A few weeks ago, I noticed on the right rail of my Facebook newsfeed that two of my friends had become fans of the Greek-style yogurt Fage (pronounced ‘Fa-yeh’, which I think is pronounced like a street version of ‘Fire’ as in the Springsteen tune). It was pretty interesting, because over the past year, I’ve become a big consumer – well, eater – of Greek yogurt, which is really high in protein and in its low and nonfat versions, low in calories. This is not a paid endorsement, but I have to hand it to Fage, it’s a pretty great food…though I often buy the Trader Joe’s version at half the cost.
Nevertheless, I wondered if my enjoyment of Fage qualified me as a fan, and if so, should I become a Facebook fan. What would be the advantage? How would I benefit? Would I be able to better commune with all the other ‘Fage Flies’?
I checked out the Fage fan page and saw that it had almost 37,000, not as big as many of large consumer brands, but hey, enough to fill Madison Square Garden. It appeared that about five fans posted a day, usually extolling their favorite way of eating the ‘gurt’, often with honey or some such. There are some recipes, a photo album and well, that’s about it, considering I would probably not be following the Fi-yeh Away 2009 bus tour, which was giving away free samples.
I decided against becoming a fan, even though I eat the product at least once a day. For me, becoming a Facebook fan of a brand requires identifying with that brand’s ethos – its lifestyle. I suppose Fage’s ethos is one of healthy eating and living, which I subscribe to about a third of the time when I’m not eating salad slathered in blue cheese and bacon, burger and fries and washing it down with a craft IPA. If I became a fan, I suspect many of my Facebook friends who know me better might think that I’m eating out of both sides of my mouth, and that my friendship, like my fanship, is a bit dishonest and inauthentic.
Ultimately, the risk is low for a brand like Fage. At best, I could have been reminded of Fage from a respected source in my life, and that I should consider buying it. At worst, I could have called into question the legitimacy of what I perceived to not be a lifestyle brand clumsily ‘bandwagoning’ itself into social spaces, and been turned off.
But the whole experience has left me wondering… Has Facebook fandom really amounted to little more than a lifestyle badge? Are there any brands you follow that truly provide you with valuable content or community?
Jonathan Cohen