Something is seriously wrong with Facebook’s notifications. I mean, it’s not dangerously wrong, but there is something not right with how Facebook and what Facebook decides is important to someone who you’re Facebook friends with. Let me show you a perfect example of this.
I am friends with someone named Dave Davies. I mean, friends in real life, we’ve done work together, I’ve referred business to him, and we’ve met in person many times. Dave lives in Canada and I live in the United States. We are literally thousands of miles away, and I’ve never ever visited the part of Canada where he and his wife lives. This is important, the fact that we are SO far away from each other, literally in two separate countries.
Two different countries.
Take a look at the notification that I received from Facebook.
Facebook literally notified me that my Facebook friend, Dave Davies, was at Costco in Langford. Yes, that’s in Canada.
I have a problem with this notification, for several reasons.
First off, I really don’t care whatsoever that Dave is at Costco. Sure, we’re friends IRL, but I do not care, whatsoever, that Dave is at Costco. In another country. What do they expect me to do with this information? Drop what I’m doing and go visit Dave at Costco in ANOTHER COUNTRY? Sure, I could see maybe if a friend of mine is at a business in my small town. I might want to give him a call and meet up for lunch. But HE IS IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, literally thousands of miles away.
I don’t have a Costco membership, there isn’t one near me close by, and I don’t plan on ever visiting Costco OR CANADA anytime soon.
So, Facebook, why are you sending me a notification that one of my Facebook friends is at Costco in another country?
I could look at this in a completely different way, that it’s kind of scary and creepy that Facebook is notifying me that Dave is at Costco. He’s not at home, meaning that I now know that he’s not at home. And that could be a notification that Dave doesn’t want me to see.
I posted this on my Facebook feed and to be honest with you several mentioned that they were kind of freaked out like I am about this particular type of notification.
Dave, I like you and consider you a trusted friend: but I don’t really care whether you’re at Costco or not.
This is even worse than someone posting a photo of the food they’re eating. I’m not every interested in the food you’re eating. But I really don’t care that you’re at Costco.