Every new year starting in 2009, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg sets "personal challenges" for himself to accomplish. This year, his challenge is serious: to make Facebook better. Specifically, to make the social media service a platform worth spending time in.
In the past, Zuckerberg has already built an Artificial Intelligence (AI) for his home, ran 365 miles, visited every state in the United States and learned Mandarin. But this time he is focused to make his creation a more worthwhile platform, especially since Facebook is one of the central sources information now for many people in the world.
He detailed his sentiments in a post from his personal Facebook page. He recalled how some years back, Facebook was not yet a "sustainable business model." At the time he was more focused on growing the social media platform.
Now that Facebook has become a major part of the internet and information distribution, Zuckerberg says that he felt a lot like those earlier days. He felt like he need to get serious about making the platform better for everyone.
This means cracking down on abuse and harassment, misinformation and especially the spread of fake news.
"Today feels a lot like that first year," Zuckerberg said in his post. "The world feels anxious and divided, and Facebook has a lot of work to do— whether it's protecting our community from abuse and hate, defending against interference by nation states, or making sure that time spent on Facebook is time well spent."
The Verge notes that Zuckerberg's intentions are well-timed, especially since Facebook is yet to develop foolproof methods to curb harassment in the site.
The well-intentioned precautions are in place, but sometimes they can be exploited. This results in people getting banned when they should not be, while others are free to use the platform even if they clearly exhibit inappropriate behavior.
In any case, it is great that Zuckerberg acknowledged Facebook's shortcomings. Users can expect an even better experience with the platform in the near future.
