Facebook forced me to convert my personal account to a ‘Page’ page. I guess I wasn’t sharing enough of my personal business with them. Chi’le, I didn’t even know Facebook micromanaged how you interacted with other regular people so long as you weren’t breaking the law.
For those who followed at Facebook, you know that I had a (1) personal account; and (2) a separate ‘Page’. I posted all kinds of stuff on my Facebook personal account. I posted links to DIY recipes, advice about natural hair, advice about making diy mixes, and even funny internet meme photos (the “Naturals be like…” series lol!) .
I posted funny photos (like that dude taking a photo of himself holding his kid like a football). I even posted general information that I found interesting (like stuff about the causes of WWII, and links to videos about knowing the history of slavery).
I did that using my Facebook personal account. But I guess that wasn’t…. ‘personal’…. enough. So imagine my surprise when I got the notice that I couldn’t log into facebook at all until my personal account was converted to a Facebook ‘Page’ as well.
I posted this as part of my initial reaction to Facebook forcing me to convert:
“…Well, boo, I’m sorry for not talking about who I’m sneaking around with (nobody)… or who my best friend’s husband is allegedly sleeping with (I don’t have a best friend)…. or what my favorite sports team is (I don’t have one)…. or what the neighbor down the street is doing at 3am last night (nothing). Facebook personal accounts really aren’t for people who like to mind their own damn business (for the most part). I wasn’t giving up the dirt…. so I MUST be a business or organization. Ok. Sure. #WhatevaFacebook “
You can tell I was slightly surprised and a bit ticked. But now I think I finally get it.
I was talking to a few other people who this happened to. I think Facebook doesn’t want people to have unfettered, free access to share their posts with Groups, OR to use Facebook without providing enough private information to make you marketable to their advertisers.
Facebook Groups can have hundreds of thousands of members. Maybe more. There are even Groups solely devoted to allowing people to post links to their sites and advertise their information without charge.
If your Facebook posts AREN’T majority personal posts about you and your family, or personal photos, Facebook locks you out from accessing these features (Groups, Apps, etc). Completely.
If you have a personal interest that’s very much part of your personal life, or something you’re almost obsessed with reading, talking, or learning about…. well that’s not enough.
If you only use facebook to play games or join Groups with other people talking about your fav artist, or your hobby, etc…. well that’s not enough to keep your personal account either.
Facebook wants your private, personal gossip: where you went to school, what movies you like, places you like to hang out, your full name, what city you live in, your place of business, your phone number, personal photos of you, who you’re cheating on your husband with, how much you hate your boss, how many women you banged in Vegas, etc. LOL!
They damn near ask you for everything except your social security number! And if you repeatedly refuse to offer up this information willingly, apparently you’re slapped with this problem.
I mean, I thought Facebook was cool, but what’s the use of them knowing where I went to school and my place of business? For what? Are they interviewing me for a job? If not, then that ain’t Facebook’s business. People who need to know that, know it.
In my opinion, they do this to turn you into a walking dollar sign; something that is marketable to their advertisers and other businesses with which they have tie-ins.
Some people have taken to posting about this issue in the often-ignored Facebook Help Community pages.
For example, check out this post:
“This is happening to my friend also. Please take care of this problem. She is an individual on Facebook only to play a game. she has been doing that for some time now and all of a sudden out of the blue Facebook wants her to make her account a page. She is not a business, not a brand, not an organization. Why is this happening? What would trigger something like this?”
And:
“Facebook is trying to force me to convert my timeline to a page. I plan on undoing this as soon as I can, but in the mean time I am locked out of my account in limbo.”
And:
“Did you ever get an answer or find a way to get an appeal submitted? My husband is having the same problem.”
And:
“my friend has the same problem! really need an answer. He will lose all his friends and apps etc.”
If you’re not sharing personal information on a regular basis, I think eventually Facebook will get around to accusing you of being a business/organization/artist and force you to convert your personal account to a Page…. which effectively cuts off your access to Groups and Apps (Games etc).
In my opinion, Facebook wants you to use that “Boost Post” option where you’d have to pay Facebook to essentially “advertise” each individual post that you want to draw attention to. And you have to pay for EACH post. I should have known this was probably about money. LOL!
As mentioned above, some people who use Facebook to mostly play games also got the notification to convert their personal accounts to a ‘Page’ after Facebook claimed they were businesses. Many are not businesses. And of course, because of this, it cuts them off from Apps (Games are Apps), Groups, and all that extra stuff.
This became an issue for gamers months ago. At one gaming community (outside of Facebook), a post titled “Gamers Beware: Facebook Force Converting Accounts Into Fan Pages” included the following statements:
“If deemed appropriate, Facebook is force converting personal accounts into fan pages. On the surface this doesn’t sound like the worse thing in the world but a fan page is missing a key element of a personal page…the ability to use applications. For those who don’t know, all games are applications and if your account is converted you lose access to your gaming account(s).
“… Unfortunately gamers are stuck in the middle. Facebook doesn’t seem to be giving people the option if they feel that you are using your account to represent something other than yourself. Affected players were not given the option to convert their accounts, they were told they needed to do so.”
In other words, if you ain’t givin’ it up, apparently Facebook can’t be bothered with yo a$s. If you mind your business and only want to play games and have fun, they seemingly can’t be bothered with yo a$s either.
If you’re using Facebook to follow Groups talking about your favorite hobby or share information with thousands of people about a certain topic you personally find interesting, Facebook can’t be bothered with yo a$s either.
And don’t think that because you haven’t gotten served yet that you’re home free. Facebook needs to get that money, boo boo. So look for more people complaining about this in the future… unless Facebook quietly changes it.
Apparently, you can request they convert a Page back into a Personal account here:
https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/366956053339943
(Doesn’t mean they’re going to do it. That’s just for you to make a request.)
IF you haven’t already, it is recommended that you turn off the ability for people to follow you who aren’t ‘Friends’ in order to lessen your chances of being targeted. However, I’m not sure if that’ll work forever.
Just want to let you guys know what was going on. But when I smell something, I’m not going to be quiet. #IGotYourNumber
And I’m not looking for responses from Facebook staff… uh, I mean, random people who otherwise wouldn’t be bothered with checking out my site if they weren’t defending Facebook. LOL. Whether or not you agree with their policy, its the micro-policing I have a problem with.
There is enormous competition right now. With the reported dip in the number of teenagers choosing to use Facebook, can they really afford to be micromanaging or over-policing personal user accounts which aren’t breaking laws? Are they going to buy up every App that can offer competition?? Maybe that’s the plan, which is why they need you to pay them for every post you want to share.
…..Remember when MySpace was the be-all, end-all place to be?
Anyway, its not my problem anymore. Yall can hit me up on a number of other places already. Once I get this Vine thang figured out, watch out! 😛 😀
@curlyteaconsult
Related Info:
https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=10152037457949892
https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=687996311211118
http://www.mafiawarslootlady.com/2013/09/gamers-beware-facebook-force-converting.html
