This whole COVID-19 situation has been quite trying for plenty of people. For Malaysia, the country is in its third phase of a state sanctioned quarantine, or Movement Control Order (MCO) in their words. The MCO means that there are some imposed restrictions to how you can move about in the region. No one can come into or out of Malaysia at this time too. In other words, we are under a limited lock down.
This also means that most organisations in Malaysia are on a work-from-home policy, including us. Working from home is not a new concept though. Funnily enough, it is not tech-based firms that has gone big with work-from-home concepts. Still, this is the time when everyone just must start adopting the work-from-home culture. Not like they have a choice anyway in Malaysia.
Facebook has been one organisation at the forefront of business transformations in the region. They have also transformed how businesses work and sell their products in the modern world. They are more than just a Social Media app you have on your smartphones. Facebook is more than an app just to keep in touch with your friends.
It has become a live news channel, where you can view live updates on the most current news. You can set up watch parties (limited to Facebook Watch and videos) to a live event. It has become a live event space, if you might for the public. With Messenger and WhatsApp, it is a communication powerhouse; an all-in-one tool for your daily communication needs.
If you need to, Facebook can be your marketplace, or the place where you shop with marketplace. With Facebook Watch, it is your source of entertainment. It can even be your calendar if you really need it to be. It is truly a one-stop, go-to, solve-it-all platform where you can find anything and everything.
That is also why when we were given the chance to sit down with Nicole Tan of Facebook Malaysia, we took the offer up.
Nicole Tan is not just a random person in Facebook Malaysia. She is the Facebook Malaysia’s Country Director. When you say top brass, she is it for Facebook Malaysia. The buck stops with her. Of course, no one is better qualified to talk about Facebook’s presence and efforts in Malaysia than her.
We started the interview with a burning question of ‘how?’ Everyone is in this trying period that is the MCO and plenty are forced to bring work home. In that case, everyone has to adapt to a completely new working environment and culture. Every other person is of course looking toward the big tech names for guidance and inspiration.
Facebook has always had a very flexible approach toward this issue of course. Being a tech firm there are already measures in place for a work-from-home situation. In fact, Facebook Malaysia has adopted the work-from-home policy even before Malaysia’s MCO is implemented. According to Nicole Tan, the firm has adopted to the situation very quickly. Naturally, there has been a lot more web-conferencing that is needed for daily operations. For Nicole then, it is almost just like any other day in the office; just with more video conferencing than ever.
There is one big concern for consumers who are on Facebook though. The platform has become one of the biggest news channels in the world. In Malaysia at least, plenty rely on Facebook for the latest updates in the region. In these trying times, more so rely on Facebook and its services for information. With fears of cyber attacks and scams related to COVID-19 as well, fake news is another big concern. In that, Facebook has been working very closely with their partners which include health institutes and certain government departments to verify news sources. They are not just doing it on Facebook as a platform though. They are also doing it on Whatsapp, Messenger and even Instagram.
All this accumulates to Facebook’s very own COVID-19 specific information center. The section is also an accumulation for your benefit. Facebook, through the center is working to bring forward tips and resources from experts and other certified sources to keep you healthy and informed at this time. This is not something new for Facebook. At this time though, to verify all the news, they have spent quite a significant amount of money to work with fact-check networks just so that you get the correct information.
That is not all they have been doing in the fight for COVID-19 though. Being one of the largest tech firms in the world, they could contribute plenty to the efforts around the world. They join other multinationals in donating relief funds and even development of vaccines. In total, they probably has put forth about US$ 70 million in the efforts of not just fighting the disease, but also fighting the side-effects of the global pandemic.
In that also, Facebook is using their platform to help Small Medium Enterprises (SME) even here in Malaysia. Globally Facebook will be offering grants for SMEs or even guide businesses to survive this period of MCO. If you need more information on that, do visit their website.
Nicole also added that they are also working with certain Non-Government Organisations (NGO) and Non-Profit Organisations; one of them is Yellow House KL. Of course, there are more that they are doing in the global fight of COVID-19. You can keep yourselves updated on their efforts on their newsroom.
Nicole also gave us a lot of good insights on how Facebook has adapted to the global pandemic situation. For that you should refer to the interview video. Facebook is a free Social Media platform that is available for free on Google’s Play Store for Android and Apple’s Play Store for the iOS.