OK, I want to start with full disclosure, just in case anyone stumbles on this post and hasn’t read any of my other posts, or has never met me. I’m gay and have NO sexual interest in breasts whatsoever. I do however care very much for a friend of mine – Gill.
Gill is an administrator over on a Facebook group called “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene” which has nearly 250,000 members – that’s 1/4 million people!
With just a cursory glance at the wall of this group, as well as the huge variety of topics discussed in the discussions it’s easy to see that this is a hugely supportive network that has developed in an organic way. But the problems have started, I recently saw an update by Gill that mentioned Facebook were starting to block the accounts of the admins.
To be truly honest, my opinion on the breast v bottle debate is that I couldn’t care less (sorry Gill!) actually, it’s not that I don’t care, I do however feel that it is entirely a mother’s choice, and that this should be an informed one. But the discussion is seen as unsuitable in general company, whereas the internet is the perfect place for this sort of discussion – the group can reach and help millions of people, linking to resources and make a one-stop place for anyone with questions.
Looking at the way that Facebook is handling this group I wonder if they realise just how much power that they wield? Google, MySpace, Microsoft, AOL – all these companies have had to face up to scrutiny because of the way that they have approached the information age. Facebook wasn’t originally designed for the huge numbers of people that use it daily and the recent changes to its interface and privacy policies just show how the team are desperately trying to keep up with the huge expansion. But they seem to be concentrating more on monetising the platform at the moment, making it more of a challenger to twitter and Google than allowing the community (which is the heart of the site) to develop the networks that they need.
Facebook, be very careful with the way you’re handling this, 250 THOUSAND people is a lot of voices. And we’ve seen difficulties before, the mighty have fallen and been replaced – just as you replaced MySpace – there’s another social network out there. It might not be big, it might not even be beyond the concept stage just yet, but it’s out there. And you need to be ready for it. You need to work out a way to balance the needs of your users with the money of your sponsors and advertisers.
But most of all – you need to listen!
Photo: Alexander Tundakov
Thanks for posting this, Ethan – it was good to read it. For the record, I also believe in the rights of mothers to decide on their own parenting choices, but the important words you said here are "informed choice". In a world where we've been societally conditioned to trust in unethical advertisers and not our own instincts and bodies, true informed choice is a pretty rare thing now.
I think part of the problem is that Facebook et al are still the "Wild Wild West" in terms of law and monitoring. The information revolution, as it were, happened so quickly that the law, civil and personal rights, and ethics all have still to catch up. Do we count the internet as a worldwide community apart from the world and its laws, or should sites like Facebook be considered like a virtual cafe or meeting room, bound by the normal rules and regulations thereof? Should we expect Facebook to conform to the laws of the state in which it's incorported (in this case Florida, which incidentally protects the rights of babies to be breastfed whenever and wherever required), or as a law unto itself?
At the moment, all evidence points to the fact that it considers itself to be just that.
These are the teething pains of the new age, in a very real sense. The way people take these crises will define the rights and responsibilities we all have in decades to come, as citizens of the internet.
One thing's for sure though – FB have acted deplorably in their treatment of this group and its admins. As you quite rightly noted, the group is a huge source of support for many, many parents and activists, and their false "justification" for removing it is all bluster, misrepresentation and lies.
On a personal note…love you.
Bravo Ethan for posting this… not just in support to Gill (who we all love dearly) but it was very well put, and some very good points raised, not least the one that stood out for me is that 1/4 million people are on that group….. that's a lot to sway any vote, voice an opinion because (and I've done marketing and advertising as part of my Business courses so can back this up) word of mouth is THE most powerful way to get anything advertised… good OR bad!… lets face it… want to know what the latest flick at the pictures is like… ask your mates… a cross section of say 10 people will tell you if it's worth watching!
Best of luck to Gill and well done Ethan for this unbiased support! (well unbiased in the info even if you supoort Gill to the hilt!)
Paula x