I feel so alone. I didn’t quite realize how much I used Facebook until it was taken away from me. Between Twitter and Facebook, I had built a nice little social network. Twitter has turned into a nice, strong following that I leverage for professional and social sharing, while Facebook really had become my way to stay connected to the people I actually have or had relationships with. I’d spent a good 3 years building a nice little corner of the ‘net and the Facebook gods have spoken. Why I have no idea.
And there lies my problem. Facebook just shut me down for no reason what so ever. They simply slapped me with a “your account is disabled” and threw me a nice little generic FAQ. No warning, no nothing. Sure, they have an email address where you can submit your argument, but based on what I’ve found online, it will be quite some time before I get a response, if I even get one ever.
Sure, I get it. Facebook has 300+ million users, and it’s a free service. I don’t expect to get the same level of customer service that I would for something I pay for. But I have a real problem with a company that thinks so little of their users to make broad sweeping account shut downs like this. I’ve spent countless hours over the past few years using the service, investing my time and providing my trust to Facebook with a lot of contact and content. I’ve evangelized and certainly contributed to bringing users to the platform. And all of that does not matter one bit.
It’s a good learning experience for me to realize that using social networks like this can be a risky proposition. Especially if you are a business. Imagine investing the same kind of time into building your fan page only to have Facebook give you the smack down with no explanation, or little to no resolution paths. A few months ago I wrote about how a local donut shop has used Facebook to tremendous success. They are up to over 2500 followers and have made Facebook a critical part of their marketing plan. So much so that they haven’t even bothered to create their own website yet. They don’t have to. Can you imagine if Facebook decided to just shut them down? Perhaps they should rethink that whole website thing.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get my account back, which means I’d probably have to start over. I’m not so sure I’d even bother. Regardless, it’s an eye-opener, and if you are a business owner thinking about using social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, always ensure that you combine those efforts with your own home grown web presence. It’s important to have some level of control when the gods decide to wreck havoc.
Just heard of someone whose profile – and connections – were as professional as any.
Don't be so coy you muppet. You have to have some suspicion of an activity that was reported.
I've never been called a muppet before. That's kind of cool. You're right, it's likely that something “suspicious” flagged the account. But to have little to no recourse to rectify the situation quickly is pretty lame in my opinion.
Do you know if it was because you reached your quota of “friends”, which I then would think it would just stop adding at that point. I have heard of this happening. Also many don't use a fan page for business related items, but use the regular facebook page, they will shut down those according to their terms & conditions.
I doubt it. I only had 350 or so friends. Fact is, I didn't do anything to violate their terms and conditions. The only explanation is that my account was hacked or accessed and someone did something while in there. Time will tell.
Facebook is such an interesting tool, a place where I too have invested substantial time yet with extreme skepticism over rights issues and sustainability. All new media is just too new to depend on, and backing up data as well as using multiple tools remains best policy.
Hope they reinstate your account soon!!!
I got lucky and got my account back up. Apparently my account got hacked.
Facebook is such an interesting tool, a place where I too have invested substantial time yet with extreme skepticism over rights issues and sustainability. All new media is just too new to depend on, and backing up data as well as using multiple tools remains best policy.
Hope they reinstate your account soon!!!
I got lucky and got my account back up. Apparently my account got hacked.
My account was disabled 4 days ago. I never received any warning or any reason for disabling my account. If I were reported for any malicious acts, then it would be fair if they could specify the reasons.
I am really pissed off. Sent my follow up message just minutes ago. Hope they would reply soon.
my facebook account is disabled how can i enable [email protected]
This is a petition against IRRATIONAL Faceless Facebook procedures for sudden account suspensions.Sign the petition to make our voice strong
Here’s the petition URL : http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/facebookd…
Here’s the Twitter account : http://twitter.com/facebookpetitio
The problem spreads fast but only the people with the problem can raise their voice against this
Unite your voice with us and help us push this message to the public
It’s the only way to be heard !!!
My account was also disabled on Sunday 25 – April – 2010
Still waiting for it to get enabled, don't know when it will be enabled
I have created a Facebook FAQ's which can be access from the following url
http://helpcenterfacebook.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/facebookcare