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What F8 didn't showcase

June 03, 2021

Hey all, it's Sarah Frier. At Facebook's F8 developer conference Wednesday, the company announced a suite of new tools for small businesses. The theme was making it easier for these businesses to use Facebook's apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, to connect with customers and respond quickly to complaints or requests.

"What can be more important than customer service, maintaining your relationship and providing value to people when they need it most?" said Kelly Stonelake, director of product marketing, during one of the conference's presentations.

That same morning, though, over at some of the Facebook groups where small business owners congregate to share tips and strategies, the mood was less celebratory. Mostly, people were concerned with what to do if they ran into common problems on the platform—like an ad that wasn't approved for mysterious reasons or an account that was mistakenly taken down by Facebook's artificial intelligence.

Facebook's new tools could make customer service significantly easier and more effective for small businesses, but that doesn't mean that those businesses will get any customer service from Facebook itself.

I occasionally skim the platform's groups for businesses and advertisers—Facebook's paying customers—and for most issues people bring up, the company provides no human support to resolve the problem. When appealing decisions through Facebook's automated system, businesses often get form letters or dead ends. The process tends to be far more complicated than just using Messenger.

For Facebook, some of that low-touch highly automated approach is necessary because of the size of the operation. There are more than 500 million businesses using Messenger and Instagram to interact with customers, Facebook said Wednesday. And 90% of Instagram users are following at least one business. Virtual storefronts have become more essential during the Covid-19 pandemic. Facebook hopes that all of them will use its new tools to be attentive to what their customers need, and track their progress with star ratings and feedback forms.

Meanwhile, though, the experience for Facebook's own customers is different. In the groups where advertisers share their frustrations with failed campaigns, mistakenly banned accounts and confusing rules for businesses, someone always pipes up with the same response: Try to get attention from a human Facebook employee however you can, they advise. Even if you have to harass them on LinkedIn and Twitter to get their attention—it's the only way to be heard. And good luck. —Sarah Frier

If you read one thing

The flying cars we get might not look much like flying cars. Joby Aviation, which is going public via a SPAC, is planning a commercial launch of its flying taxis for 2024. It's one of dozens of companies trying to build planes that can take off and land vertically. 

And here's what you need to know in global technology news

Wednesday was another wild day for meme stocks. Shares of money-losing movie theater AMC rose 95% to close at a record high.

Meanwhile, Samsung Publishing's stock jumped after Elon Musk tweeted about the children's jingle "Baby Shark." 

Microsoft is set to unveil a new version of Windows on June 24. 

Apple loses at least three managers from its self-driving car division, a sign of attrition at what could be an important unit. 

Etsy is buying Gen Z favorite Depop for $1.6 billion. 

 
 

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