[...] Butu00e2u0080u00a6 you see, I opened another account to confirm this happened. u00c2u00a0Thereu00e2u0080u0099s no email from Facebook that says u00e2u0080u009cYou are dead unto usu00e2u0080u009d or u00e2u0080u009cYour account has been wiped (from places you can see at least) completely. u00c2u00a0Nope. u00c2u00a0So, I used my other AUP/ToS violating second account to confirm my previous Facebook account had been u00e2u0080u009cdeletedu00e2u0080u009d. [...]

Great article. I have always had mixed feelings about Facebook and, to some extent, Linked In. My concern has been two-fold:

1) They ultimately control all of the content I create on their site and how they managed/distribute that content was up to them.

2) How protective would they be with my mail list if I were to use Facebook as sort of a "community site".

[...] So, Jayu00e2u0080u00a6 What it would take for you to come back to Facebook? [...]

The others that have businesses or that run a marketing campaign of sorts obviously have other things to weigh as well. For me though, I just feel better not having yet another email update that I can't reply to that requires me to log into a website or having my information littering the web in a way I don't fully comprehend.

Well presented information and thoughts, Jay. I've been pondering streamlining or deleting FB myself - now I have more to ponder.

When you say "the audience are more complicated and resources may be better spent elsewhere" it jumps off the page as solid prescient advice.

Jay - thanks for the discussion of your technical reasons for deleting facebook. I deleted my facebook account about a month and a half ago. For me it was about time and the quality of the interaction - the interaction with as you say those "mouth breathers" did not justify the time spent hanging around. As a marketeer, I recognize the power of the fan- it's working for many of my clients and probably will work for quite some time. When you work a consumer and consumables based product line, facebook and social media offers fantastic exposure - no doubt. But when it comes to BtoB the message and the audience are more complicated and resources may be better spent elsewhere. It's important for companies and marketeers to be discerning in their social media choices.

Doh! Sorry for the wonky comment experience!!!

That made me hit the DISQUS "Like" button :)

Thanks. I had seen the "Facebooku00e2u0080u0099s Gone Rogue" article in my newsfeed but I'm reading it with different eyes today.

I do appreciate the social media campaign aspect you raise... I have several clients that make use of whatever Fan pages or Pages are called now... and many with great success.

Also, it's interesting to note that legal circles appear to be cautioning clients regarding the commenting format of Facebook

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/05/10/142...

I was going to say something, but then tried to comment on this post with Facebook Connect and got this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aziari/4597867294/

Enough said.

I did see the Conan O'Brien at Google video. It was phenomenal and hilarious. That tweet made a great point as well. Lucky for me, I never connected my Facebook to other services. It may have seemed easy, but I thought it was stupid. Conan mentions in his talk that one tweet allowed him to sell out his tour worldwide...can Facebook do that at such a quick rate? I don't think so. There's just too much clutter there for efficiency. It's like the new MySpace without the "bad" people.

Thanks. I very much agree that simple wins. Conan O'Brien spoke at Google recently about Twitter. I'm not sure if Facebook was even mentioned ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7TwqpWiY5s#t=16...

I just hope folks start to examine alternatives for connecting in ways that don't revolve around a silo service like Facebook... but as this Tweet highlights -- there is a cost for the delete!

http://twitter.com/andrewpbrett/status/13769379982

I'm hopeful that Facebook won't become the ultimate walled garden gate. If it does, I'll just stick to other gardens I guess.

While I share both your thoughts about Facebook and have many times thought about leaving it would be difficult to stray from over 400 million users worldwide on their network for my social media campaigns.

Wired has a relevant article you may be interested in here: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/05/facebook...

I don't blame you whatsoever for not wanting to feed their machine. I actually think that's a brilliant statement. Me personally, I still have an account, but I'm not happy with their service. They are constantly throwing ads in our faces forcing us to have to "like" something when we just want to communicate with people. I've been saying it for a while...Twitter wins because they are SIMPLE and it's beyond easy to communicate.

I harbor no ill will to the Facebook team in general. I can really only speak for my own feelings on this. I just can't feed their machine any longer.

I used to delete my LiveJournal account once in a while too... then undelete... then delete.. then come back again.

That's not going to happen with Facebook.

I'm done.

It's funny...I think there are a ton of people really annoyed with Facebook lately. I feel they are upsetting the wrong people and its just a matter of time before the word starts circulating. Just look at the anger the constant layout changes bring to people. Facebook simply isn't listening, nor do I think they care. However, they will care once they see their user base numbers decreasing. Zuckerberg is a complete clown.

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Loren Feldman, Jay Cuthrell. Jay Cuthrell said: Friday Fudge: Why I deleted my Facebook http://bit.ly/bPpJxl #privacy #monoculture #respect [...]