The Hand That Feeds You

In an odd attempt to cut down on fake accounts, Facebook has begun to purge accounts with names that the networking site believes are fake. Names that sound made up like James T. Kirk, James Bond or Bruce Wayne and names that are big in the news (Susan Boyle) are being targeted in an attempt to cut down on fake accounts.

I'm not sure what the theory behind this is. In North America and especially the United States, the whole diversity thing is a huge deal. We are proud of the fact that people from diverse backgrounds, different ethnic groups and other beliefs choose to come to Canada and the U.S. to live (theoretically anyway). Whatever happened to the whole 'melting pot' idea of the United States? Facebook was designed as a way for people to come together and 'socialize'. To make contact with other people who have the same interests and are maybe from other parts of the world is the whole point isn't it?

If this purge is an attempt to cut down on people and their malicious ways it is doomed to failure. Do they really think that if someone is going to do 'bad' things in the world of Facebook that they are going to use strange fake names? Why would they not just pull two names at random out of the phone book and make up a 'normal' sounding name? Bob Smith? Tom Johnson? Barbara Jones? Are these names fake or real? How to tell? Not every 'bad guy' (to use a phrase popular with my kids) is going to make it obvious that they are bad -- Joe Malicious.

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt (this name set off my spell check, it must be fake!), said "The vast, vast, vast majority of people we disable we never hear from again", as a justification of shutting people down. Well no kidding! If a networking site I used, and was encouraged to use, suddenly cut me off I would probably just go elsewhere. Would I pursue the issue? Probably not. Coming hot on the heels of the whole user agreement dispute Facebook had not long ago, one thing is for certain -- Facebook really knows how to make and keep friends.