How Bad Can Things Get for Facebook?

Last week, I blogged about whether or not we should start hedging our bets on Facebook.

I had no idea what was going to happen next.

Let’s talk about that!

Frances Haugen set the tone for the week with her testimony in Washington, D.C. in front of a Senate committee.

The media pile on effect was immediate.

Zuck’s weak reply didn’t help.

The highlight for me was later in the week when one of the original venture capitalists behind Facebook started to list all the potential felony charges that Facebook executives could face.

Everything from price fixing to aiding and abetting insurrection, and let’s  not forget slave trafficking.

All in all, not a good week for Facebook.

Oh, and don’t let me forget to add that the only thing that both major US political parties seem to agree on now is that they both dislike Facebook whose only saving grace is that they’re disliked for different reasons.

What’s a poor, little, rich boy like Zuck to do?

Crisis management is not my expertise, but if I were him then I’d be thinking about early retirement while hiring myself a boatload of really good lawyers.

But, enough about Zuck and his potential legal problems.

What about the rest of us who use Facebook in one form or another to make our living?

I’ve been preaching for a while that we should have a very good email list, a website/blog, and make sure we’re on multiple social media channels.

If you haven’t started working on your contingency planning then I wouldn’t wait much longer if I were you!

Although, honestly, a big enough legislative tsunami to take Facebook down will probably suck a few of the other players under too.

Twitters been dodgy for a while even without Congress going after them.

I know that some are arguing that something else will come along to replace Facebook.

To that I say not likely.

If Facebook does go under due to legislative knee jerk reactions then new players will have to contend with new rules and the game will be very different.

Further, I predict that if Facebook does go under then we’ll see a fragmentation of the social media marketplace that’ll totally change the way that do business.

The good news is, and yes, there’s always good news, is that this will present new opportunities for everyone.

There will be an enormous unmet need which will have to be satisfied.

In other words, there could be new markets, tools, and gains to be had.

It’s difficult now to predict exactly what’s going to happen with Facebook.

But, whatever it is, it’s going to be big and won’t be good for Facebook.

How soon until we hear rumors about Zuck stepping down and reducing his stake in the company?

Let’s see!

That’s it for now!

Please check out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program for more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself! In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog.

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

And, remember!

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I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com