I’ve heard it said that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.
I saw recently that Apple has settled a class action lawsuit for not communicating well enough that they throttled performance on phones with old batteries. It seems a bit of stretch that this really hurt people and the settlement is likely just to avoid a long, expensive legal battle. Such suits seem to help lawyers more than claimants and are a blemish on American life (along with pharmaceutical ads). I have an eligible phone, but do I want to encourage such suits?
Social media is another potential problem. There is a lot of negativity and the platforms are engineered to suck you in and keep you there. Beyond the time we waste, the excessive screen can adversely impact our health.
I had been on Twitter for a while then realized it was a hate-fest. When the toxicity got to be too much for me, I took a break and decided not to go back. I eventually deleted my account so at least I don’t contribute to the problem.
The other platform I am on is Facebook. Their record on privacy is suspect and their ability to suck us in is a bit of a concern. Add in the hoax posts / fake news and it makes me want to delete my account. The challenge is twofold:
– Will I isolate myself if I leave a platform on which most people participate?
– Can a small business prosper without exposure on popular social media platforms?
What are you thoughts on whether small businesses need to be on FB? If not, how do you find local small businesses?
If there’s a problem that concerns you, what are you doing to be part of the solution?
I’ve been having this discussion a lot recently. I’ve been trying to keep up a social media presence for my business but it is a time vortex if you key let be. Rather than starting a group on Facebook I’m looking into setting up a forum on my website as a lot of my clients aren’t on FB anyway. I’m also doing my best to limit phone time anyway.
Regarding the Apple law suit, I may not generally approve of the lawsuit culture but I’d personally have no qualms making a claim against a huge corp like Apple, they can afford it and it’s unethical of anyone to deliberately limit performance on older tech!
The throttling issue is a bit tricky. Are they throttling so I buy a new phone or so my phone does not shut down unexpectedly? It might be the latter as I frequently experience unexpected shutdowns when it’s super cold here and my battery is not fully charged.
The reality of a lot of these lawsuits in the US is that they take money from a large corp and give it to a large law firm. People do not see much of the money.
FB is not necessary if you have a user-friendly website. And you do! 👍
So, my vote: let it go.
I am on it less & less, too.