We live in interesting times. I recall my days as a practising journalist with the Concord Press of Nigeria. One of the enduring nightmares of that era was government clampdownwhich was not infrequenton the titles in the stable for any perceived discomfiture to the mood of the Babangida administration. When the African Concord at the time had the gumption to quote President Ibrahim Babangida on his earlier interview where he expressed surprise that Nigerias economy had not collapsed, the gap-toothed foxy general demanded an apology. The authors of the piecesteely young journalists who stood on higher moral and ethical groundsdenied him one. They resigned instead. The infamous Decree 4 of 1984, superintended by the Gen. Muhammadu Buhari regime, was even more ludicrous. By its portents, a publication stood in breach of the law even if it was factual but caused embarrassment to government. Two journalists, retroactively, fell victim to this preposterous legalistic contraption.Fast forward to the present. Even without a full-blown stress test to the recently signed Freedom of Information bill, the environment for news reportage and society engagement with it has become more liberal and excitable. Blogs and online news portals have become more daringeven if not always fair and balancedin their publications. More interesting, perhaps, is the intense citizen involvement that goes along with the discussions, far removed from the strong arm tactics of either a Babangida or a Buhari. However, of greater fascination to this writer is the phenomenon of facebook. Facebook, it has emerged, is a full-fledged news organisation on a scale we have never seen. News organisations do two major things, commercially-speaking: they use news to grab attention and then sell that attention to advertisers. In the old chain of news production, a piece of timely information was researched by journalists, sifted through by publishers and then disseminated. It was more of a reporting of the facts rather than an expression of opinion. As traditional news organisations faced the maelstrom of the digital revolution, many noticed that it was not just the stuff that editors had deemed socially important that was drawing in readers. Tailored, specialised newsthe style, health, human interest, politics and sports sectionsthat appeal to specific demographics pulled attention and therefore advertiser interest. Adherents further hypothesized that tailored content could go further. Local newspapers or tabloids or magazine pull-outs, for instance, could provide hyper-local content of interest to neighbourhoods, but with advertisements to justify expenditure.Facebook is what became of the "hyper-local" notion. It just turned out that it isnt a geographic neighbourhood but a socially-connected one. Facebook provided a platform whereby individuals became reporters, editors and publishers. In this regard, facebook is delivering on the first task of the news organisation. Some facebook friends might express opinions, but more often, they are reporting facts. What is more, because these facts are reported to social connections, they are actually accurate. Nothing binds one to the truth more than the accountability of an ongoing relationship. Facebook knows this. The company even calls it a News Feed. And it is peppered with other news stories coming from other mainstream outlets your friends may have shared. When facebook emerged, many lamented, "who would be interested in this trivia: the fact that your relationship just broke down, your child just celebrated a birthday, your job has become boring or that a new restaurant just sprang up in the neighbourhood'" The answer is you. You have consumed this information for years by just talking to friends, family and colleagues at work. You are not interested in this kind of information from people you dont know but you are interested in it from people you do know.But until facebook came along, no one had figured how to create deeper brand value while friends and family were talking to you. And thats the second task of the news organisation and the crucial link in bringing in revenue. Unlike other news organisations, facebook offers magnetism. It can sometimes be quite addictive to even the most discerning adherents. There is not a lot of content on it. While some are not likely to spend more than a few minutes a day on facebook News Feed, many people do it everyday. This gives facebook a compelling proposition to advertisers. At the latest count, it had over 650 million subscribers and still counting. If facebook were a country, it would have been the third most-populated on earth. Even more interesting is that the mileage that took the telephone and the Internet many years to acquire has been more than tripled by facebook in only a few years.I get some fascination when I read some really thoughtful and insightful posts on facebook or follow the thread of topical discussions. They provide better satisfaction than most news media will ever provide. Citizens have taken full control of news reportage and feed their social network. The 2011 elections enjoyed updates via the social media. Facebook won Obama the election in 2008 and, some say, has played a key role in the Arab spring. Power is back to the people.Ihedioha is the National Media Detailing Manager, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Nigeria Plc, 7B Acme Road, Ogba, Lagos.
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