By Juliette Rule
It's been a month since Facebook unveiled its new fan pages. It's been about a week since Facebook made them compulsory. It's been about that long since people - excuse me - quit complaining about them.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We are serfs on Zuckerberg Ranch. Complaining will do no good. Change is the point of Zuck's product. Maybe that's why I embraced the new pages as a fun challenge. I saw a few hinky things, sure, but I knew I would -- like every other apocolyptic change the Zuck dared impose upon us in the past -- adapt.
Here's a breakdown on a few of my discoveries. And yes, one disappointment.
First: The People Icon and the Globe
That people icon reminds us of the friend count on our friend pages, right? In the context of fan pages, it indicates fans. Click on it, and the number clears. It's nice to have a super handy way to see how many fans a page has accumulated. I like to click the people icon every day on pages I maintain a maniacal control over. It gives me a very simple read on how many fans that particular page accumulates in a day.
The globe? Updates. Same as on your friend page! It's great to see that kind of ease of connectivity, and I'm glad Facebook has considered how users use their pages and how it differs from how admins use their property.
That's a nice lead in to my one disappointment.
Second: Who Moved My Admin View?
When Facebook first unveiled the new pages in February, they had this handy feature called "admin view." It allowed admins to view their wall with chronological posts -- the thing people complained vociferously about. It was nice to have that quick view of wall posts ordered by time. That feature was replaced two weeks ago by "Hidden Posts." And that doesn't help me at all since I don't hide posts on fan pages. (I just wonder who would I be hiding them from? Myself?) Maybe it's supposed to be a compromise for those who don't like to delete posts on Facebook fan pages. (That group includes me.) I don't get that change, but it hasn't been too problematic. I now rely on the People Icon to tell me who has posted on my fan page wall. Alternatively, I rely on HootSuite, which always shows the posts in chronological order.
I don't like it, exactly, but with each day I miss "Admin View" even less.
Third: We're Fans -- of EACH OTHER!
Something else I like about the new fan pages is the connectivity between fan pages. Finally fan pages can like each other and even comment on each others' pages. What a boon to building a fan base! Did you know you can highlight your favorite fan pages?
I've ordered these five fan pages -- all Wyoming businesses -- by going to the "Edit Page" button near the upper right of my fan page. Click "Featured" and select the fan pages you want highlighted in that space. It reloads randomly -- much like the pictures at the top of your fan page. I like it.
Within that "Edit Page" business, you can also select which page your fans see first when they come to your fan page. In most cases, you probably want people to see the Wall, so they'll like you and join the conversation. We have, at times, experimented with a welcome banner (purchased and installed very inexpensively via hy.ly). But let's say you want people to see your info page first or a note. Go to "Manage Permissions" and select your option under "Default Landing Tab."
I've found it's nice to finally be able to comment on pages as SocialWyo - or any of my other "fan page personas" since I manage five fan pages. But I decided to experiment, and on one fan page, I'm set up to comment as myself. Yes, I'm both an admin and a real person -- at the same time! In "Edit Page" and "Your Settings" uncheck the box that says you'll always post and comment as the fan page.
All in all, I think these new pages are pretty sweet. I really look forward to connecting with more fan pages, and that's exactly what I'm off to do right now!
What about you? Are there features of the new fan pages you especially like? Well, share! This list certainly isn't exhaustive.
It's been a month since Facebook unveiled its new fan pages. It's been about a week since Facebook made them compulsory. It's been about that long since people - excuse me - quit complaining about them.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We are serfs on Zuckerberg Ranch. Complaining will do no good. Change is the point of Zuck's product. Maybe that's why I embraced the new pages as a fun challenge. I saw a few hinky things, sure, but I knew I would -- like every other apocolyptic change the Zuck dared impose upon us in the past -- adapt.
Here's a breakdown on a few of my discoveries. And yes, one disappointment.
First: The People Icon and the Globe
The globe? Updates. Same as on your friend page! It's great to see that kind of ease of connectivity, and I'm glad Facebook has considered how users use their pages and how it differs from how admins use their property.
That's a nice lead in to my one disappointment.
Second: Who Moved My Admin View?
When Facebook first unveiled the new pages in February, they had this handy feature called "admin view." It allowed admins to view their wall with chronological posts -- the thing people complained vociferously about. It was nice to have that quick view of wall posts ordered by time. That feature was replaced two weeks ago by "Hidden Posts." And that doesn't help me at all since I don't hide posts on fan pages. (I just wonder who would I be hiding them from? Myself?) Maybe it's supposed to be a compromise for those who don't like to delete posts on Facebook fan pages. (That group includes me.) I don't get that change, but it hasn't been too problematic. I now rely on the People Icon to tell me who has posted on my fan page wall. Alternatively, I rely on HootSuite, which always shows the posts in chronological order.
I don't like it, exactly, but with each day I miss "Admin View" even less.
Third: We're Fans -- of EACH OTHER!
Something else I like about the new fan pages is the connectivity between fan pages. Finally fan pages can like each other and even comment on each others' pages. What a boon to building a fan base! Did you know you can highlight your favorite fan pages?
I've ordered these five fan pages -- all Wyoming businesses -- by going to the "Edit Page" button near the upper right of my fan page. Click "Featured" and select the fan pages you want highlighted in that space. It reloads randomly -- much like the pictures at the top of your fan page. I like it.
Within that "Edit Page" business, you can also select which page your fans see first when they come to your fan page. In most cases, you probably want people to see the Wall, so they'll like you and join the conversation. We have, at times, experimented with a welcome banner (purchased and installed very inexpensively via hy.ly). But let's say you want people to see your info page first or a note. Go to "Manage Permissions" and select your option under "Default Landing Tab."
I've found it's nice to finally be able to comment on pages as SocialWyo - or any of my other "fan page personas" since I manage five fan pages. But I decided to experiment, and on one fan page, I'm set up to comment as myself. Yes, I'm both an admin and a real person -- at the same time! In "Edit Page" and "Your Settings" uncheck the box that says you'll always post and comment as the fan page.
All in all, I think these new pages are pretty sweet. I really look forward to connecting with more fan pages, and that's exactly what I'm off to do right now!
What about you? Are there features of the new fan pages you especially like? Well, share! This list certainly isn't exhaustive.
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