Prompt's TechBlog

Coming up with a headline for this one was really tough without using profanity, so I decided to go with the tried and true internet acronym approach. Faced with users complaining on not getting "free cool tools" when they were told not to expect them until later this week, Faceparty decided to shut the entire site down for a day out of frustration.

Their message: "#@*% The Haterz. Sowwy dudes, but some of you have pissed us off so much today that we've shut the whole site down and #@*%ed off to the zoo." The owners of the site posted a long profane tirade on the front page against the users who continually complain, and explained that they own the site and provide it to free for users, not for profit and at their expense. They didn't sell out to major corporations like News Corp. and Microsoft, as MySpace and Facebook did respectively, although their claims that they don't make any money are probably exaggerated (i.e. the cost of bandwidth alone on a site that size would be nearly impossible to run without them making money).

My question: is it preferable to be on a corporate-run social network or a site run by hobbiests that is prone to bursts of human emotion?

You would certainly never see MySpace or Facebook close for a day and forego all of the ad revenue from that day and potential damage to the brand. The situation illustrates the irony of social media: we expect user generated content, but when the user-providers react in a very human way, we get angry and complain. On both sides, we need to recognize that we want the same things. From the users view, they like and care about Faceparty, if they are on there complaining, and they want to be happy. And from the providers view, they want a happy community.

Six million people today are without the social networking service that they signed up for, and that is ridiculous. It is all because a few people couldn't treat each other with respect. The people in charge of sites like Faceparty need to encourage discussion and complaints to constantly improve the site, and the users need to exercise patience. As more content moves toward social media, people will have to become more aware than ever of the individual responsibility they have for making everyone's lives better.

Labels: Facebook, Faceparty, MySpace, social media, social networking

The police in Leeds are worried. On Sunday 25 May, it is quite possible that the residents of the Yorkshire city will march out en masse, and battle each other in a large-scale pillow fight.

The battle has been organised through a group set up on social networking site Facebook, and calls for participants to meet at the city's Hyde Park at 3pm and batter each other silly with pillows. According to The Telegraph the residents of Hyde Park are a little apprehensive about the fight, and alerted the police.

Authorities have contacted the organiser and asked him to cancel the event and the group has disappeared. Unfortunately, a number of splinter groups have emerged to keep the enthusiasm for pillow fighting going.

It's not difficult to understand why people as so nervous: earlier this month, a similar Facebook-organised 'flash mob' event took place in the city. Over 350 people met up in Millennium Square garden for a mass water pistol fight, and essentially destroyed it. The garden was one of Leeds' most treasured assets. Built in honour of Nelson Mandela, it won a medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2004. The war of the water pistols is believed to have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, and videos of the event can be seen over Facebook and YouTube.

So will combatants pour onto the streets on 25 May, feather-filled armaments at the ready, or will they instead choose to stay in bed. We'll find out the week after next...

Labels: Facebook, Leeds, pillow fight