Happy New Year! For some reason that small change from 14 to 15 was very healing. I closed the chapter that was 2014 and opened a new chapter full of promise, potential and hope. Yesterday, we launched our new Gossip Genie website. I like to think that our site grew up, I think of our last site like the teenage years, now our site has reached adulthood. In just one month’s time, we will be celebrating our 5 year Gossip Genie anniversary. I am so proud of what we have built and the team that I have by my side. It’s been such a fun ride and we are still only just beginning. I just want to express my gratitude to my clients, coworkers, family and friends; the support, trust, belief and encouragement have been the motivation to keep going. This past year was particularly difficult but here I am, fueled by the people and projects that are Gossip Genie.
Apparently 2014 was a difficult year for many people. I don’t think I have ever heard so many people complain about the same large chunk of time until I heard people talk about 2014. Facebook actually made me realize how many people hated 2014. Towards the end of the year, Facebook launched, “Year In Review” with the default tagline being, “It’s been a great year! Thanks for being a part of it.” For people like me and Eric Meyer, this Facebook generated slideshow was a painful reminder of how hard this year has been. Eric lost his 6 year old daughter, Rebecca, to brain cancer. Losing a child in any capacity is unbelievably painful and the longer that child is in your life, the harder it is to say goodbye. Eric was presented with the year in review via Facebook when he logged into his account which featured a picture of his daughter’s face as the central slideshow photo. Needless to say, he didn’t want to share Facebook’s version of his “great year.” Neither did I, as my slideshow featured the announcement of my pregnancy (If you don’t know what happened to me, read this post). Obviously, this was not in any way deliberate on behalf of Facebook but it was a painful reminder.
Many of my friends shared their 2014 Year in Review on Facebook and it was nice to see their pictures because it reminded me that not everyone had a bad year. I love to see pictures of friends smiling, on vacation, celebrating milestones and enjoying family. I think a better way to unfold the year in review would be to ask the Facebook user if they would like to see a year in review in pictures before automatically inundating that user with potentially painful memories. Eric received an apology from Facebook which I think was kind gesture on their behalf. Reading about the apology Eric received was enough for me to feel better about the pain the year in review caused me.
photo source: Screenshot/Facebook
