Create your own Facebook news story

How long, do you think, before newspapers realize there are better things to do than pay writers to troll through Facebook looking for interesting groups? Is there anything less useful than a Facebook group? All you have to do is click to join. Sure, that means there is now a list of people with a common interest, and you can send emails to them to try to harness real-world protest. But does anyone really think this is very effective?

Here is your typical Facebook news story:

1) Headline: Facebook group formed to protest/publicize/decry/celebrate XYZ.
2) People upset about XYZ have formed a group on Facebook.
3) The group has X number of members.
4) The founder of the group says he/she created it in order to raise awareness etc.
5) A spokesperson for someone else said that the group would not affect their decision.

There. Now you can be a cutting-edge tech reporter too.

Or am I just bitter because the one and only Facebook group I created is tiny and has gotten no media coverage? (Join up! It's called "You're Gone! A Ted Tevan Group" and it took me all of a couple of clicks to create.)