the URL) of your page once it has been created? For example if the name of the business changes?
Thank you
Jim

Danny
Danny

Hi Jim,

Yep, once you get past 25 "likes", you can choose a vanity URL for the Page.

Go to http://facebook.com/username for the option.

Jim Hayward
Jim Hayward

Thanks for your quick response Danny.
Can you change the name (The title, not the URL) of your page once it has been created? For example if the name of the business changes?
Thank you
Jim

Jim Hayward
Jim Hayward

Hello Danny and Margot

Thanks Danny for another great article.
You both mention a Page change username box.
Are you talking about the ability to change a page name?
Thank you both
Jim Hayward

Danny
Danny

They don't make it very intuitive, do they? I recall looking for that same username solution too - major pain in the ass.

Margot
Margot

Grrr! I am new to Facebook but it has frustrated me from the beginning. This latest move is truly a "dumbass move." I've already set my page up with Selective Tweets - don't need their help now! How about fixing the things that don't work like the page change username box. It took days to find someone who knew the work around. This week I'd love to put Facebook and Microsoft in one room and throw rotten tomatoes at them. And maybe Apple too!

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  1. Tweets that mention Facebook Pisses Off Users. Again. #dannybrown -- Topsy.com says:
    July 14, 2010 at 10:39 am

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Grant Griffiths, Beth Warren, jenniferwindrum, Cole Loren Bauer, Pamela BakerGratton and others. Pamela BakerGratton said: http://dannybrown.me/2010/07/14/facebook-pisses-off-users-again/ [...]

  2. Daily Digest for July 15th ‹ SmediaC - Social Media Community Strategy – New Media And Community Strategy says:
    July 15, 2010 at 4:53 am

    [...] Shared Facebook Pisses Off Users. Again.. [...]

  3. Hey Facebook – I’m NOT Just “Getting Started” | The Cooper Group says:
    July 18, 2010 at 10:15 am

    [...] as business hours. Social Media blogger Danny Brown pegged the global mood correctly with his post “Facebook Pisses Off Users. Again”. That’s where I found my workaround – hope you find yours [...]

  4. Hey Facebook – I’m NOT just “Getting Started” | The Cooper Group says:
    July 20, 2010 at 7:25 am

    [...] as business hours. Social Media blogger Danny Brown pegged the global mood correctly with his post “Facebook Pisses Off Users. Again”. That’s where I found my workaround – hope you find yours [...]


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