For all its huge popularity, Facebook doesn’t seem to be particularly well-liked by its own users,
according to the latest figures from the American Customer Satisfaction Index E-Business Report, which was produced in partnership with customer experience analytics firm ForeSee. Overall, Facebook
scored a 61 out of 100 in terms of customer satisfaction -- down 8 points from 69 last year. That’s a new record low for companies in the social media category.
It’s not hard to imagine why people might be unhappy with Facebook: could it be the endless fiddling
with privacy policies? The high-handed issuing of new email addresses “to make them consistent across the site?” The way it introduced “Timeline” with all the subtlety of a
wild dog attack? The way it used their images without permission to advertise stuff with sponsored stories? The fact that it gives you more cookies than grandma?
Of course, it’s even harder to imagine people abandoning Facebook in droves because of these (or other) concerns, but never
say never: the demise of MySpace provides a model, and there is some ominous buzz out there about people -- especially younger consumers --
cutting back their Facebook use or even leaving the site altogether. It’s not like there aren’t alternatives.
Speaking of which, the ACSI E-Business Report found that another social network, Google+, is scoring quite well in terms of customer satisfaction: on its first appearance in
the ACSI, Google+ scored 78 out of 100, due in part to the “absence of traditional advertising” and a better mobile interface, according to the ACSI. That score is better than the
e-business sector’s overall average of 74.2, and the ACSI national average of 75.9.