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This recent news article talks about the decision that Facebook made to change their advertisement policy in order to contain fewer advertisements for products and services that users are not interested in. Facebook stated that "When deciding which ad to show to which groups of people, we are placing emphasis on feedback we receive from people about ads, including how often people report or hid an ad". The world's No. 1 online social network has been trying to make ads more prominent without receiving backlash from its users. However, it has started taking over more space on users' main newsfeeds. Nate Elliot from Forrester Research said Facebook needs to keep weight-loss and teeth whitening ads in the less intrusive, right-hand side of the web page while reserving the space within users' newsfeed for higher quality ads. The company did not elaborate on the details of the change, but users can expect to see some changes in the distribution of advertisements.
Advertisements generate roughly 85% of Facebook's revenues, so it must have meant that the organization was facing quite a bit of resistance and complaints from users in order for them to make this decision. As important as revenue from advertisements are, the user experience is even more important. In order to continue growing the the network of users and avoid backlash from individuals who feel that their private space is invaded, social networks need to be strategic and careful not to cross the line when it comes to advertisement. It will be interesting to see which approach Facebook takes to re-vamp their advertisement policy and whether it will change the types of organizations that advertise with them.
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