5/5/14

Facebook's rule changes and profit chasing undermine its users | Money | theguardian.com

Facebook's rule changes and profit chasing undermine its users | Money | theguardian.com: Shelley, a heroin addict and homeless prostitute, is excited when one of her pictures and stories appears on my Facebook page. She loves reading the comments. “So many people care about me. Make sure to tell all of them it matters to me," she tells me.

She is one of the homeless addicts I photograph and write about.

As a small-time artist I was loath to put my work on Facebook. The fluffy, light world of social media seemed unable to do justice to the heavy issues of addiction and poverty. Then, three years ago, when my 80-year-old mother joined Facebook, I knew I needed a page. Facebook was everywhere.

It was a great decision. My page now has over 45,000 followers.