Dealing with loss - Facebook

Today I am mourning the loss of 100's of friends. I didn't care enough to look after them and only realised what they meant to me when they were gone.

It's not the fact that they are 'gone' forever - I just can't poke them when I feel like it, send a quick private message or leave a silly wall post.

Last night I had my facebook account disabled. Yes, I finally broke facebook! I was expecting a warning message but it never came, just an instant ban! I was sharing the link and info I'd spent the evening writing up for my last post on a handful of walls.

"- Interest rates at historic lows of 1%.
- Banks still not increasing credit supply.
- Property bargains to be had and investors are buying.
- Is the economy in a recession & can you still make money?

To read the full write up with my views and what I think
about Interest Rates, Banks, Property and the Economy. Take
a look at my blog here:
http://bobby-gill.blogspot.com - interest-rates-banks-property

Bobby"

I was punished for not following facebook rules, having had a couple of warning in the past it must be three strikes and you're out, so much for sharing and socialising.
Then again it is their playground, their ball and their rules... Shame they don't share what those rules are so you can stay within the boundaries. What is a fair usage policy?


The Bad

EVERYTHING you've ever posted is removed, discussions you've had, your admin status in groups leaving it open for squatters. Your friends list disappears, along with all their messages and all the pictures you've spent time uploading. Cherished memories taken away in a flash. How would you feel? Do you get that sinking feeling in your gut of "Oh No!"

I had grown my friends list up to about 1300 ish, about 75-80% of these I actually knew, met or had conversed with, the others had just added me along the way as serial networkers. So it wasn't a marketing list I lost but the contact details of real friends. Having told people to use facebook as their main means of communication, now I felt the fool.
Emails, telephone numbers, website links, pictures together and the good times. Where were they now except in a virtual trash can of rubbish at Facebook HQ!


The Good

I got my time back. Instead of aimlessy surfing on facebook it was taking up a lot of time. Just like any other tool, it can be dangerous if not used properly and effectively.
There were also admin nightmares of figuring out where I knew some people from and how they added me. It got to the point where I was adding anyone that asked.
Whilst other people were actively 'culling' the number of friends they had, facebook did it for me in one fatal swoop! Bye bye facebook friends....


The Ugly

All the links I'd put to my profile and for people to add me are now invalid.
What would you do if your account was removed or disabled? There's no allowances for begging.
Just like the National Lottery advert, next time it could be you!

What about other companies that look after your information, data, email and treasured memories, like google, blogger, flickr, gmail, hotmail... etc... What if they had server problems, booted you from their website or shut down. What would you do then? However unlikely, it is still a possibility.


The Smart

Do I take this as a sign and take a break from facebook? Do I join again and only add real friends this time. Or should I see how many people I can add for the sake of playing the facebook friends networking game? Who knows.

Lucky I took some insurance out ;-) Just in case something like this happened. Have dropped them an email and hopefully the nice folk at facebook will reinstate my account. Will keep you updated.


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