The Impossible Situation of Facebook

For a few months now, Facebook has been gently testing post voting changes that might substantially change our experience with comments and posts on the dominant social media platform. Today, the feature rolled out more broadly, sparking more and more reaction to the changes and a litany of “why??” questions from frequent Facebook users.

What sparked my reaction, this reaction, was less an observation of the change itself, but rather the “why?” For years now, through my work and role in MediaTech Ventures, we’ve been a party to much of the social, political, and legal discussions of social media, and Facebook in particular, as policy makers (and politicians the world over) wrestle with the implications of social networks and platforms.

Facebook is making token changes

Social media is making changes for the sake of appearances; and before you go presuming I mean that critically, appreciate that I don’t — I’m stating it because it’s the “why?” and it’s important that we all appreciate what’s being done to social media, causing its reactions.

Today Facebook is rolling out more Upvotes and Downvotes, despite having Thumbs Up Likes and Angry Faces. Do we really need that? Will it really change much? Their algorithm is already among the most brilliant and valued in the world, evident in…