Unlimited Website Traffic

Catherine Ventura: Trying to Lean In, Sheryl, but Facebook's Not Making it Easy HPFB.init();

HuffPost's QuickRead...ShareBox.ad = function (tag_id){if ($(tag_id) == undefined) return; if ($(tag_id).innerHTML != '') return;ad_spec = {"zone_info": "huffpost.business","ord": 1364187262,"tile": 3,"width": 300,"height": 250,"el_id": tag_id + "_js","class_name": "ad_block ad_wide top","type": "iframe"}HuffPoUtil.WEDGJE.write(ad_spec, tag_id);};Loading... HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

Financial Reform iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More Log in Create Account Notifications Profile Settings Logout #topnav_margin_btm { margin:0 !important } March 25, 2013

Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributorsHot on the BlogDr. Peggy Drexler Dylan Ratigan Ralph Nader Robert Redford

Catherine VenturaWriter, Social Media Strategist, Digital Strategist

GET UPDATES FROM Catherine Ventura Like Trying to Lean In, Sheryl, but Facebook's Not Making it Easy Posted: 03/24/2013 8:31 pm Follow

Facebook , Hackers , Facebook Security , Jennifer Flanders , Real Designing Women , Sheryl Sandberg , Facebook Pages , Hgtv , Lean In , Sba , Small Business , Women-Owned-Business , Business News
#news_entries #ad_sharebox_260x60 img {padding:0px;margin:0px} share this story Submit this storydigg reddit stumble

While Sheryl Sandberg is working hard to promote Lean In, her book about what's holding women back in the workforce, many hard-working women are having a hard time "leaning in" on Facebook.

That's because Facebook, which Ms. Sandberg helps run, is very helpful to big businesses with giant advertising budgets, but not to small businesses, which are what 90 percent of women business owners run.

That was the hard lesson Jennifer Flanders learned when the new Facebook page she created for her business -- Jennifer Flanders Design -- was hijacked several weeks ago by a Tunisian hackers.

On March 10, Flanders, an accomplished interior designer with a starring role in an upcoming HGTV show, The Real Designing Women, discovered her page had been hacked by someone calling themselves "darksoul12." Not only that, but the hacker removed her as the Page administrator and replaced her professional cover photo with the banner: "Tunisia-Hacker: We are the Best Hackers."

2013-03-24-ScreenShot20130324at10.24.37AM.png

If your personal Facebook account has been hacked there are steps you can take. But, astoundingly, these steps do not exist for your business page.

There is no specific avenue for recovering a hacked Facebook page if you do not have a a large advertising account and therefore your own Facebook sales rep. In spite of filing over 10 "Report a problem with this page" forms (I flagged it and reached out to Facebook too), Flanders has not received any response from Facebook -- no matter how hard she's tried to "lean in" -- because Facebook is seemingly unresponsive to small business owners who are just starting to use Facebook for marketing.

Facebook Help's only advice for page owners who have been removed as administrators from their own Pages is to message the hackers and ask them to make you an administrator again!

The good news is that Flanders' Facebook Page was "returned" to her this weekend, two weeks after she lost access. The bad news is that there is no indication -- no notification, no email -- that Facebook was responsible -- and responsive -- for the return. More likely it was the hacker, who seemed more mischievous than malicious, who simply returned it to her and moved on (thanks, darksoul12!)

Women now own about 30 percent of America's businesses and the overwhelming majority of them run small businesses. If Sheryl Sandberg's own company -- Facebook -- only offers customer service to giant companies, then they are de facto providing women business owners with less customer service. And if Facebook does not provide customer service to smaller companies that are trying to use Facebook to market, they are de facto making it harder for women business owners to lean in.

Sheryl Sandberg's advice -- Lean In -- is a positive and valuable one. It's ironic, however, that the company she helps run makes it hard for women business owners to do just that.

Follow Catherine Ventura on Twitter:www.twitter.com/catherinventura

FOLLOW BUSINESS Like 50k Get Alerts #ad_bottom_article_text {margin-bottom: 15px} Lean In Sheryl Sandberg Facebook HackersWhile Sheryl Sandberg is working hard to promote Lean In, her book about what's holding women back in the workforce, many hard-working women are having a hard time "leaning in" on Facebook. That's b...While Sheryl Sandberg is working hard to promote Lean In, her book about what's holding women back in the workforce, many hard-working women are having a hard time "leaning in" on Facebook. That's b...

Comments1Pending Comments0 View FAQ

Previewing Your Comment. This comment has not yet been posted You have exceeded your word limit by words. Please click the "Edit" button and shorten your comment.

Post Comment Edit Cancel

You can post to us this information Contact us

Click here to leave a comment.HuffPost High School welcomes a lively, thoughtful debate in the comment section. Keep in mind that the articles here are penned by young authors, so please keep criticism respectful, and help us to keep this a safe and supportive place for writers of all ages to contribute.Post Comment Preview Comment To reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to. Post Comment Preview Comment To reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to.

Share your Comment:

Post to Facebook. Post to Blogger. Post to Twitter. Post to WordPress. Post to TypePad. Post to Tumblr. Post to Yahoo! Blogger login: Blogger password: Select blog: refresh list Remember me: Wordpress host: Wordpress login: Wordpress password: Remember me: TypePad host: TypePad login: TypePad password: Select blog: refresh list Remember me: Tumblr login: Tumblr password: Remember me: Community Notice: We've made some changes to our badge program, including the addition
of our newest badge: Community Curator.

View All Recency | Popularity

bdoppes 1 Fans 22 minutes ago ( 9:58 PM)too exhausted~\bdoppes: too exhausted~\http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/bdoppes/trying-to-lean-in-sheryl-_b_2944000_239630452.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… new comment(s) on this entry — Click to refresh

Loading comments… Most Popular Steven Simpson Gay Teen Burned