Let us now praise Facebook. Eagle-eyed news junkies may have spotted a recent speech by the tech giant's creator Mark Zuckerberg, in which he drew a parallel between the work of his site and the role once played by churches and community leaders. The Zuck (blessed be he) suggested that one Facebook feature, known as Groups, might help rebuild the lost spirit once created by local leaders such as pastors.
It would be easy to lapse into jibes about the Good Zuck and the Gospel According to Mark (and I want to reassure you that I will be doing that) but his argument was more nuanced and sophisticated and, as with all the best seductions, played into an already present sentiment. People do mourn the social glue that came with religious observance and community activity. Given the reverence accorded to tech titans, it is unsurprising that a promise by the Zuck (may the ground tremble at his name) to help heal society's fractures is taken more seriously than, say, a government initiative on homelessness. Worried about the fragmented society? Let Facebook bind your wounds. Where there is discord, may it bring harmony. It is quite a transformation for a man whose company motto is "Move fast and break things".
Facebook Groups, effectively online forums built around a shared interest, are not new but the Zuck has turned his countenance to smile upon them as a useful source of engagement, retention and revenue. Now, there is nothing wrong with this. But there is something a little troubling in the way the Zuck (praise him, praise him, Hallelujah) has dressed it up.
One of the best signifiers of a phony religion is when its commercial interests seem a little too well-aligned with its moral mission; when the fundraising activities are too front and centre or when believers renounce their worldly goods to the movement's numbered Swiss bank account. There is nothing so immoral in the Good Zuck's scriptures but there is a similar overlap between Facebook's commercial interests and his cure for society's ills. It is an added irony that one of the threats to community activity is all those hours spent at home alone online. Nothing in Facebook's evolution suggests it actually cares about village fetes or church services or anything else it may have helped break while moving fast.
Groups will keep people on Facebook seeing more ads. And this is Facebook's true societal mission - to keep you tightly within its orbit, owning as many of your waking hours as it can. It does not want you lured by others, coming under the influence of false prophets such as Snapchat, Google or, heaven forfend, some offline organisation without a Facebook page. (And let's not forget Facebook at Work for those empty office hours.) The company's sole ambition is to see you organising your life on its platform. The only community about which it truly cares is the one that lives on its site.
Suddenly that religious parallel seems apposite. Ownership of your time and attention is the classic goal of a cult and this cultishness extends to employees. I chatted to a Facebook staffer a few days before the Zuck's sermon, and she cheerily volunteered a story of the local
Again, there is nothing wrong with Facebook building a business out of communities. But it would be awfully nice if the Zuck (kneel before him) could dispense with the pious platitudes when promoting his business strategy.
Then again, the great prophets were always mocked by cynics; perhaps I should get with the programme. So please, for the sake of society, let Facebook be the lens through which you view your community life; let its engineers bring meaning to your world and may you never be without the warm embrace of your Group. Let us give thanks.
robert.shrimsley@ft.com; @robertshrimsley
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Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017
