- Text
Facebook Customer Satisfaction in the Dumps
(Credit:
(CBS/AP))
The ACSI gives Facebook a score of 64 on a 100 point scale. That tally puts Facebook in the bottom 5 percent of all measured private sector companies. For context, Facebook is right down there with airlines and cable companies, two sectors with an average score of 66. At least Facebook isn’t alone. MySpace had a score of 63.
ACSI is a national economic indicator of customer satisfaction and was founded by the Michigan Ross School of Business. This is the first time ACSI ranked social media sites in its e-business ratings.
The ACSI didn’t measure Twitter—largely because the service is often accessed through third party apps—but Wikipedia led the social media category with a score of 77. YouTube checked in with a score of 73 and MySpace had 63.
Why the poor results for social media sites? For Facebook, it’s possible that its recent privacy problems and frequent policy and site changes have hurt customer satisfaction. MySpace may have similar issues or be viewed as too cluttered. Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results, which conducts the rankings, attributed Facebook’s scores to the following:
- Frequent changes to the site;
- Advertising intruding on customer satisfaction;
- And privacy concerns.
University of Michigan business professor Claes Fornell said:
Facebook, which boasts approximately 500 million registered users worldwide, was the upstart to MySpace's market leader just 5 years ago, but these roles now have been reversed. Still, controversies over privacy issues, frequent changes to user interfaces, and increasing commercialization have positioned the big social networking sites at satisfaction levels well below other websites and similar to poor-performing industries like airlines and subscription TV service (both 66). While privately-held Facebook continues to attract new members from virtually all age groups, MySpace's dwindling traffic and page views may soon cost the website (owned by media giant News Corp.) its once-lucrative advertising partnership with Google.
In this ranking, the ACSI also rated portals and search engines with a score of 80, down from 86 a year ago. Microsoft’s Bing had a score of 77 followed by Yahoo at 76 and AOL and Ask.com at 74 and 73, respectively.
Regarding Google, Fornell said:
The drop for Google may be related to efforts to expand well beyond its core search engine business. With the introduction in recent years of services like email (Gmail), instant messaging (Google Talk), social networking (Google Buzz), and even a Web browser (Google Chrome), Google now offers a full range of Internet services. But in trying to become all things to all people, Google seems to have encountered some of the pitfalls that portals and social media sites face including concerns about privacy, which have led to an upswing in complaints about Google's policies and practices in the past year.
-
Larry Dignan is editor in chief of ZDNet and editorial director of CNET's TechRepublic. He has covered the technology and financial-services industries since 1995.
- Simpsons Arcade finally makes it to Xbox 360, PS3
- iPhone 5 will reportedly launch in the fall
- Apple to build largest private solar farm in U.S.
- PS Vita worth the money? We go hands-on
- "Googlighting" video takes a hit at Google
- Whitney Houston film not pulled from Netflix
- iPad mini in testing stage, says research firm
- Apple iPhone 5 rumors, reports say June release
- Shocking Stats on Texting While Driving
- Facebook required for Spotify account, here's a trick
- Apple MacBook Pro getting makeover, says new report
- Apple iPad 3 rumors resurface, sources say March release
- Apple iPad getting Microsoft Office Suite? Sources say coming soon
- What is Pinterest?
- How to get the Diablo III beta test
- PlayStation Vita review
- Microsoft redesigns Windows logo
- Bail rules prevent Kim Dotcom from using Internet
- Poland's jobless rate rises to 13.2 pct in January
- Syrian forces shell Homs as crisis in city deepens
- AP Interview: US envoy says no soldiers to Nigeria
on Facebook
- Six decades of Oscar fashion
- GOP presidential debate: Winners and Losers
- Is world's shortest man this 22-inch-tall Nepalese 72-year-old?
- Christie: Buffett should "write a check and shut up"
on CBS News
