How Important Is Facebook’s Governance?
Facebook now has more than 200m users making it the 5th biggest nation in the world - if it were a nation. But the fact that it is not a nation shouldn’t mean that Mark zuckerberg shouldn’t be seen as a leader. Afterall, his site houses the messages, photos, events, friendships, relationships and habits of its inhabitants; and Zuckerberg controls how we interact with them. Zuckerberg has never been one to shy away from making contraflow decisions and sticking to them. However Facebook inhabitants are revolting. Is Zuck changing his leadership style?
Whereas Zuckerberg could afford to stick to his guns about decisions in 2006 when the site population was 9.3m, the current population just won’t allow it. As such Zuckerberg addressed Facebook users yesterday declaring ‘a more open process and voice in governance… a more transparent and democratic approach to governing the facebook site’. Users were invited to vote on Proposed Documents to Govern Facebook Site - a Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. (Polls opened on April 16th and will close on the 23rd.)
Zuckerberg’s push for openness and transparency certainly seems to hark of another speech and maybe he is taking cues from America’s new hope. Either way, he is certainly allowing Facebook users to shape the/their site more than before. And though democratic governance is certainly nothing new in websites and companies which often scream for consumer feedback, we must look at any change to Facebook’s governing approach with fresh eyes because Facebook is not like other sites. Facebook has a population of 200m. It’s a number we are all used to hearing but let me repeat it. 200 MILLION. America has 250m. The UK, 61m. Facebook’s users spend more time on the site than they do thinking about local laws or council elections. We’ve seen that its users can feel just as strongly about changes to its governance as they do about their own governement’s. This is what makes the site stand out apart from any other website or brand. No other Lovemark commands the engagement with its consumers that Facebook does. And seeing as it has now achieved the critical mass it needed to win the battle for the web, its population will continue to grow and it will increasingly become the home page and starting point for people connecting to the web. Whenever has any brand or website commanded such a loyal userbase that is so heavily involved in its workings? I’m struggling to think of an equivalent.
In no way is Facebook as powerful as any government. Of course it does not provide healthcare or education and ultimately its users can delete their accounts. But as more users integrate their lives into the platform, the more they will find it difficult to leave should they wish to. Facebook’s population is beginning to determine how the site evolves yet the style of governance is still undoubtedly dictatorial. By offering complete transparency to users Zuckerberg remains free to do with the site as he wishes. However as with a populace, users will begin to feel they own the site and whilst Zuckerberg will of course continue to make Facebook a utility to help its users communicate, he is ultimately in control. The same is true for most brands and social networks however given Facebook’s size, we should take a moment to look at how Facebook’s leader is changing his governance because as social networks grow we will spend more time documenting our lives and communicating in the cloud… and Facebook is the first site that will truly have to forge a governance that no non-governmental body has ever had to before.
